Weyes Blood

I'm new to her and think I'm going to hold off exploring her previous albums for awhile. Can't imagine them being as good as this.

People who like this will probably like Nathalie Prass' excellent debut album too (which is very different from her sophomore album from last year), much of it is in the same vein.

For some reason, I forgot she had albums before Front Row Seat, guess I need to go back and check those out too.

This new album really reminds me of Heidi Berry.

<q>after how many listens? ;)

(but...yeah)

― PPL+AI=NS (imago), Friday, April 5, 2019 12:52 AM</q>

haha, you got me. fair enough. :)

answer: maybe 10 listens over a week or so? (which i'm not saying is enough to declare an album of the year.)

ah crap ...

after how many listens? ;)

(but...yeah)

― PPL+AI=NS (imago), Friday, April 5, 2019 12:52 AM (eight hours ago)

haha, you got me. fair enough. :)

answer: maybe 10 listens over a week or so? (which i'm not saying is enough to declare an album of the year.)

This is gorgeous so far....don't know if anyone is into Catherine Howe's What a Beautiful Place but kinda similar vibes and equally great

Also has she confirmed the title is a reference to the show Homecoming? cuz it feels like it kinda has to be

It's a reference to Titanic, the movie, as she said in an interview somewhere

It reminds me of John Grant more than anything else. There's a generally similar early 70s well being drawn upon, granted, but I tend to hear it in the voice as well -- a certain, careful form of performative control. It's not a cloning or imitation, more a matter of how to use a voice to a distinct end. The relative coolness doesn't hide warmth or empathy, but there's a real sense of a guard up that, far from being forbidding, renders the music all the more empathetic as a whole.

xpost there's this whole scene in Homecoming where this returned home war vet is telling a story about a joke they played on another soldier in Iraq who's favorite movie was Titanic, they elaborately convince him there's a sequel called Titanic Rising, and he's obsessed with getting it etc but they convince the guys at the PX to say that they can't order Titanic Rising, anyway it's a great scene and obv seems pretty weird if they both thought of it but maybe it's a coincidence who knows

who is it that her (extremely wonderful) voice reminds me of?

Karen Carpenter.

Theres a lot of Todd Rundgren' Something/Anything style arrangments here,which is wonderful.

Tracks 2,3,4,8 are masterpieces imo.
Don't really care about the rest (yet?!).

Can't stand Movies.

"It's not a cloning or imitation"

Xpost

Is it? The line between being authentic and ironuc is very thin here.
Either way, pastiche or not, i like it

"seems pretty weird if they both thought of it but maybe it's a coincidence who knows"

She claims it's a coincidence

I wasn’t crazy about Movies when I first heard it either, but gradually, in anticipation of the last third of the song, it has become one of the stand-outs for me.

Mirror Forever was the one I woke up with in my head today

A Lot's Gonna Change was the one I woke up with in my head today

I'm struggling to connect with this a little, it sounds lovely when it's on but it's not drawing me in as much as Front Row Seat To Earth did. If I had to put my finger what was missing this time it's the art of the sublime chord change which really elevated the best songs on the last album.

Obviously her voice is great but she sings almost everything in the same way, which kinda makes the album slip past a little without quite touching the sides.

This is my initial feeling as well (fwiw 'Generation Why' was the highlight of FRSTE for me) but I hope to be proven wrong by the 20th spin.

that's pretty much what happened to me

weird that this one hit me so immediately idk

i feel sort of similarly to matt, except i do prefer this one to FRSTE. it sounds great, the songs are memorable enough, lovely arrangements etc. but i'm not really feeling that drawn to it. maybe it's just that the thing she seems to be doing very well on this album isn't really something i want out of music at the moment that much?

I've just realised how incredibly much Movies reminds me of both the opening and closing theme from the Mishima OST. (Not that that's a bad thing)

Funny that the one song I think is the weakest ("Movies" ) is the one most critics seem drawn to on this. Still, a near perfect album for me.

Is it? The line between being authentic and ironuc is very thin here.

Referring specifically to her vis a vis Grant in my comparison.

Have been listening to this on repeat all weekend and I'm pretty sure it's a masterpiece.

On first listen its a lovely album but not as good as The Innocents but one listen isn't enough.

Movies is wonderful though.

This is so great. Also a little perplexed at how much love Movies is being given above all other tracks when there are so many brilliant songs here.

Chord progression on Wild Time reminds me of Karma Police.

is that an actual Glass sample on "Movies"?

The first part of Wild Time when she sings those "pa pa pa pa"'s (which can also be heard on Something to Believe) is so great.

Too bad she abandons this melody afterwards for something else.

Still, great song.

I'm so in love with this. The second half of the album is perfect. Mirror Forever and Wild Time are the ones that have been stuck in my head for the last couple of days.

I listened to this album without knowing her previous work and at first I thought it sounded good but the songs didn't seem very memorable...
Then after listening again a couple of times, it all clicked and... wow, I love this album !
Her voice, the complex songwriting/harmonic structures, the production and arrangements... it's all fantastic.
Some melodies/chord changes may not seem very strong at first but once you get them, they're so deep and beautiful.
Agreed that "Movies" is kind of a standalone piece in the middle of an otherwise pretty cohesive album.
But it's quite something. A kind of spiritual piece.

This is such an impressively produced album, her voice is a miracle

I find the songs topically uninteresting and the melody/chord choices to be that frustrating place where the added 7ths and chromaticism just create a kind of emotional formlessness

I find the production fairly consistent but the songwriting really diverse, sometimes I hear ABBA, sometimes Jim O’Rourke, sometimes Beach House, and a lot of times Rufus Wainwright

Does anyone think her voice is a bit like Aimee Mann's? A little bit like Thom Yorke on 'Andromeda Rising' too.

After listening to this a few more times, I think it might have been better if they had changed the tracklisting a little.

Maybe it's because I'm more familiar with the first part (including "Movies") than with the second part but I think the begining is stronger.
Especially since "Movies" is such a special and huge beast which kinda breaks the flow of the album and after it there are only 3 songs and an instrumental, the whole thing is a bit unbalanced imo ("Wild Time' is great but "Mirror Forever" and "Picture Me Better" might be the weaker tracks on the album).
I think it works better to put "Nearer to Thee" as a musical interlude in the middle of the album, after "Something to Believe", and move "Titanic Rising" and "Movies" to the end of the album (the two go well together and it's difficult to put ANYTHING after "Movies").
I've remade it that way in my spotify library !

Yep. The albun sounds better after you get used to it. Something To Believe is the best song in here. Surprised it's not a single. Yet?!

i like this but i think the last album is better

this is the type of production that scans as impressive so i'm not surprised it's gonna be seen as the best, but the last one let things breathe a bit more in a way i like better

both fine albums though

‘hang on’ still her best song

opening 7 tracks of The Innocents every bit as good as the next two albums yeah

Oh so not knowing her previous stuff I understand there’s much better stuff to discover ?
That’s good news considering how I love this album !

ok, i am now officially addicted to her music.

Also, the Front Row record is very underrated and as good as Titanic imo

Not bad. Not addicted here (yet).

Ann Powers of NPR has now acclaimed on twitter

I might be in the minority here in thinking Front Row Seat to Earth is her best and as good as if not still better than Titanic

I also think Front Row Seat to Earth is her best. I'm still not hearing what a lot of people in this thread are hearing in Titanic Rising, it's still registering as a not bad but ultimately disappointing followup to Front Row Seat. I'm going to keep listening though, maybe I'll figure it out.

I think FRSTE is marginally her best as well but I also think both of these are 10/10 all-time albums

Ann's acclaim was tacked on to a very strange NPR Music tweet touting a First Listen stream and stating that this record is out May 3.

It was out in early April.

Even WB retweeted and was like "OK, sure, let's release it again"

Weird!

This is a very beautiful record. Can definitely hear Rufus Wainwright in a couple of the melodies. Can see why Movies keeps being namechecked- it stands out sonically from everything else in palette, but I don’t think it’s especially stronger than anything else here.

Interested to hear previous albums if people think this isn’t the best.