Feels even busier and richer than its predecessor on my first listens; it's gonna take some spins to sort out everything happening on some of these songs. "Hostage," "Ocean" and "All The Ways Love Can Feel" are the ones that floored me immediately.
It's much more upbeat and less remorseful than the last one. I do miss some of the melancholy but that's just preferential b/c this is really hitting the spot, too.
― Evan R, Friday, 1 July 2016 20:43 (eight years ago) link
also man the drummer can get some
"Gods" and "Lost" are as straightforward as he gets.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 1 July 2016 20:45 (eight years ago) link
the "drummer" is alternately hod david, mark colenburg, and jermaine parrish (plus stewart matthewman plays drums on his two tracks). when i talked to maxwell he implied he also played some of the drums but i can't detect that in the liner notes
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Friday, 1 July 2016 20:54 (eight years ago) link
but yeah they can all get some
Kinda fascinated by how many demons and anxieties hide in the shadows of even the more uplifting songs here. Interesting balances between light and dark all around
― Evan R, Friday, 1 July 2016 21:03 (eight years ago) link
yeah imo it *feels* more upbeat but in its heart it is not
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Friday, 1 July 2016 21:04 (eight years ago) link
e "drummer" is alternately hod david, mark colenburg, and jermaine parrish (plus stewart matthewman plays drums on his two tracks). when i talked to maxwell he implied he also played some of the drums but i can't detect that in the liner notes
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson),
he's not credited on instruments -- demos maybe?
makes me wonder what's his primary instrument? Also, I get the impression that he isn't a lyrics-only songwriter -- he and David write everything, right?
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 1 July 2016 21:45 (eight years ago) link
yeah I too wonder and prob should've asked but i was just sort of stunned by his answer about drumming (I was specifically curious about whether chris dave is on this record and he's 100 percent not)
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Friday, 1 July 2016 21:47 (eight years ago) link
damn what kind of reporter are you
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 1 July 2016 22:36 (eight years ago) link
a music writer
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Friday, 1 July 2016 22:39 (eight years ago) link
First listen right now. I didn't preview any of the pre-release songs past 'Lake by the Ocean' and '1990x' so I wasn't really ready for how spaced out and layered this thing is. About half of it is very reminiscent of Embrya. And lyrically, jeez. This probably just edges out Now to be his most introspective album.
Just one listen, but I can already say this is a much "deeper" album than BLACK was. That one probably has the better highlights, but overall, SUMMERS' feels like the more consistent work.
― Austin, Saturday, 2 July 2016 01:08 (eight years ago) link
BLACK had a "Bad Habits" on it, and this one doesn't. But "Lake By The Ocean" is every bit as good as "Pretty Wings," and that's no small feat
― Evan R, Monday, 4 July 2016 14:34 (eight years ago) link
this is really gorgeous
― ufo, Monday, 4 July 2016 14:52 (eight years ago) link
So here's a really fucking nerdy story...
Last night I needed to rip blackSUMMERS'night into iTunes. And I figured while I was at it, I'd rip its predecessor, BLACKsummers'night, as well. Well, it turns out iTunes isn't particularly case sensitive where album titles are concerned, and it thought they were both the same album. My first thought was that I'd insert the years of release, like so: "BLACKsummers'night (2009)", "blackSUMMERS'night (2016)". I've done that in the past when artists had multiple self-titled albums, e.g. "Elvis (1955)", "Elvis (1973)". But that looked shitty, so what I finally ended up doing was going into the Sorting field and changing the titles there. So BLACKsummers'night is sorted as "Black", and blackSUMMERS'night is sorted as "Summers." Isn't that exciting?
― Don Van Gorp, midwest regional VP, marketing (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 5 July 2016 23:11 (eight years ago) link
Ahh, that's a really good solution to that problem, Don! I had entered them as different discs, as in BLACK was disc 1 of 3, SUMMERS' was 2 of 3. But I think I like your way better.
― Austin, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 03:25 (eight years ago) link
i think i must've listened to "hostage" 15 times in a row last night
― Heez, Monday, 18 July 2016 14:48 (eight years ago) link
great track. last 90 seconds are sublime
― Spottie, Monday, 18 July 2016 17:29 (eight years ago) link
"fingers crossed" feels like a sequel to "love you"
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Thursday, 4 August 2016 19:03 (eight years ago) link
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cted2PiWcAEUHW4.jpg
The vinyl version of this looks/sounds/is beautiful.
This record is growing on me every bit as much as I could have hoped. One of the best of the year. I don't know how I didn't even notice "Lost" until recently.
― Evan R, Thursday, 29 September 2016 01:45 (seven years ago) link
seems like a lot of r&b albums getting more end of the yr love than this which is a shame
― Heez, Saturday, 10 December 2016 05:33 (seven years ago) link
yeh just like all his albums its grown on me w every listen
― Spottie, Saturday, 10 December 2016 05:44 (seven years ago) link
Let's just hope that blacksummersNIGHT becomes the consensus AOTY in 2023
― pumped up kicks and levels on repeat all night (2011nostalgia), Saturday, 10 December 2016 06:23 (seven years ago) link
the second half of this album comes alive in a way the first half doesn't really for me - I start off being disappointed that it's just delicately pretty background music, and only feel immersed/captivated towards the end
― lex pretend, Saturday, 10 December 2016 13:45 (seven years ago) link
"III" is the only track I dismiss thanks to that keyboard. The album's going in my top ten.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 10 December 2016 13:51 (seven years ago) link
but the horns in that one
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Saturday, 10 December 2016 17:23 (seven years ago) link
well, the horns in all of them. ecstatic punctuation
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Saturday, 10 December 2016 17:26 (seven years ago) link
submerge, dang, I can hardly breath listening to it
what an album
― droit au butt (Euler), Thursday, 28 December 2017 17:55 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAkhdXHQ_G0
― maura, Tuesday, 12 June 2018 14:33 (six years ago) link
lovely stuff
― Simon H., Tuesday, 12 June 2018 14:35 (six years ago) link
Well that's goddamn fantastic and a half.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 12 June 2018 14:38 (six years ago) link
Wow.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 12 June 2018 18:10 (six years ago) link
Whoa, didn't expect that!
― (V) (°,,,,°) (V) (Austin), Wednesday, 13 June 2018 00:20 (six years ago) link
Feels a bit Prince-like
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 13 June 2018 15:28 (six years ago) link
yep that was my first thought. p killer
― lowercase (eric), Wednesday, 13 June 2018 15:36 (six years ago) link
odd how it's presented as almost secondary to the music video or short film or whatever (which is a tidal exclusive i think??) when the video is just 'fine' and the song stands v well on its own
― dyl, Thursday, 14 June 2018 02:19 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PmTnCboNFc
video went on vevo yesterday
― maura, Tuesday, 19 June 2018 14:52 (six years ago) link
That is stunning. What an incredible vocal performance.
― kitchen person, Tuesday, 19 June 2018 20:22 (six years ago) link
Also this
https://www.rollingstone.com/maxwell-glass-house-video-w521716
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 19 June 2018 20:33 (six years ago) link
(A review rather than an interview, but more details about the filmmakers etc.)
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 19 June 2018 20:35 (six years ago) link
i'm pretty late getting into Maxwell, but he's great. i don't have much to add beyond that right now!
― omar little, Friday, 20 July 2018 15:49 (six years ago) link
the best
― InfoWarriors (Spottie), Friday, 20 July 2018 16:38 (six years ago) link
I almost feel like that's cheating since the rest of us have to wait YEARS between scraps.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 20 July 2018 16:43 (six years ago) link
lol otm
― InfoWarriors (Spottie), Friday, 20 July 2018 16:51 (six years ago) link
I can empathize my Spotify went offline for a minute earlier and the wait between Now and BLACKsummersnight was excruciating.
― omar little, Friday, 20 July 2018 17:14 (six years ago) link
haha
― InfoWarriors (Spottie), Friday, 20 July 2018 17:52 (six years ago) link
So long as you avoid his second album and last single you're in for a delight: what a catalog.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 July 2018 17:58 (six years ago) link
avoid Embrya?? whaaaaat
― InfoWarriors (Spottie), Friday, 20 July 2018 18:00 (six years ago) link
It's a dense bore, "Cococure" excepted. I get it stuck in my head once a week.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 July 2018 18:03 (six years ago) link
i dont get dense from embrya at all. the songs have a ton of room to breath. Cococure through Know These Things is an incredibly strong stretch of canon maxwell.
― InfoWarriors (Spottie), Friday, 20 July 2018 18:14 (six years ago) link