Edgeland: your thoughts?

[ultradave]

my initial response - first listen I was very intrigued. second listen - intrigue turned to bliss. I was able to wrap my ears around the bonus tracks (japanese included). some of the tracks are much stronger than that of the regular LP. they're definitely worth the extra.

the two japanese bonus tracks are amazing especially Cascading Light. very different and the vocal manipulation is fantastic. the opening reminded me much of Faxed Invitation. the remixes of Cut Clouds and Slummin' are pretty good as well.

[negative1]

i've given it a quick listen through once with the extra tracks. very interesting, i like the different sounds. there's not so much of an underworld influence on it. which makes it interesting.

more review coming later on, when i listen to it more.

later
-1

[TheBang]

So, you've lived with it for a couple days now? What are your thoughts about it? Track by track? General impressions?

[richardacre]

I've got my copy but still haven't listened to it yet (I got photo 91 out of 150 BTW), because I'm waiting until there're no kids, phone calls and other distractions around first! Should manage it tonight. In the mean time allow me to gratuitously plug my monthly music night in Ipswich, I'm giving away a copy of the Deluxe DVD+CD edition at May's bash :D

http://thedecibelkid.com/switchhop/?1

[kagenaki koe]

it's sounds very british:p

and delicious.

Shadow Boy is currently my favorite on the album

[potatobroth]

how are everyone getting the bonus tracks?

[richardacre]

Bonus tracks are on the CD in the CD/DVD deluxe edition. Listened to the main album last night. Really jarred me at first that they're proper songs and have been produced a bit shiny happy sounding, either the abum got better (and grittier) as it went along or I simply got into the swing of it. Laughed out loud when riding on trains was mentioned, can tell where Karl spends most of his time. Definitely needs listening to again!

[Bargo]

I kinda like it so far, but need a few more listens. There are definitely tracks that stand out for me (Cut Clouds, The Night Slips.., Shadow Boy) that I immediately want to revisit.

It's surprisingly more cheerful than I was expecting. My only exposure prior to listening to the whole thing had been Cut Clouds, so I had rather different expectations of how it was going to sound. Not that it's a bad thing.

The additional tracks on the deluxe edition(s) kinda ruin the whole flow of the album. Sleepless is obviously meant to be an album closer and it really works well as one, but not so much when you have the up-beat Dancing on the graves.. directly afterwards.

The grammatical error of "it's" versus "its" in The Night Slips Us Underneath It's Dress is a bit embarassing given it has managed to make its way through to the official track listing on iTunes, topspin, and other stores without anybody noticing (or maybe they did and no-one cared). My digital version purchased from the UW webstore also misspells "jigsaw" as "jogsaw" in both the file name and ID3 tags. Why these things bother me I have no idea. :o

[TheBang]

The grammatical error of "it's" versus "its" in The Night Slips Us Underneath It's Dress is a bit embarassing given it has managed to make its way through to the official track listing
You are not the only one that it bothers!

[ultradave]

Given Karl's oddity, it's quite possible that the misspelling is intentional. I've noticed many grammatical incompatibilities with some of Karl's lyrics. I've actually grown to find these humorous. :)

[jetpig]

Listened yesterday. I like it quite a bit, vocals are more singy than spoken/sung. Much more mk1 in that sense. Some tracks are gonna need a couple more listens, but that's been the case with the tracks I'd heard before. 'your perfume...' wrecked me. I'd only heard the live warmup video, which is missing the climax of it.

longshot hope: A rick smith remix shows up on a single. That'd make me very happy

[Andrea]

.....The additional tracks on the deluxe edition(s) kinda ruin the whole flow of the album. Sleepless is obviously meant to be an album closer and it really works well as one, but not so much when you have the up-beat Dancing on the graves.. directly afterwards.......
Every time I hear that song it feels like a slap on the face.
But I guess that was just the meaning... speaking of kinky :D
However, I unselected it on my list, just to not spoil the whole experience.

[Dirty Saint]

Have not bought it yet, but was wondering peoples thoughts on the video?

[the mongoose]

Fell asleep watching the video (which I guess is a good thing??) and haven't had time to replay it. Very neat locale and beautiful trashy landscapes....some odd people interviewed...overall very visually pleasing for 480p constraints (55 inch 3DTV you start to get a bit picky about resolution...but this appeared more or less about as sharp as a bluray).

The album:

01 The Night Slips Us Smiling Underneath Its Dress - The first couple of minutes are very offputting upon first listen, but once you've heard it several times and "know" the track, it all gels nicely. One of the best tracks on the album in terms of the instrumentals and overall feel/tone.

02 Your Perfume Was The Best Thing - First thought upon first listen - What the FUCK is this gay ass shit??! I'll never listen to this track, ugh! Now I'm singing along when alone in the dry suana room at the gym or driving in the car. Singing along badly I might add. Great track that just has to grow on you.

03 Angel Café - Liked it somewhat on the first couple of plays but the lyrics felt too cheesy for lack of a better word. Now I really dig the track and I feel it is one of the best on the album. Sugar and sweet things suppress one's immune system and coffee is highly acidic....but a song about healthy alkaline pH water would be boring.:p

04 Cut Clouds - After using ambient UW tracks as the soundtrack to my grandmother's funeral PPT presentation last Sept., I can't help but shake this sort of connection to all that when I listen to this track. Maybe it's the "your wings" part (like an angel) or the "when you were gone" part but it makes me think of her. Wouldn't have been my pick for following Angel Cafe in the album order...it is such a different mood sandwiched between it and Puzzle Fingers.

05 The Boy With The Jigsaw Puzzle Fingers - Best choice for a single and I would say the best overall produced song (didn't say favorite, just the "best"). The lyrics, the delivery, the music, the energy all strike the right balance and click. The ending builds and builds and leaves a good taste in the, um, ears.

06 Slummin' It For The Weekend - Great lyrics, good song. Nothing much more to say. Seems like it wants to go in too many directions and some of the lyric delivery is a bit run-on (on purpose of course but it's just not quite my thing), but in the end a quality tune.

07 Shoulda Been A Painter - Abstract and upbeat with a catchy sound. Some of the lyrics are whiny and a tad annoying on first listen but grow on you as you learn the track more over time.

08 Shadow Boy - Favorite track on the album. They could've put this on an UW album and no one would have complained or noticed it was only Karl. It blends in so much with the work they've done together. Poetic and moody in all the right ways. Great song.

09 Sleepless - Good (not great) album closer...too bad it is not the album closer on the deluxe and japtasitc versions.:D

10 Dancing On The Graves Of Le Corbusier's Dreams - Hated it upon first play but now I love it. Very uplifting and melodic (especially when the 2:30 little background notes start to chime in..). Love the "aaaAAh aaHHHAAHH" parts with Karl's vocals and the energy of the track.

11 Final Ray Of The Sun - Good song but only complaint is that the lyrics are hard to hear against the beat. Def. has a B-side feel to it.

12 Out of Darkness - Kinda "Dirty Epic"-ish in parts and it is really growing on me still.

13 Cascading Light - "TERRIBLE" was my 1st thought when I played it initially. Cheese city, lol. :p But now I've heard it a lot I think it maybe should've been on the standard edition album to mix things up and have some electric, high energy elements. I can see why it didn't make the standard edition due to the departure from the rest of the songs which flow nicely without it.

The remixes are good too.:)

[TheBang]

Fell asleep watching the video (which I guess is a good thing??) and haven't had time to replay it. Very neat locale and beautiful trashy landscapes....some odd people interviewed...overall very visually pleasing for 480p constraints (55 inch 3DTV you start to get a bit picky about resolution...but this appeared more or less about as sharp as a bluray).

The Outer Edges is available in 1080p HD on iTunes UK for £5. Not available in the US store, unfortunately. Maybe after the US release date for Edgeland on Tues?

[Bargo]

I guess the one other thing I'd comment on about the album is that it's kinda neat that lyrics are included in the CD booklet. It was a rather nice surprise given that UW has not really done it since the Mk1 days. I'm interested in Edgeland as much for Karl's lyrics as I am for the music itself, so being able to refer to the booklet for the bits I couldn't quite make out was very welcome.

[Andrea]

...and to top that the DVD gives another dimension.
I got my deluxe edition yesterday and saw it for the first time.
Lovely! Transmits as many feelings as colours and shades on this earth.
The sea pictures between 1:08:54 - 1:09:13 with the music got me fall in love again. So I had to rewind again and again... <3
Beautiful portrayal of the down to earth life.

[ultradave]

I need to make time to watch the video.. it'll keep staring me in the face until I do...

So I gave the LP another listening to the other day whilst driving during a nice light storm - very cloudy... took the urban route and it was whole different experience. Edgeland is definitely motion music.

I'll re-work the tracklisting in a playlist because I just totally feel that "Shoulda Been a Painter' - Shoulda landed on the extras... for me it just kills the flow. Out of Darkness totally works better in that spot for me. It just blends in much better with Shadow Boy (which is a audio-masterpiece btw... :D).