Album Rating: 2.5
No Closer To Heaven's songwriting definitely dials back the pop-punk to a more rock flavor, but I think they found a really nice middleground that sounds pretty unique. Sister Cities sort of continued on this path, but I think most of the songs are a bit threadbare (pun intended)
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Album Rating: 4.5
The 5 album highlights here for me (not to say the remaining tracks aren't solid):
Pyramids of Salt and The Ocean Grew Hands to Hold Me are massive tracks
Raining in Kyoto and Sister Cities I think thread the perfect line between the pop-punk and no closer "rock" established sound
Flowers Where Your Face Should Be is an ideal TWY slower 'lovey' track
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Album Rating: 2.5
Raining in Kyoto is close to being a highlight for me, but the vocals have that melodrama to them that I just can't ignore. Again, usually I love the emotion he brings but here it's...too much. He sounds on the brink of tears.
I really like It Must Get Lonely, We Look Like Lightning, and When the Blue Finally Came/The Orange Grove. I think these form the nucleus of a great album but there's too much elsewhere that doesn't stand out or is actively bad. The Ocean Grew Hands to Hold Me is a song that sounds like it's out of their depth for me. It's a cool idea but the execution is just...not good, in my opinion
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Album Rating: 4.5
Blue Finally Came/The Orange Grove, I agree with this being a highlight for me, but man do I disagree with them being out of their depth on ocean, I thought they nailed it.
"Again, usually I love the emotion he brings but here it's...too much. He sounds on the brink of tears."
I agree with this point, Soupy could dial this back down a bit here. Its like trying to sound like Cigarettes and Saints on every single track when that level of emotion is just not sustainable for a full album.
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Album Rating: 2.5
Absolutely. Cigs and Saints is a career highlight and that level of emotion worked because it was, if I'm remembering correctly, the only instance on that record of his voice working that way (other than maybe Stained Glass Ceilings?). Here, it's like he forgot how to hit the sweet spot he used to and his voice either under or overcompensates
I'll have to give Ocean another listen but I usually skip it when I return to this record because Orange Grove leaves me satisfied
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Album Rating: 4.5
I love the 3 track closer here for sure
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Album Rating: 3.2
new song is an absolute whopper goddamn
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Album Rating: 3.5
The real Madelyn
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Album Rating: 3.2
so wild to hear them competently produced and mixed for the first time in like a decade lmao
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lol yeah man, this album is unlistenable, but looking forward to something that doesn't sound so horrible
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Album Rating: 4.5
'unlistenable' lol
But yeah, excited to be getting new music :-) love the Madelyn callback. Feels relatively safe, but good!
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Album Rating: 3.5
are those... harmonies in the chorus??
"so wild to hear them competently produced and mixed for the first time in like a decade lmao" [2]
Soupy sounds incredible, the drums are wild, the mix is great -- now i'm just hoping whatever album this ends up on brings some variety and dynamic range to the party
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Album Rating: 2.5
holy hell this is already better than everything off Sister Cities lol It sounds incredible!
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Album Rating: 3.5
ooh excited to hear the new song!
this album is definitely far from their best
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Album Rating: 3.5
i think the new song is stylistically similar to Sister Cities, but the better mix just makes it sound much more vibrant
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Album Rating: 2.5
Sister Cities was a fine song, but it sounded like it was for a soundtrack rather than a lead single. There's enough little flourishes going on here that it sounds like a proper introduction to a new era
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Album Rating: 4.0
holy f the new song is the best thing ive heard in a while. HYPED
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Album Rating: 3.5
oh man I'm 20 seconds in and already loving it
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Album Rating: 3.2
MADELYN THE TIDE IS COMIN IN
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Album Rating: 2.5
these lyrics are really depressing lol
It's cool that the artwork uses the same color scheme as TGG. Not sure if NCTH, Sister Cities, and this inevitable album make up another trilogy but it's cool that the color schemes reflect the original trilogy
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