Album Rating: 2.5

People keep confusing butthurt with legitimate criticism regarding the simplification of their song structuring and the lack of any true power in their performances. I honestly don't want them to return to their old sound because they'd probably butcher it.



You're allowed to love it, I'm allowed to think it's lacking, especially compared to their previous potential.

Album Rating: 5.0

Quickly changed my opinion - Monochrome (Pensive) is slowly bursting through as my favorite Contortionist track. The full weight of the album just hit me. Usually I think it's pretentious to ask of longer song lengths from bands, but I think they shine when they give themselves room to breathe and explore the scenes they create.

Album Rating: 5.0

I'm feeling overwhelmed with both the 1st and this one...I've been digging on some Prog metal scene bands (BTBAM; Last chance) and this guys just sound different...amazing album

Album Rating: 3.5

jesus this has grown on me. I'm borderline 4.5 on this and Language didn't exactly blow me away when I originally spun it.

Album Rating: 4.5

I knew this one was a grower ;)

more like clairevoyance AMIRITE GUYS HA
guys? GUYS?!?

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Guys, I cracked the code. I kept trying to get more into this in the past month or so after a fleeting honeymoon period, to no avail. I loved a few of the songs, but the rest wasn't doing a lot for me.

So last night I whipped out a foldout chair 2 feet from my turntable, set all the lightbulbs in the basement to neon purple, took some gargantuan bong chops, finished my glass of shitty white rum, and closed my eyes. I then let the whole record play on my relatively-good speaker system. Stereo speakers turned inwards, whole setup 2-3 feet from my head.

I'm sure I would have looked like a fucking idiot, tapping along and bobbing my head around, eyes closed. My dog was staring at me, concerned, the whole time. But it finally resonated with me!

There was something...different. Something you get out of a record when you're not looking at song titles, at your progression through the current track, or your time into the record as a whole. It works especially well with a record like this, which was clearly meant to be listened to as a whole. When you're staring at the track listing, you're compartmentalizing the themes, waiting for a chorus, anticipating a melodic peak you've already heard 100 times, remembering what the music video looked like, or remembering which track was a single, etc, so on and so forth.

Man, I was so out of it and so immersed that I couldn't remember song titles for the life of me. Or, I didn't even stop to think of them. It was just one long composition. I suddenly appreciated the atmospheric breaks, which I didn't before. I noticed a lot more detail than when I listened with my high-quality over-ears. I'm not sure why. The production seemed richer. This is also in part to picking-up stereo panning details that were flattened by a headphone experience, somehow(?).

Top it all off with that warm, full sound you get from vinyl (but not necessarily more detailed), and it was like I was hearing this thing for the first time. Everything felt richer, more impassioned.

I just adore when something resonates with me like this. This is the reason I listen to music. Hell, the reason I smoke pot is to enhance my music, and it once again paid off in spades.

So, in closing, I can only make assumptions from those studio videos we saw some months ago. Did a few of them not looked baked out of their fucking trees? They had to have written this under some sort of influence. Because listening to this in the frame of mind in which it was written or recorded has upped the enjoyment tenfold. 10/10, would do again.

Literally every time I see the members of this band in videos/interviews/etc, they look high as fuck. If that's the state of mind you need to be in to enjoy their last 3 albums then each disc should come with a free miniature bong.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

It does make it a more immersive & cohesive experience, definitely.



But then again, I've rarely listened to their stuff sober. I think, hope, that the biggest factor of the change was just listening on vinyl with zero distractions, no phone, no computer, etc.

Album Rating: 4.5

Or maybe the album is just good

Anyways im happy you managed to eventually get some enjoyment out of it

Album Rating: 4.0

Agreed with Nomos. Full-throttle.

Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off

if this wasn't so focused on being pretty and actually gave out some energy I might just give a damn

I second that statement Toondude. There are moments where it feels like there's promise, but it falls flat.

Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off

I just wish the whole album was more like Godspeed, that's a legitimately good song

I actually liked the lead single, because it did the smooth atmosphere well, almost everything else was just dull.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Yeah Godspeed is the highlight for me. If the whole record sounded like that, I'd be 5ing that shit

Album Rating: 2.5

Yeah this doesn't really do anything for me.

Album Rating: 4.5

Return To Earth dull? are you guys listening to the same album?

I think the closer on this might be my favorite song of the year. beautiful vocal melodies, builds amazingly, gr8 outro. mmmmmmm

With weed this would be a 4.5, agreed Nomos