|
Staff
Reviews 84
Soundoffs 76
News Articles 19
Band Edits + Tags 178
Album Edits 245
Album Ratings 2359
Objectivity 65%
Last Active 01-03-23 11:21 pm
Joined 06-03-16
Review Comments 26,081
| Neek's 1st Listen: Republic of Wolves' "Shrine"
You know how it do | | 1 |  | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
The Canyon:
Okay thanks to Sowing I have really high expectations so here we go. So far I’m digging the bass and guitar chiming, super pretty. Oh damn that kicked in nicely. Very edgy lyrics so far, but honestly I probably won’t be listening to them much. Not super into the screamed vocals but the heavy/soft dynamic is well played so far here musically. The guitar sound is so layered I love it. Yeah the vocals going back and forth in the chorus isn’t really selling it to me but otherwise I dig this song a lot. OOH damn those wind chimes or whatever are nice, almost lullaby-like. The more lovely bridges like this the better tbh. This is reminding me a bit of that Citizen album honestly, though obviously this is a bit more dense. There’s a simplicity to the riffs that’s really nice. I definitely hear the Brand New influence in the torrtured vocals too. I wasn’t blown away by this track but I can see it growing on me the more I listen and it’s definitely leaving me intrigued. 8+/10 | | 2 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Bask:
Well that kicked in alright, no idea what to make of this yet. This verse melody is really nice though, I’m just still reeling from the opening. The chorus on this one is a lot cooler too, if more simple. AND THE GUITAR COMEDOWN yasssss. Okay it was too short so now I feel stupid but it was nice. “Spare me/Spare me.” This reminds me of like a more evolved cut of Daisy or something, I’m definitely liking this one more than the last. The vocals are a lot more interesting this time around, and the music is backing it up easily. And the gang vocalssssss come in with perfect timing! This one is fucking epic, makes the opener look a bit lame by comparison. And the acoustic closer goddamn I wish it were longer. 8.5+/10 | | 3 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Sundials:
Much more conventional start this time around, still fascinating guitar stuff going on in the background. I think that’s my favorite bit about this album so far. Ehhhhh the vocals on this track sound like every other Brand New-y pop-punk band I’ve ever heard though. So far this one isn’t grabbing me too much. Lemme just listen for a sec. The toned-down bridge is really nice though, I’ll give it that. I just wish the rest of the song was as captivating. Yeah this chorus does nothing for me. Is every song here gonna end with some random little musical tidbit? 7.5-/10 | | 4 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Birdless Cage:
Country-esque guitars, dare I say? I’m intrigued. Liking the vocals here too. There’s a lot more going on in the background too that I like, it’s just hard to describe. It’s very simple but full sounding, like a Phoebe Bridgers song. Oh the dual vocals sound kinda weird but a dig them. And the drums/guitar come in so nicely, got a dreamy Viva la Vida sound to them. This song is really so nice so far. I kinda love it I think, we’ll see how it goes. I can’t wait to come back to the lyrics here. AND STRINGS yesss this one is for me alright. I think this moment is what the album needed at this point. Man this thing just keeps on throwing in new things, and it’s all just lovely. The piano too! “I’ll be fine if we never wake up from this,” the music around this point is just heavenly goddammit. I don’t want it to end. Hopefully we can keep this quality up. 9-/10 | | 5 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Mitama:
I don’t know if I liked that loud Archers-style guitar screech at the end of the last one but whatever, it worked as a good transition into this one. So far this one feels like a bit more of the same, but there’s a slight edge to the guitar melody I’m digging. It’s a bit darker sounding than it lets on. There’s a lot of tension here in an otherwise pretty song. Oh yeah this is kinda funky honestly. The harsher vocals work here better, I really like the build of this song. It just getting heavier as it goes, and it feels totally natural, especially after the last track. The solo here sounds really purposeful here to, moreso than Sundials. And the comedown after is lovely, fuck. Love how this one subverted my expectations. Ends on a beautiful note as well. 8.5+/10 | | 6 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Dialogues:
Ooooooh, a long’un huh? Exciting. Let’s see what we can do here. Yeah those guitars crashing in was hella nice, but let’s see what’ll set this one apart from the rest. That spacey guitar sound in the verses might do it alright. I love how much these guys build atmosphere with their guitars, I just wish they could do more with the vocals too (like on the last track). The choruses on here aren’t great yeah, but they go to some cool places once they get going. Okay here we go, the part that justifies the length. Loving the funky sound here, it’s pretty strange yet really natural. And the acousticccc thank you. Some weird chiming in the background but it works. Vocals sound really naked now, it’s nice I’ll admit. I feel like the guitars keep wanting to crash back in but the song won’t let it. | | 7 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
(cont'd)
Oh there they go. Okay, it definitely worked though. Yeah I’m not blown away by this one either but it’s pretty damn great, so far the length works well. The Brand New sound is a little too evident imo, but otherwise it works well. Are we just gonna have ambient noises for the last minute? No, some piano okay. What is this, Empiricist? Lmao who am I kidding, that’s my favorite song of the year so I’m not complaining. 8.5-/10 | | 8 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Northern Orthodox:
Okay time for a loud comeback right? Pretty cliche if they do it but they kinda got to. So far it could go either way. I really dig this album but it just doesn’t seem to have it’s own unique voice to justify a super high rating, but I guess we’ll see. There are some amazing songs here, but also some that just don’t stand out sonically to me. Including this one. This could just be a b-side from Science Fiction, which is cool and all, but yknow. They aren’t Brand New. That being said, this is still really good goddammit. I mean, it’s kinda a ripoff, but a ripoff of something I enjoy fantastically. So there’s that. It’s conflicting :c Let’s just see what they do with this last minute. Cool riff. Cool backing guitar. Vocals come back in. Pretty great, fuck. 8+/10 | | 9 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Colored Out:
I need something really different and unique to make something pop late album. And this song doesn’t really seem up to the task. The usual cool guitar stuff is happening, but that’s to be expected so far. Love how atmospheric the guitar is though, but not much else seem to be helping it out. The vocals melodies are all great too, they just aren’t standing out from the pack. Goddammit gimme something. I want to love you. Let me love you. Be weirder. Be new. (I finished writing that two minutes before the song ended but nothing changed. The outro’s pretty nice though.) 7.5+/10 | | 10 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Ore:
Okay that’s pretty cool. Will this be the one? I need the one. Again the guitar’s saving this, but will other things happen? The vocals are even a bit different here. There’s something venomous going on with this one that’s pretty cool. It’s got a cool thing going, but the choruses aren’t really doing anything with it. The verses are really neat though. I feel like more was supposed to happen with this but it didn’t. Oh the outro is really cool so far though. Oh now it’s just another chorus, nevermind. 7.5+/10 | | 11 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
Worry If You Want (Yume):
Digging the acoustic stuff again, I feel like their sound is a bit more exciting when they play it a little softer. It sounds a bit less BN-derivative. But of course the vocals are just doing their same old thing. If someone told me this was Jesse Lacey’s side project I wouldn’t be surprised, because the guitars are the only thing that are exciting me now. The drums aren’t doing much either. I do like the female backing vocals though, those are pretty sweet. Don’t get me wrong, I really like this. Like a lot. It’s just not grabbing me as much as I wish it would because it’s just not as unique as I wish it were. | | 12 | | The Republic of Wolves
Shrine
(cont'd)
I’m loving this mid-song break though. I want to call it a bridge but I hope it isn’t, I hope it’s just a whole new thing. I feel like it’s only really neat because the singer isn’t doing anything. It’s building to something, probably just another lame chorus. Oh nevermind, it’s more instrumental shit, fuck yeah. Heh, that little hiccup caught me off guard. Man this is awesome. No more singing please? Let’s just jam out until this is over because this is actually pretty damn fascinating. Fuck yeah, almost there guys you got this. Alright, that was a pretty satisfying closer. I’ll be damned. 8+/10 | |
neekafat
03.28.18 | Sowing personally asks me to do a write-up and it manages to be the worst thing I've written in quite some time
Oh well :c | Sowing
03.28.18 | Haha I was just curious what you thought but I love this. I always enjoy reading your tbt first takes. So what's your overall score? | JustJoe.
03.28.18 | Pos'd hard. This is what track-by-track reviews wish they were. But, alas . . . | neekafat
03.28.18 | Thanks guys!
On first listen probably a 4.1 or 4.2, which of course isn't bad, I just thought the second half was a bit of a letdown | bgillesp
03.28.18 | This makes me want to listen to the album more than Sowings review tbh. It was a great review but I'm always skeptical of his 5s | butcherboy
03.28.18 | about time one of these got featured.. always liked this series.. | neekafat
03.29.18 | Oh damn, thanks for the feature!
Haha appreciate it bgill, I didn't think it was as great as he did but it's definitely worth checking out! | neekafat
03.30.18 | Weird that everyone always tells me how much they like these but no one seems to read them :c | xAshtrayux
03.31.18 | I'm just a sputnik nobody but I really enjoyed this write-up.
| neekafat
03.31.18 | Hey that means a lot to me man! Glad you liked it c: | JustJoe.
03.31.18 | Everybody's a sputnik somebody! | neekafat
03.31.18 | [2] < 3 | neekafat
04.01.18 | I'm mostly just glad this one's getting a few comments | JustJoe.
04.01.18 | I would contribute more, I'm so bad at actually listening to music & staying on topic. |
|
