the raytownian
Member
Well, I'm done with my first initial listen...
I didn't expect them to rely so heavily on the Spanish influence throughout the album, but I think it helps to make the whole thing seem a good deal more cohesive. It's a weird mix of those Spanish influences and really synthetic instrumentation and dense, reverby production that seems to be willfully 80's-sounding. I did not intend to write such a long spiel on so much of the album, but I find myself enjoying a lot of these songs enough to think they deserve a bit of exposition. I originally wrote about more of the songs before deciding I'd babbled too much already. These are just my top picks for discussion, though not necessarily my favorites so far.
"I'm Not a Man"... What an odd song. I don't know how I feel about it yet. While I can really identify with the concept, some of the lyrics and musical transitions are pretty clumsy and well below Morrissey's standards. I will say that I really like the weird melo-industrial screaming freakout near the end. Seems weird for Morrissey, but it suits my (lack of) musical taste just fine, with or without him.
"Istanbul"... It's already been discussed in plenty of positive terms. IDK if there's anything I can add that hasn't already been said. It should go without saying that I like it alot.
"Staircase at the University" strikes me as being a total pastiche of early 90's Morrissey up until the horns come in. There's really no better way I know how to describe it, but that's just fine by me. As some of you probably know, I am a big fan of his early 90's output. I love the woodwind sounds.
"Bullfighter..." has a lot in common with "Staircase". I really like this song. It seems to me like the perfect mixture of everything I loved about Kill Uncle and ROTT. I've been getting the chorus stuck in my head off and on since I first heard it.
"Oboe Concerto"... Oh, man! This is great. Tuneful but emotional. A total bummer in the best way. Interesting soundscape, and that oboe solo makes me feel like I'm listening to the Cheers closing theme (as cathartic an experience as any sitcom theme ever could be).
"Julie in the Weeds" continues the strange textural juxtaposition of acoustic instrumentation and cold, blown-out VSTi swishes and wobbles... Very "trippy" in a way that induces a feeling more akin to dream-like wonderment than of being grotesquely, decadently "chill". I'm willing to even say this has a late-era Cocteau Twins vibe.
Now for the mediocre-to-poor songs...
"Neal Cassidy Drops Dead". Those crunchy guitars do nothing for me. They just seem so bland and tuneless and... LOUD! I like plenty of "crunchy", guitar-driven Moz tunes, but this isn't one of them.
"WPINOYB". Ham-fisted-as-f*** lyrics bring this song way, way down. I am very happy to say I've liked everything else (except maybe NCDD) much better. It has its moments, but it's about a 70/30 split between garbage and gold.
I have to say--with quite a level head--that I have a very good first impression of this album. For the time being, I think I have to go with "Istanbul" as my favorite, but I've had a lot more time to let it sink in, so that might change after I've heard the other songs some more. Right now, I'd say "Staircase" is a close second.
I didn't expect them to rely so heavily on the Spanish influence throughout the album, but I think it helps to make the whole thing seem a good deal more cohesive. It's a weird mix of those Spanish influences and really synthetic instrumentation and dense, reverby production that seems to be willfully 80's-sounding. I did not intend to write such a long spiel on so much of the album, but I find myself enjoying a lot of these songs enough to think they deserve a bit of exposition. I originally wrote about more of the songs before deciding I'd babbled too much already. These are just my top picks for discussion, though not necessarily my favorites so far.
"I'm Not a Man"... What an odd song. I don't know how I feel about it yet. While I can really identify with the concept, some of the lyrics and musical transitions are pretty clumsy and well below Morrissey's standards. I will say that I really like the weird melo-industrial screaming freakout near the end. Seems weird for Morrissey, but it suits my (lack of) musical taste just fine, with or without him.
"Istanbul"... It's already been discussed in plenty of positive terms. IDK if there's anything I can add that hasn't already been said. It should go without saying that I like it alot.
"Staircase at the University" strikes me as being a total pastiche of early 90's Morrissey up until the horns come in. There's really no better way I know how to describe it, but that's just fine by me. As some of you probably know, I am a big fan of his early 90's output. I love the woodwind sounds.
"Bullfighter..." has a lot in common with "Staircase". I really like this song. It seems to me like the perfect mixture of everything I loved about Kill Uncle and ROTT. I've been getting the chorus stuck in my head off and on since I first heard it.
"Oboe Concerto"... Oh, man! This is great. Tuneful but emotional. A total bummer in the best way. Interesting soundscape, and that oboe solo makes me feel like I'm listening to the Cheers closing theme (as cathartic an experience as any sitcom theme ever could be).
"Julie in the Weeds" continues the strange textural juxtaposition of acoustic instrumentation and cold, blown-out VSTi swishes and wobbles... Very "trippy" in a way that induces a feeling more akin to dream-like wonderment than of being grotesquely, decadently "chill". I'm willing to even say this has a late-era Cocteau Twins vibe.
Now for the mediocre-to-poor songs...
"Neal Cassidy Drops Dead". Those crunchy guitars do nothing for me. They just seem so bland and tuneless and... LOUD! I like plenty of "crunchy", guitar-driven Moz tunes, but this isn't one of them.
"WPINOYB". Ham-fisted-as-f*** lyrics bring this song way, way down. I am very happy to say I've liked everything else (except maybe NCDD) much better. It has its moments, but it's about a 70/30 split between garbage and gold.
I have to say--with quite a level head--that I have a very good first impression of this album. For the time being, I think I have to go with "Istanbul" as my favorite, but I've had a lot more time to let it sink in, so that might change after I've heard the other songs some more. Right now, I'd say "Staircase" is a close second.
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