There's some really really good lines throughout but overall I kinda agree

LOVE how that bass creeps up at the start of Dinosaur.

the production is yes

there's a ton of great little moments

I find the electronics and most of the stuff going back of the mix are more interesting than the songs themselves

Slightly disappointed with Dinosaur, but the record overall is more than great

Album Rating: 3.0

2 songs in and I'm wondering why tf they chose Keel Timing and Bed Head as singles

Opener is amazing agreed

Album Rating: 3.0

OK first half is nothing short of stellar, singles flows incredibly well indeed (Bed Head especially). Second half drags a little with all the slow and acoustic songs but I guess it'll grow on me.

Another good one from the boys

"Slightly disappointed with Dinosaur" What the fuck is wrong with you? idiot.

"you're inaudible, thrown away like an audible"

haha

Album Rating: 3.0

This is not horrendously disappointing so far.

Checking hopefully tonight, very, very hyped.

Album Rating: 4.0

counting Down the hours till i get home from work so i can hear this. Actually most hyped for the folk portion of the album yall been talking about

Very nice review, excited to check this

Album Rating: 4.5

If you go into this expecting Black Mile Part II, you will be sorely disappointed by the lack of Straight-Up Bangers. But it's a gorgeous record.



In a lot of ways it doesn't sound like a Manchester Orchestra record. Hull's approach to melody feels different, less tangible. His lyrical style is similarly more abstract. The atmospheres are dense and layered. There is no "Simple Math" centrepiece on the album.



I'm on my fourth listen and couldn't give it a rating yet. It stands apart from the rest of this band's catalogue. The absolute antithesis to Cope. "Cinematic" doesn't cut it. The Silversun Pickups references have some weight to them. It's more thoughtful, more pensive, more meandering. But it's really really good.

Album Rating: 4.0

hmm okay on first listen this is p nice, will need some more time to figure out what i think of it n piece it together ig

Album Rating: 3.7

I agree with your points Knott but they may have kinda brought the Black Mile 2 thing on them in this case haha. all the lyrical and melodic callbacks, announcing the album during a Black Mile livestream - honestly been hard to approach this as its own standalone work

Album Rating: 5.0

My case for calling this Black Mile's sibling: lyrical callbacks (especially to 'The Mistake'), the use of children’s voices during/in between songs, thematic links to 'The Silence' (especially on 'Dinosaur'), structural similarities (elated opener, lush acoustic trio at core, epic and gradually ascending closer), sleek/shimmering production (although as many have pointed out it may be even prettier/busier here, depending on your perspective), and the fact that the band themselves said they set out to emulate ABTTS' layout but this time make it more cinematic, more fluid/cohesive, and more fully realized (paraphrasing here). I definitely agree that it's not as populated with straight up bangers (Bed Head, Dinosaur are probably the most identifiable although Obstacle is something in its own right), and I wish there was more use made of electric guitar myself, which is why this resides a slight tier before ABTTS for me. Still, I can definitely appreciate the softer tones they utilized here, particularly the pianos on Annie - what a stunner, definitely my favorite song here. I'm still trying to decide if I like this better than Simple Math, which is a close call. Overall it's Black Mile to the Surface reaching the surface and realizing it's not all darkness and agony. Those tortured philosophical questions remain, but there's a glimmer of light shed upon them now, a level of hope that's reflected in the album's brighter tone and aesthetic.

Album Rating: 4.5

Oh yeah, agreed, they've definitely pushed that angle. But people should probably just be clear before they go in, not to expect anything like Lead or The Wolf on here. It's much less of a Rock Album. The callbacks to Black Mile are clearly there and if conceptually it's related then that's cool (I haven't gotten into the lyrics yet, Sowing sort of pasted the whole lyrics book into these comments). But musically it's a totally different beast.

Album Rating: 3.7

my impression is that it does carry on the literal narrative of Black Mile, but like how that album was really about the birth of Andy's daughter at the core, this is kinda really about Robert's dad passing at the core. but I haven't sifted the lyrics with a fine-toothed comb yet myself (would help if Bandcamp would fucking release my download already, jesus)

Album Rating: 5.0

The lyrics seem a bit cryptic at first but the more you obsess over them the more things crystallize. Musically it's a step towards electronic rock/pop and folk, and it's bit more cinematic (a detractor might argue performative, but they've always been, so whatever). I still think this isn't all *that* different from Black Mile and Simple Math in terms of overall production and aesthetic, just feels like the next chapter musically.