I'm not sure how long ago I downloaded this whole album but it's fair to say that up to now it hasn't caught my imagination in the same way that the two tracks that brought me here in there first place did, those being the Silence and I Know How to Speak, not on the album.
I can't remember how I came to those two tracks either but the likelihood is that they were "suggested" to me by YouTube while passing time doing night shifts as a nurse in a care home. Those nights imbued in me a feeling of comfortable melancholy, the combination of the ungodly hour, the sense of being at the dog end of a nursing career that had been spent at the sharp end and having under my care residents seeing out their final days in various stages of, well you know...
So those two tracks got heavy play along with a select few from others as sometimes I like to settle into a mood rather than fight against it. The rest of the album I listened to a few times but was left underwhelmed.
It often happens though with albums that are now favourites that what sounds uninspiring initially can sound very different when revisited some time later. And that is certainly the case with this. I mentioned in the initial comments when this album was introduced that the Silence and I Know How to Speak both edged towards overwrought territory. There is though subtlety on this album too in the shape of the Maze and the Alien/ Sunshine which act as a nice counterpoint.
The album opens strongly with the Maze right through to the Sunshine. Hopefully I'm not missing any ironic intent with the lyrics of the Gold but as an ode to a relationship that has run its course without sentimentality it's great. And I do think I prefer the original to Phoebe Bridgers version.
I wouldn't say the album sags but it doesn't quite maintain the standard on what would be the second side of a vinyl album (presumably). It's good enough though with the only really low point being The Parts, deliberately low key before the grand ending I expect. It's a great climax but really I Know How to Speak should be tagged on there.
I've explored a little bit of their other stuff through the lazy medium of Spotify top tracks but I don't know if going backwards through their catalogue will offer me much. I've had a few good listens to their most recent though, The Million Masks of God, which with its exploration of themes around death would no doubt see me through a few more night shifts. On that though, a couple of weeks ago I went in for one (I was on the bank so very much employed on a casual basis) with the usual feeling of gloom to be met with new procedures, end of life care and the usual smorgasbord of the issues that usually present themselves with that client group. I knew I couldn't do it anymore and wrote my notice with immediate effect so that I knew that when I left in the morning I wouldn't be back.
@Black&White&BlueMoon Town mentioned the lyrics. This is one of those albums (which I probably will get on vinyl) where I would like to have the lyrics in front of me while listening to it. Snippets though stick in my head and Andy Hull's delivery is generally good. It's fair to say that the themes aren't your run of the mill stuff.
Great pick this week, I'm glad I've been "forced" to give it an extended listen. Makes me wonder what else I've previously downloaded that I need to revisit. Scoring wise the first half had it on course for a 9 or 10, for the slight drop off it's down to an 8.
