This new one was reminding me a bit of mid-late era Stereolab even before "Gem & I".
― Tim F, Tuesday, 3 October 2023 00:54 (one year ago) link
The vocal harmonies on the second track give me serious Alice In Chains vibes. (Mind you nothing else about the song reminds me of AIC).
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Tuesday, 3 October 2023 03:12 (one year ago) link
hah I hear it too! is it maybe the backing voice is an octave lower and it's a descending melody? feels kinda grungey.
really digging this one as well. dunno if it's better than Skiffs (it probably is) but it definitely feels weightier. 2nd half of "Magicians from Baltimore" is pretty cool, playing a jauntey ragtime piano melody over a song that's like half the tempo it needs to be is a real signature AnCo moment I think
"Defeat" maybe their best song yet. though I guess that's cheating. ending part really gives me chills. was so cool to hear this live before anyone knew what it was, I thought it was like 3 new songs in a row
don't mind the last 2 tracks but it feels like "Stride Rite" is the last track and these are bonuses. I actually love "All the Clubs are Broken", it sounds like a playground song! and "King's Walk" sounds really cool! I mean you do vocal harmonies really well why not give this sort of thing a shot just once
― frogbs, Saturday, 7 October 2023 03:38 (one year ago) link
I need to catch up with them, the last I heard from them was the “meeting of waters” ep which I liked a lot but haven’t been in the mood for Animal Collective in the past 5+ years.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 7 October 2023 03:42 (one year ago) link
the most recent two albums are definitely a return to form and in some ways the best they've ever sounded
― ufo, Saturday, 7 October 2023 03:59 (one year ago) link
Idk about “Return to form”, first of all I really like Centipede and PW, secondly they haven’t really sounded this mellow before have they? But yeah could argue these are two of their very best
― frogbs, Saturday, 7 October 2023 15:18 (one year ago) link
actually I take that back, this is like the album Fall be Kind was hinting at
― frogbs, Monday, 9 October 2023 14:44 (one year ago) link
On first listen this seems a lot "straighter" than most of the stuff I know by them. 'Soul Capturer' sounds like a more accessible of something off Feels, and it seems to have quite a uniform sound. But I need to listen more. If it's anything like Fall Be Kind then I'm interested
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Monday, 9 October 2023 14:51 (one year ago) link
If this is in the same vein as Fall Be Kind I’m sold. That’s probably the best thing they ever did.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 9 October 2023 15:03 (one year ago) link
Along with Prospect Hummer, yup. Thos eare the two I would mostly be interested in listening to these days.
That said, I don't hear it - it's a pleasant listen but I'm hearing their most "indie rock" oriented work so far; like they're going back to their original influences of bands like Pavement, and yes Stereolab. It's also quite a slow album - not many uptempo tracks here. Quite pleasant to have on in the background so far, and I'm quite glad for the lack of low-key highly annoying noises they are sometimes wont to litter around their records
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Monday, 9 October 2023 15:17 (one year ago) link
Rather enjoying the extended track 'Defeat' though
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Monday, 9 October 2023 15:27 (one year ago) link
Haha, it goes full on Pacific Ocean Blue in the second half. Love this track
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Monday, 9 October 2023 15:29 (one year ago) link
Ok not listening the influence of Fall Be Kind, or not exclusively at least… it’s more of a synthesized version of their whole career?
Really like how this is probably their album - haven’t heard a lot of what they’ve been doing in the past years tho - with the most emphasis on drums and bass on the mix, but I can understand if some people might not like how it sounds.
I can definitely hear the Stereolab influence somewhere in there and also a lot of dub in the bass and the way it’s mixed clearly at the upfront.
Agreed that the two last tracks could have been cut off. “Stride Rite” would have been a great closer. I do wish the piano solo was mixed higher in that one.
Overall not bad, much better than what I would have expected.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 9 October 2023 15:46 (one year ago) link
I'm quite glad for the lack of low-key highly annoying noises they are sometimes wont to litter around their records
100% agree, also these new ones have less of Avey's yelps which I appreciate as well
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Monday, 9 October 2023 15:49 (one year ago) link
'Stride Rite' really doesn't sound much like them at all. Makes me think of Lambchop or any of those Americana bands who occasionally stray into Sinatra-esque swing-balladry. Very nice. Yes, would have been a perfect closer
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Monday, 9 October 2023 16:00 (one year ago) link
maybe it's just specific sounds that reminded me of FBK, maybe all the layered vocal bits like in "What Would I Want? Sky" or how these calm passages would suddenly explode into something else like in "Graze". or maybe how the last part of "Defeat" sounds like an even more stony version of "On a Highway".
that said a lot of people on here disagree with my "sounds like x" comparisons so take it with a grain of salt :)
― frogbs, Monday, 9 October 2023 16:46 (one year ago) link
Xpost: “Stride Rite” is a Deakin song. If you haven’t heard “sleep cycle” it’s one of the better projects related to AnCo I’ve heard.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 9 October 2023 20:01 (one year ago) link
they've done plenty of floaty piano songs like "stride rite" before - first half of "graze" (there's your fall be kind comparison), "daffy duck", "safer", etc.
people just coming to this album should also listen to time skiffs which is this one's sibling (the material was written at the same time, and only ended up on two albums due to recording constraints caused by the pandemic) and a little better. it's even more like mpp/fall be kind, it's like the chiller moments from those filtered through 70s exotica
― ufo, Monday, 9 October 2023 22:23 (one year ago) link
Defeat is awesome. First part is reminiscent of "bees" (my maybe favourite song from feels). Love when AnCo loses the drums and geologist gets to do his thing. You can tell they ain't kids anymore with this one
― H.P, Friday, 13 October 2023 09:39 (one year ago) link
This while album is incredible, almost exactly what I wanted to hear from these guys at this point. Just an incredible run since Time Skiffs and I hope it continues.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 19 October 2023 17:36 (one year ago) link
This is the first time since 2005 that this band will make it into my top ten albums list.
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 19 October 2023 18:06 (one year ago) link
"defeat" has more than a little side 5 of tales from topographic oceans realness
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 19 October 2023 21:40 (one year ago) link
The mood and the melody of Deakin’s song “Stride Rite” called to mind one of my favorite Josh Ritter songs,“Myrna Loy”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0_b7wM5-mY
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Tuesday, 7 November 2023 17:29 (eleven months ago) link
It's easily one of their best albums
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Wednesday, 29 November 2023 17:00 (eleven months ago) link
Yes!
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 29 November 2023 17:07 (eleven months ago) link
definitely in A) the sheer amount of lyrics and B) the fact that it takes forever to get going
I like it more than any of the TFTO tracks as a whole though
hearing this live was probably one of my coolest show experiences ever - I try to not look at setlists beforehand, all I knew was they were likely gonna play some new stuff. I had no idea they were gonna play so much of it, much less a tune that was 23 minutes long. once it got to the ending bit I remember looking behind me and just seeing a sea of transfixed faces, nobody was talking or making any noise. I've never quite seen a general admission concert get like that before.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 29 November 2023 17:22 (eleven months ago) link
At the show i went to, my friend wouldn’t shut up his mouth through the whole thing. Still good though.
― BringTheAuBonPain, Wednesday, 29 November 2023 21:21 (eleven months ago) link
I keep forgetting about this.
― Bee OK, Saturday, 2 December 2023 02:10 (ten months ago) link
So have most publication year end lists, so you’re not alone!
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 2 December 2023 17:04 (ten months ago) link
you know what I actually like the way the album ends. I think given the downtrodden nature of the album and the fact that it's starting to set in just how long these guys have been together ending on a acapella track like that is a cool idea. like one of those in the end we've all still got each other sorta vibes. "All the Clubs are Broken" is the one that really doesn't fit, I actually dig it a lot but it doesn't belong here
― frogbs, Monday, 4 December 2023 05:11 (ten months ago) link
of interest to fans, Deakin-produced:
https://errolshotwax.bandcamp.com/album/linear-b
― I painted my teeth (sleeve), Wednesday, 24 July 2024 20:03 (three months ago) link