😙

my takes as someone not super invested in BCNR

- this album shares more continuity with Ants than people may care to admit (you can think this is either good or bad)
- somehow the (fairly obvious) themes of this album have been ignored entirely, to the detriment of many a listener's understanding
- the stretch from two horses onwards is great

If I see one more comment about this album being twee or overly cheery without any engagement with the lyrics...

Super invest yourself in that lump of cheese placed on the wooden and metallic looking thing over there love.

Album Rating: 1.5

You can make twee music about brutal or morbid concepts. Twee is a vibe and you're delusional and or pretentious if you don't think they didn't purposefully lean in on that.

Sound vs lyrical dissonance is a very commonly played trope.

Album Rating: 2.8

@clav



good points. I did another spin of this last night in a little discord listening party with some friends while closely following along with the lyrics and, while I agree they add a degree depth, I can't help but feel that the dissonance here is so extreme that it nearly becomes rote.



"Nancy Takes the Night" for example, kinda just feels like cruel for cruelty's sake. I like the themes of malaise and depression on stuff like "The Big Spin" and the title track and think that there are some really solid ideas here, but I don't think they substitute for the depth that's missing here adequetly.



With each successive listen, I have found myself liking this less and being more easily bored/anxious during some of the lulls here. "Nancy" is again the biggest offender here with its overly long and bare intro.



There isn't a lot that I think is outright bad or anything, there's just little consistency between the parts that give me a pulse

oh yeah they've been on that aesthetic for a while now, no denying that

if you disliked ants for that reason it isn't better here lol

it's more that the same dissonance has existed for a while now but it seems to not be considered nearly as much here for whatever reason

Album Rating: 2.8

I think it was quite a bit more graceful on Ants and Bush Hall than here, but you are right . People are more focused on the sound than that aspect

@odal fair enough yeah, that's a totally understandable take and there are definitely some slow moments

Is this the first time a main windmill band made an album without a terrible vocalist

Album Rating: 3.5

black midi guy is a good vocalist I would say

Geordie Greep? back when I used to listen to Schlagenheim, Greep's voice was easily my least favorite thing about it

Album Rating: 1.0

they already did that because Issac exists

The new vocalist is completely uninteresting. I guess she is technically “okay” but without any distinctive characteristics / personality. I don’t like their new sound generally, yet it wasn’t impossible to pull off with a more engaging vocal performance

Album Rating: 3.5

The old guy just kinda got put on so high of a pedestal methinks

I may have been more neutral if it wasn't like "oh hes the voice of genz and one of the best to ever do it" in the fandom

Album Rating: 1.5

Did they really do that? He was like alright.

Album Rating: 3.5

I have a really hard time picturing anyone saying that

Album Rating: 3.5

because no one did

Album Rating: 3.5

"The new vocalist is completely uninteresting."



BCNR has more than one vocalist now

Album Rating: 1.0

different shades of the same grey, although admittedly I thought they were just "accompanying" the main lead vocalist, which I'm assuming is this Georgia lass (just viewing the credits, heck there are A LOT of credits here)

I'm not listening to this again to find out more

'I may have been more neutral if it wasn't like "oh hes the voice of genz and one of the best to ever do it" in the fandom'
I have literally never heard or seen anyone say this lol

Album Rating: 1.5 | Sound Off

I wonder if the release cycle will bury this a bit now of if this will have AOTY potential for the established fans…