Well, I don’t understand what “Editor’s Choice” means for the record today, but based on your, errr, subtle clues, no doubt it will be one that stirs controversy and seething invectives from some. As such, it seems this can only be one of two artists: a certain lanky Mancunian’s solo effort or some miserable dronings from five black-clad, pasty-faced English school chums.
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.
We've been through this -- if one cottons more to music that makes you get up and move vs. music you sit down and listen to, what you describe as "Indie/Rock" (which is waaaaaaaay too broad a characterization -- how would you classify The Strokes, e.g.??) isn't gonna resonate, or it's gonna have to be better than this record to resonate.Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile To The Surface
Unfortunately this Indie/Rock genre doesn't tend to fair well on here - which is a shame.
Having known 'I Know How To Speak' very well- I had high hopes and it did not disappoint.
so many beautiful tracks - 'The Maze', 'The Gold, The Alien' and 'The Silence' all just lovely well crafted tracks.
It's a shame this doesn't touch the soul for some and whilst many would consider these songs 'depressing' or 'boring' I find them uplifting and stirring at such a deeper level.
Certainly one of the best bands/Albums i've heard from in recent years.
9/10
Pick of the bunch : The Maze
Bonus Point: The
I had the first opportuntiy to listen to this on headphones today, albeit that they are cheap ones without noise cancelling and I only wear them at the gym but it did reveal a bit more of the richness of this album. The lyrics are seeping in and meaning more although I do get that some of them are a bit obscure. Not all though and there are some quietly unsettling phrases that I'm picking up. I'm really going to have to look them up properly.Appreciate the feedback and other than the guest posts coming in, if it reaches someone who hadn't yet had the time to listen, then that's a win for me and all that matters. And besides, I owed you one for Endless Summer! :-)
Well said.
There's plenty of intensity in this album, "even in the quietest of moments" as a band I'm fond of would say. For those note hearing the release or feeling too restrained, I'd argue it is there in many of the songs, including "The Moth", "Lead, SD", "The Mistake", and even in the first song off of this that I heard that allowed me to dive in - "The Gold".
I don't see how you go full on release when setting up the initial structure of the song and where it is going.
"You don't open your eyes for a while, you just breathe that moment down".
Wise words when listening to this entire piece. And it was the music that let me in before I was able to get the entirety of what was being presented here. I suppose it either does or it doesn't.
"I want to feel the way our fathers felt when it swept them off their feet. I want to know about that higher love you saw that can't be seen. The only obvious equation, you believe it or you don't."
We've been through this -- if one cottons more to music that makes you get up and move vs. music you sit down and listen to, what you describe as "Indie/Rock" (which is waaaaaaaay too broad a characterization -- how would you classify The Strokes, e.g.??) isn't gonna resonate, or it's gonna have to be better than this record to resonate.
I think it's okay that I don't usually need music that touches my soul -- my family and my dog and the view from atop Mount Tamalpais do that, and as an ex-Catholic, Gregorian chants accomplish that musically. I need music that gets me off my fat ass via either bopping around like a pogo stick or windmill air-guitaring ala Pete Townsend.
That's not to say I don't appreciate well-crafted beautiful music (I agree about "The Maze" for instance). But I'd absolutely argue with the notion that not appreciating this is some kind of aural flaw at best or a character flaw at worst.
Now that said -- I do think artists that work hard at trying to touch my soul can veer into pretentiousness or self-indulgence more easily than bands who are just trying to get me to dance.
But even so I love many "sit and listen" records, and records with songs I can either sit or dance to. And I like many "sound not song" records too. Just not this one so much.
I guess I'm not really an especially melancholy person -- in fact, I think anyone who knows me would say that's the literal opposite of me. I don't often find beauty in darkness or sadness. I prefer the excitement of escapism, or defiance, which are both more rousing, or detachment or irony (especially when presented self-referentially and/or with wit).Absolutely, not arguing against any of that - what I meant was this type of music melancholy/indie ? It’s a shame some don’t get the same pleasure out of it that I and others do but that is the beauty of music.
I guess it would be like someone who really loves classical/opera music and can’t understand why it doesn’t resonate the same way with others.
I guess I'm not really an especially melancholy person -- in fact, I think anyone who knows me would say that's the literal opposite of me. I don't often find beauty in darkness or sadness. I prefer the excitement of escapism, or defiance, which are both more rousing, or detachment or irony (especially when presented self-referentially and/or with wit).
Now love songs -- I can find beauty in sadness there. We've all been there. But not on most other topics. Like, for example, child abuse.
This will get lost in the Radiohead frenzy, but it's not the melancholy I have an issue with.Melancholy Indie was definately my teen years music so it will always resonate with me personally and I do find it uplifting where as I get for others it can be considered boring or depressing- although some bands get it terribly wrong.
Then I suppose I got into Rock more, old stuff (Beatles and Dylan) then dance/electro and always been a fan of Pop in general. Always tried to be a broad as possible.
Do struggle with Rap, Hip Hop and Garage etc.