The Album Review Club - Week #194 (page 1303) - Ants From Up There - Black Country, New Road

Coatigan said:
Somewhere in Spain @RobMCFC has suddenly inexplicably got the urge to nip to his nearest eatooterie for some berenjenas con miel..

Edit. Fun story, I did once confuse my berenjenas and my boquerones on a spanish menu! Expected aubergine, got fash!
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As I’ve said before, I’m not too adventurous with food, but I have enjoyed the Andalusian Gazpacho a few times this week (even though we are in the People’s Republic of Catalunya).
 
First, let’s get this out of the way — I LIKE “Friends.” I watched it for a few seasons. I thought the premise was silly but the actors had good chemistry and often great comic timing. Sure, the guys are generally moany gimps and women slinky neurotic space cadets, and it’s no Bob Newhart Show or Cheers or Seinfeld. But it really was some harmless fun.

This record, darker undercurrents not withstanding, isn’t as good as “Friends” but has a few songs that are quite strong and one IMO that is great. I buy the argument that a reasonable portion is pretty slushy and generic. It’s why I don’t play this record much in an age when I can cut out the best tracks and keep the rest unplayed in the cloud.

What I hear here is REM guitar not as well played, not as creative and 6-10 years too late to matter. But it’s good enough that with snappy hi-hat/snare and a reasonable series of bass lines it gets by more often than not, especially on songs like Allison Road and Until I Fall Away.

But the masterpiece here is Found Out About You, in part because of the terrific schoolboy-obsessive lyrics but, musically, because of the choral harmonies, which for some odd reason only seem employed in this song and the opener Lost Horizons, which I also like. Now I can see the artists being worried that over employing such harmonies might render them one-note, but I think a number of songs here suffer without them.

Hey Jealousy is the big hit and I do enjoy it too, and love the line “If you don’t expect too much from me / You might not be let down”. In fact it neatly summarizes my view of this record. Things like the countrified Cajun Song and Cheatin’ overtax this band’s ability to be tuneful. The rest of the songs I didn’t mention I didn’t mention because they aren’t in the least memorable. So I don’t expect too much. And am rewarded with 4-5 songs that together would have made a fine EP. Under normal circumstances such a record would be a steady 6, but because the best one is so good and the good ones quite good, we will forgive the wheat the chaff and go 7/10.
 
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FogBlueInSanFran said:
First, let’s get this out of the way — I LIKE “Friends.” I watched it for a few seasons. I thought the premise was silly but the actors had good chemistry and often great comic timing. Sure, the guys are generally moany gimps and women slinky neurotic space cadets, and it’s no Bob Newhart Show or Cheers or Seinfeld. But it really was some harmless fun.

This record, darker undercurrents not withstanding, isn’t as good as “Friends” but has a few songs that are quite strong and one IMO that is great. I buy the argument that a reasonable portion is pretty slushy and generic. It’s why I don’t play this record much in an age when I can cut out the best tracks and keep the rest unplayed in the cloud.

What I hear here is REM guitar not as well played, not as creative and 6-10 years too late to matter. But it’s good enough that with snappy hi-hat/snare and a reasonable series of bass lines it gets by more often than not, especially on songs like Allison Road and Until I Fall Away.

But the masterpiece here is Found Out About You, in part because of the terrific schoolboy-obsessive lyrics but, musically, because of the choral harmonies, which for some odd reason only seem employed in this song and the opener Lost Horizons, which I also like. Now I can see the artists being worried that over employing such harmonies might render them one-note, but I think a number of songs here suffer without them.

Hey Jealousy is the big hit and I do enjoy it too, and love the line “If you don’t expect too much from me / You might not be let down”. In fact it neatly summarizes my view of this record. Things like the countrified Cajun Song and Cheatin’ overtax this band’s ability to be tuneful. The rest of the songs I didn’t mention I didn’t mention because they aren’t in the least memorable. So I don’t expect too much. And am rewarded with 4-5 songs that together would have made a fine EP. Under normal circumstances such a record would be a steady 6, but because the best one is so good and the good ones quite good, we will forgive the wheat the chaff and go 7/10.
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I almost included a line in my review along the lines of 'other songs worthy of a mention are Until I fall Away and Allison Road' but felt focusing only on the best and worst songs made a stronger point. I was also going to mention hints of REM, but again, having used a band as a comparison already, went with that less is more approach.

If you've never got there though, I honestly would encourage you to use this week as a prompt to look for time to do a proper deep dive into Del Amitri, while somewhat relevant.

Not sure anyone can be judged for liking Friends either, for all its mediocrity, one of the most popular and among the highest rated shows of all time, and still always on the tv as 'comfort watching' that loads rewatch, whether or not new generations bother. Speaking of such, has nobody else here seen Empire Records? Actually thought you would have!
 
New Miserable Experience - Gin Blossoms
International travel isn't a new experience for me, but at times, it can be miserable.

Thankfully, over than the obvious jetlag and the crying baby in the back of the plane on the way to Iceland for the layover, despite the little sleep, we're not much worse for wear other than monitoring the unfortunate football results on the train out of Manchester to the Northeast. It once had looked so promising too.

Anyways, I can also admit that I got to hear this selection enough over the past 48 hours or so in and out of attempted plane sleep. BBC's "Match of the Day" highlights playing now will have to do for all I take from that match. One difference is I didn't recognize the teams at the top of the label as "AST and PAL" didn't register for me. Then I realized that "AVL and CRY" that NBC uses didn't translate to BBC. Interesting difference now noted.

While I didn't own this specific album as I noticed another predictable "Best of" in my CD collection before departing, I remembered most of these songs from when this came out. Last year, when I was at a summer concert to see Toad The Wet Sprocket, Gin Blossoms was also on the bill and they played 7 songs from this album. Then digging deeper about the band that was on the periphery of what I enjoyed, but wasn't really following like Toad and others of that time, I read more about the sad fate of former lead guitarist Doug Hopkins, fired from the band just as this album was completed and released. I won't go into all the details about his controversial dismissal, other than noting that only worsened his ongoing alcoholism and mental health issues. Hopkins soonafter died by suicide in December 1993 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 32.

On the whole, there were five tracks to me (in this order since Foggy noted ranking them) that were standouts that I recalled fondly, and even credit "Cajun Song" and "Cheatin'" for their ability to break out of the similar sounding alternative, jangle, and pop rock approach that many of the other songs have in common. In listening back through this, those were nice interludes.
  1. "Found Out About You" was the standout Hopkins hit (for me), and as a jangle rock staple of the time, it still works or me today, from the lyrics, vocal delivery, and those unmistakable opening guitar chords. A great song that delves into relationship struggles, jealousy and unfaithfulness, this one always was tops for me in music matching the well crafted lyrics and delivery. Whispers at the bus stop...
  2. "Until I Fall Away" was another song I always gravitated to, in its slow-down and softer vocal approach to relationship issues written by lead singer Robin Wilson. A later hit off this album when pretty much anything was going to be a hit, this one certainly was.
  3. "Hands Are Tied" would take a much more faster and stark approach to a relationship song with a more alternative and jangle guitars sound. This one too was a minor hit from former lead singer and later guitarist Jesse Valenzuela.
  4. "Lost Horizons" the unmistakable opener from Hopkins and later a movie title chronicling his downfall with the band and life, this song pretty much says it all. Drink enough of anything to make this world look new again. I never thought I'd still be here today.
  5. "Hold Me Down" another one of the concert staples, this one suffers a bit for sounding a bit too much like the much overplayed "Hey Jealousy" in its musical hooks. But I prefer this one over the latter.
This was a memorable revisit of this band from that time period when my life and future would be coming more into focus and stability, just a shame it didn't happen for Hopkins in this band. This is a solid 7.5/10 for me in an appreciation to Gin Blossoms for delivering some memorable hits that for the most part, still sounded good after all these years. Thanks to @Mancitydoogle for making this a fun and easier approach when my time will be a bit more limited over the next few weeks. A good thing as the castles along the North Sea await for the immediate future.
 
New Miserable Experience by Gin Blossoms does its best to deliver on its title under cover of some pleasant jangle rock. I'll try and avoid my usual snark noting the history of the band but the clues were all here - Doug Hopkins afflicted by one of the less fun mental illnesses. Hey Jealousy is really all you need to know about his problems. Drunk guy turns up at his ex-girlfriends house and implies he will kidnap her and drive around town being chased by cops whilst she's gagged in the boot/trunk.

The question i'm left with is if our actions and choices cause our mental issues or if we are drawn to certain actions or choices because of our mental condition? The life the band describes for themselves is certainly miserable. Drunk, pining for exes and consulting psychics. Is this a symptom of deteriorating mental health or the cause of it? Sadly for Hopkins he had passed before Jordan Peterson released his 12 Rules For Life unsure whether or not stroking more stray cats would have helped him. To be fair to Hopkins he doesn't seem to be making excuses and doesn't blame the women in his life for his rejections but equally he seems unable to get himself out of the funk he's in.

It is trite to say someone needs to pull themselves together. Hopkins seems to have had the kind of misery that strips a person of all colour and deflates them. Perhaps this is why so many of the songs blend into one. Depression darkens the eyes and causes your gaze to get lower and lower until your staring at your own feet in the dark immune to new experiences except the miserable ones that confirm the lies you believe. When we were little and taking ages to get up and going in the mornings my mum would often tell us to "shape ourselves". Hopkins needed life breathing into his empty skin and some shape given to his life - air replacing the liquid he'd soaked himself in. Being in a band was unlikely to ever give him that.

All in all despite that this was an album I enjoyed. Sure it all sounds pretty similar and even though I got married at 21 and rarely drink this is an album that feels very relatable perhaps just because it sounds so familiar and all the talk of Empire Records has me thinking about Liv Tyler. An easy 6 only missing out on a 7 because it's not challenging enough and they included Cheatin' on it.
 
I was fully aware of the hit single Hey Jealousy and that was one of the better songs on here along with 29 and Found Out About You the most REM type song.
The rest was pretty average and I would add Cajun Song along with Cheatin as the worst songs.
Only a 5 from me I'm afraid

On a side note previous nominations who haven't released anything for a while in Grant Lee Phillips and Josh Ritter release new albums in September and November respectively if anyone wants to see where they've ended up
 
Given that Foggy has already got his revenge for me nicking 1980 on the other thread by nabbing the best line about this album, I’m going to veer off on a tangent — blame @Coatigan 's Del Amitri musings, @Black&White&BlueMoon Town 's Toad the Wet Sprocket nod, @Saddleworth2's Counting Crows reference, and the whole Friends-music debate.

The cliché says Americans are brash and over-expressive, while the British are emotionally repressed. If that’s true, how come there’s this entire flavour of intelligent, emotionally restrained American music—exemplified by the above—that completely dies on its arse over here? To us it often reads as bland, middle of the road. IMO there's a few reasons:
  • Accent matters. Especially with more subtle, emotionally restrained music—Justin Currie sounds familiar, so his melancholy feels authentic.
  • Production polish. UK alt/indie tends to exhibit more roughness round the edges, often political or socially edged. US “alt” can sound so polished it squeaks. Too clean for it's own good to our ears.
  • Cultural cues. “Gentlemen, time please you know we can't serve anymore” is something we understand in our marrow. I’ve never been to Tempe, Arizona, but I’ve been to enough American suburbs to know their version of ‘nothing ever happens’ often comes with heat haze and wide roads that create a sense of space that can be paradoxically suffocating. These different reference points birth different types of songs, there's a reason driving songs are a bigger deal there.
  • Emotional directness. This is the big one IMO. Ignoring clichés, I think it's fair to say Americans tend to be more emotionally direct. Brits, we might not be repressed but we are obtuse. We wrap the emotions in a veil, a dry aside, a raised eyebrow. Or conversely, almost as if in the grip of the inferior, we go big on them. Gin Blossoms are thoughtful, but totally straightforward and completely sincere. There’s no Pulp-style smirk, no Morrissey melodrama, no ambiguity. Just plain melancholy. It's pretty alien to us and to some ears, reads as naïve, or even worse: sentimental.
Thinking of other thread picks, Jimmy Eat World (fellow Arizonans) share some DNA with Gin Blossoms, but they’re easier for a British audience to “get.” They take that earnestness and attach it to something more dynamic and cathartic—tense, heavier guitars, a bit of a Biffy like release. Gin Blossoms ask you to accept something else: melancholy without disguise and without drama. If you don’t make that adjustment to your frame of reference, you’re left hearing “Friends music” in an American accent.

So where does that leave this album? I actually think there's two very different ways of reading it depending on how you take the juxtaposition between the lyrical content and the music.

The more benign version is that, once you shift your frame of reference, the emotional directness is part of the charm. These songs have a softness or gentleness I’ve come to appreciate. It’s catchy, melodic jangle-pop with a summery lilt, but shot through with a wistfulness, even sadness that never tips into angst. The tales of emotional drift, failed relationships, lost loves—they’re there without any artifice or cleverness, but are carried by music that keeps them from collapsing into self-pity.

The much darker reading is that the contrast between the jangle pop and the content is actually pretty disturbing. That reading says the plainspoken melancholy isn't gentle acceptance of what life sometimes throws at you or that it's ok to sit with those feelings. The jangle pop is essentially a mask to hide the numbness, the jealousy and the self-sabotage. the fact that it's done seemingly without angst hints at either resignation or despair or ironically even repressed rage. Maybe this reading doesn't really exist without Doug Hopkins sad story, but whichever way you cut it a track like Found Out About You has a catchily unsettling quality to it which is one of the reasons I think it stands out.

Overall I lean towards the former rather than latter view of what's going on but either way I’m with Doogle in that it’s a pretty consistent album, apart from “Cajun Song” and “Cheatin’” which do let the side down pretty badly imo. I'm probably in a minority of one here but it's sufficiently 'other' in it's approach to it's feeling that I find it almost exotic rather than bland. So that'll be 8/10 from the threads most generous scorer.
 
threespires said:
Given that Foggy has already got his revenge for me nicking 1980 on the other thread by nabbing the best line about this album, I’m going to veer off on a tangent — blame @Coatigan 's Del Amitri musings, @Black&White&BlueMoon Town 's Toad the Wet Sprocket nod, @Saddleworth2's Counting Crows reference, and the whole Friends-music debate.

The cliché says Americans are brash and over-expressive, while the British are emotionally repressed. If that’s true, how come there’s this entire flavour of intelligent, emotionally restrained American music—exemplified by the above—that completely dies on its arse over here? To us it often reads as bland, middle of the road. IMO there's a few reasons:
  • Accent matters. Especially with more subtle, emotionally restrained music—Justin Currie sounds familiar, so his melancholy feels authentic.
  • Production polish. UK alt/indie tends to exhibit more roughness round the edges, often political or socially edged. US “alt” can sound so polished it squeaks. Too clean for it's own good to our ears.
  • Cultural cues. “Gentlemen, time please you know we can't serve anymore” is something we understand in our marrow. I’ve never been to Tempe, Arizona, but I’ve been to enough American suburbs to know their version of ‘nothing ever happens’ often comes with heat haze and wide roads that create a sense of space that can be paradoxically suffocating. These different reference points birth different types of songs, there's a reason driving songs are a bigger deal there.
  • Emotional directness. This is the big one IMO. Ignoring clichés, I think it's fair to say Americans tend to be more emotionally direct. Brits, we might not be repressed but we are obtuse. We wrap the emotions in a veil, a dry aside, a raised eyebrow. Or conversely, almost as if in the grip of the inferior, we go big on them. Gin Blossoms are thoughtful, but totally straightforward and completely sincere. There’s no Pulp-style smirk, no Morrissey melodrama, no ambiguity. Just plain melancholy. It's pretty alien to us and to some ears, reads as naïve, or even worse: sentimental.
Thinking of other thread picks, Jimmy Eat World (fellow Arizonans) share some DNA with Gin Blossoms, but they’re easier for a British audience to “get.” They take that earnestness and attach it to something more dynamic and cathartic—tense, heavier guitars, a bit of a Biffy like release. Gin Blossoms ask you to accept something else: melancholy without disguise and without drama. If you don’t make that adjustment to your frame of reference, you’re left hearing “Friends music” in an American accent.

So where does that leave this album? I actually think there's two very different ways of reading it depending on how you take the juxtaposition between the lyrical content and the music.

The more benign version is that, once you shift your frame of reference, the emotional directness is part of the charm. These songs have a softness or gentleness I’ve come to appreciate. It’s catchy, melodic jangle-pop with a summery lilt, but shot through with a wistfulness, even sadness that never tips into angst. The tales of emotional drift, failed relationships, lost loves—they’re there without any artifice or cleverness, but are carried by music that keeps them from collapsing into self-pity.

The much darker reading is that the contrast between the jangle pop and the content is actually pretty disturbing. That reading says the plainspoken melancholy isn't gentle acceptance of what life sometimes throws at you or that it's ok to sit with those feelings. The jangle pop is essentially a mask to hide the numbness, the jealousy and the self-sabotage. the fact that it's done seemingly without angst hints at either resignation or despair or ironically even repressed rage. Maybe this reading doesn't really exist without Doug Hopkins sad story, but whichever way you cut it a track like Found Out About You has a catchily unsettling quality to it which is one of the reasons I think it stands out.

Overall I lean towards the former rather than latter view of what's going on but either way I’m with Doogle in that it’s a pretty consistent album, apart from “Cajun Song” and “Cheatin’” which do let the side down pretty badly imo. I'm probably in a minority of one here but it's sufficiently 'other' in it's approach to it's feeling that I find it almost exotic rather than bland. So that'll be 8/10 from the threads most generous scorer.
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Well, thank you for explaing to me why I like one band over another, aye! Want to tell me why I prefer fried to boiled gnocci as well mate? ;).

Tbh, enjoyed that, and the only one I disagree with is the accent. For one, Currie sings with a quasi American accent of some fashion, which kinda always did and didn't bother me. But have to say I prefer it to singing in overly stressed/forced British accents. Otherwise, vslid points and observations. Don't think it applies that universally, as there are so many US bands I love. Just no country pish!
 
Coatigan said:
Well, thank you for explaing to me why I like one band over another, aye! Want to tell me why I prefer fried to boiled gnocci as well mate? ;).

Tbh, enjoyed that, and the only one I disagree with is the accent. For one, Currie sings with a quasi American accent of some fashion, which kinda always did and didn't bother me. But have to say I prefer it to singing in overly stressed/forced British accents. Otherwise, vslid points and observations. Don't think it applies that universally, as there are so many US bands I love. Just no country pish!
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I got distracted on the gnocchi front, I meant to answer and was going to start with "When I worked as a Capo Partito for Massimo Bottura....". :-)

Though i was actually referring to aubergines in my post I do agree on the gnocchi anyway. Texture much better than boiled.

Totally agree that my points aren't universal, really just a bit of casual chatting shit on the internet. Music is much too multi dimensional to be as reductive as I was. Infinitely complex and beautifully simple, that's why we love it!
 
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To qualify my 'Friends' music statement. If I ignore the shit acting, the fake set ups and the dire writing and instead aim my ire at the theme tune then it's banal rubbish that hit the charts for what seemed like ages. It spawned a whole new 'nice' genre. At least in my head. Twee. And I fucking hated it.

I know this album predates the tv series and it's God awful song by two years but I'm lumping it in there. Nothing happens. A lot of the songs sound the same and the only reason I knew it was another song was because of the break.

It does nothing for me. My soul has not been lifted, stretched, stamped on or set fire to. You all should know me by now...it's either had a moment in my life or it's grabbed me as though saying..."What do you mean you haven't heard me before, call yourself a fan of music".

This qualifies for neither. In a very big way. I was bored shitless.

2/10

For context...Angel Dust came out in the same year. I wonder what I was listening to?
 
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threespires said:
Given that Foggy has already got his revenge for me nicking 1980 on the other thread by nabbing the best line about this album, I’m going to veer off on a tangent — blame @Coatigan 's Del Amitri musings, @Black&White&BlueMoon Town 's Toad the Wet Sprocket nod, @Saddleworth2's Counting Crows reference, and the whole Friends-music debate.

The cliché says Americans are brash and over-expressive, while the British are emotionally repressed. If that’s true, how come there’s this entire flavour of intelligent, emotionally restrained American music—exemplified by the above—that completely dies on its arse over here? To us it often reads as bland, middle of the road. IMO there's a few reasons:
  • Accent matters. Especially with more subtle, emotionally restrained music—Justin Currie sounds familiar, so his melancholy feels authentic.
  • Production polish. UK alt/indie tends to exhibit more roughness round the edges, often political or socially edged. US “alt” can sound so polished it squeaks. Too clean for it's own good to our ears.
  • Cultural cues. “Gentlemen, time please you know we can't serve anymore” is something we understand in our marrow. I’ve never been to Tempe, Arizona, but I’ve been to enough American suburbs to know their version of ‘nothing ever happens’ often comes with heat haze and wide roads that create a sense of space that can be paradoxically suffocating. These different reference points birth different types of songs, there's a reason driving songs are a bigger deal there.
  • Emotional directness. This is the big one IMO. Ignoring clichés, I think it's fair to say Americans tend to be more emotionally direct. Brits, we might not be repressed but we are obtuse. We wrap the emotions in a veil, a dry aside, a raised eyebrow. Or conversely, almost as if in the grip of the inferior, we go big on them. Gin Blossoms are thoughtful, but totally straightforward and completely sincere. There’s no Pulp-style smirk, no Morrissey melodrama, no ambiguity. Just plain melancholy. It's pretty alien to us and to some ears, reads as naïve, or even worse: sentimental.
Thinking of other thread picks, Jimmy Eat World (fellow Arizonans) share some DNA with Gin Blossoms, but they’re easier for a British audience to “get.” They take that earnestness and attach it to something more dynamic and cathartic—tense, heavier guitars, a bit of a Biffy like release. Gin Blossoms ask you to accept something else: melancholy without disguise and without drama. If you don’t make that adjustment to your frame of reference, you’re left hearing “Friends music” in an American accent.

So where does that leave this album? I actually think there's two very different ways of reading it depending on how you take the juxtaposition between the lyrical content and the music.

The more benign version is that, once you shift your frame of reference, the emotional directness is part of the charm. These songs have a softness or gentleness I’ve come to appreciate. It’s catchy, melodic jangle-pop with a summery lilt, but shot through with a wistfulness, even sadness that never tips into angst. The tales of emotional drift, failed relationships, lost loves—they’re there without any artifice or cleverness, but are carried by music that keeps them from collapsing into self-pity.

The much darker reading is that the contrast between the jangle pop and the content is actually pretty disturbing. That reading says the plainspoken melancholy isn't gentle acceptance of what life sometimes throws at you or that it's ok to sit with those feelings. The jangle pop is essentially a mask to hide the numbness, the jealousy and the self-sabotage. the fact that it's done seemingly without angst hints at either resignation or despair or ironically even repressed rage. Maybe this reading doesn't really exist without Doug Hopkins sad story, but whichever way you cut it a track like Found Out About You has a catchily unsettling quality to it which is one of the reasons I think it stands out.

Overall I lean towards the former rather than latter view of what's going on but either way I’m with Doogle in that it’s a pretty consistent album, apart from “Cajun Song” and “Cheatin’” which do let the side down pretty badly imo. I'm probably in a minority of one here but it's sufficiently 'other' in it's approach to it's feeling that I find it almost exotic rather than bland. So that'll be 8/10 from the threads most generous scorer.
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An excellent and well written review. Quite brilliant in fact. Loved it.
 
New Miserable Experience – Gin Blossoms

Apologies for not being able to delve into the lyrical side of this week’s offering. With my brain fogged up by a late flight back from Barcelona and a more hectic and complicated holiday than 11 nights around a pool might suggest, I’m not in the right frame of mind. I take my hat off to @Black&White&BlueMoon Town for giving New Miserable Experience a good dissection following a two-leg transatlantic jaunt.

There’s enough on this album to keep me happy. “Hey Jealousy” is an upbeat song with plenty of jangle, and the accordion makes “Cajun Song” a fantastic song, especially the bridge halfway through. “Hands Are Tied” brings a satisfying crunch to proceedings and songs like “Found Out About You” and “Allison Road”, whilst not groundbreaking, make for a perfectly pleasant listen.

“Cheatin’” is an example of the kind of country song that I definitely don’t like – straight on-the-nose country with pedal steel is a real turn-off. So I can definitely see why some have called it out.

Earlier in the week, I defended this as being gritty and something above the average. Whilst I still enjoyed it up to the third listen, I can see what others have said about a lot of it sounding samey. But it still gives me a good hit of upbeat jangly pop/rock with enough buzz in the guitars to go with it. It’s nice to have a relatively straightforward offering with no gimmicks and why most of you dullards can’t appreciate a good accordion break I’ll never know. 7/10.
 
Some very good reviews of this already so I will keep this short. I was aware of the history of the band and the suicide of one of the original members and the jangly soft rock/indi pop does hide some dark lyrics. Sadly it didn’t really float by boat, other bands do this type of music better, write the songs better, have better arrangement, instrumentation and vocals. In short they are just more interesting. I didn’t hate it, there was nothing that would make me listen again. The needle barely twitched from a down the middle 5/10.
 
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