Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

"Great review. I can totally relate to the feeling of "is this nostalgia goggles or actually that damn good" - basically any album I rated highly last Spring around the birth of my son."



cheers man! yeah Schmaltz will always hold a special place in my heart due to the circumstances surrounding its release but then this album came along during just another week of my life and somehow floored me in the same way. basically I'm convinced I would have still connected with Schmaltz in a major way had it been released during a different chapter in my life. band just hits all the right notes with me. I do think you'll enjoy this one more than Schmaltz - has a bit more of an epic Titus Andronicus feel to it at times!



"that is political ;)"



haha. yeah I guess I'll try to reword that sentence when I have a chance. the point I wanted to convey was it's a nice change of pace from the albums coming out that feel almost "entirely" geared towards Trump. that topic's starting to feel like beating a dead horse but I found it much easier to relate to this album with my day-to-day life

am i the only one that thinks the vocal delivery got worse on this one? he does that quivering thing with his voice to end basically every line on the album. still enjoying this though, just not as much as Schmaltz

Album Rating: 3.0

being unemployed is making this album strike a lot of cords for me

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

Great to see you overcome your writer's block, with this excellent review of an outstanding album.

Pumped to see these guys in 3 weeks!!!!

Album Rating: 2.5

Something about this band just doesn't seem sincere to me the same way others in this genre do. Also its whiny in a bad way ... I havnt quite decided how much I like this. I think I enjoyed Schmaltz a bit more.

Album Rating: 4.5

"dolores" kills me, those lyrics are so evocative

Album Rating: 3.0

This is like Schmaltz Extended Edition Director's Cut. Not that it's bad, it's just...more.

Edit: This is how I felt about The Wonder Years' Sister Cities.

Album Rating: 4.0

2nd listen this morning mostly held up, more moments stood out but I kind of wish these guys had a bigger bag of tricks when it came to writing vocal melodies. Like all the songs are technically different but they all go up and down in very similar ways and it ends up feeling more samey than it really should. Still phenomenal in most other regards but yeah

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

another winner from these guys. nothing on here hits me as hard as 'buffalo, buffalo' or 'the boy considers his haircut' but that could change with time. agree that there's a bit of a 'samey' quality to the vocal melodies that didn't seem as prevalent on Schmaltz

Album Rating: 4.0

Right there with you Ebola. On my third listen and it's awesome, but it doesn't quite have those moments that hit like Boy Consideres His Haircut or Joana in Five Acts. Still getting used to change in chorus style; Schmaltz's chorus felt naturally anthemic, while some of the choruses on here feel a bit more artificially anthemic, like they want to make the listener feel like they need to sing along, especially the tracks that weren't releasedas singles. Schmaltz felt natural in that regard. That's a bit nitpicky, though. Overall, really enjoyable album that had to follow up a truly amazing album, which is never easy. Still hoping to catch these guys again. They put on a great show.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

would love to see them live. i'm gonna be out of town when they come to houston later this month, unfortunately

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Spanish Love Songs live is fucking immense

Album Rating: 4.5

holy shit opening track is amazing



this gonna be good

Album Rating: 2.5

I am so hyped that they are touring with The Wonder Years, should be the perfect two together

Album Rating: 4.0

Need to listen to more Wonder Years. Listened to Sister Cities a couple times and really liked it. These guys together should be great. Saw them with, actually I don't even remember who they were touring with...

Album Rating: 4.0

schmaltz is the better album



but this is still excellent stuff. production is improved and it’s more structured



they need to really branch out on their next one, i’d like to see longer songs with some more variety in the writing

Album Rating: 4.0

if schmaltz is their otip this is their rented world

Album Rating: 4.5

"2nd listen this morning mostly held up, more moments stood out but I kind of wish these guys had a bigger bag of tricks when it came to writing vocal melodies. Like all the songs are technically different but they all go up and down in very similar ways and it ends up feeling more samey than it really should. Still phenomenal in most other regards but yeah"



exactly how i feel about it



if this was more diverse i'd slap a hard 5



def like this significantly more than schmaltz. though that album has a nicer cover

Album Rating: 4.5

Goddammit, I'm going to chuck my review in the bin - you've hit the nail on the head here



This album resonated so hard it broke me

Album Rating: 4.5

"has a bit more of an epic Titus Andronicus feel to it at times!"

dropping everything I'm doing, in this case