After the initial blast of honesty and "ohmygod i love atmosphere!1!" wore off, this has really become quite a disappointment. Yeah, the record is fucking "real", and some of the songs really touch a nerve. Thing is, a lot of it is tripe. "The Last to Say" is a stunning song, and if even most of the album had been in a similar vein, this would be so much better. Unfortunately, most of its more akin to "Bad Bad Daddy". Being pretty cheesy has always been a pretty big part of Atmosphere, but here it overwhelms. "im a bad bad daddy, im a bad bad daddy". Are you, fucker?
Some good songs, but overall it doesn't really grab my attention. Atmosphere have strayed far from their comfort zone, and it seems to detract more than reward. Slug's lyrics and perspective on things keeps it interesting for me, as he is still a masterful storyteller.
The Family Sign could have been much better if only Atmosphere used a bit more quality control when
narrowing down the tracks for the record. Slug continues to be the superb storyteller that he's always been
and his flow is as smooth as ever, while the continuation of the live band sound they implemented on When
Life Gives You Lemons is once again pulled off well and adds to the record overall, but a few songs (more
specifically Bad Bad Daddy) hold the record back from being one of the best Atmosphere releases yet.
