[dubman]

who said they were out of ideas? they're stuffed with them. they're excited, they're bounding with enthusiasm, it just sometimes works and sometimes doesnt.

bird 1 - seemed more substantial live, like theyve translated its darkness into something more quiet. it's good, though i expected it to be more.. insistent. 7

always loved a film – decent-i-guess. anyone remember when this was full of anxiety, a bit disjointed? now i'm being asked if i can feel heaven. egh. if we're gonna get cheesy though, this is an okay way to do it. Shit guitar break though. 6

scribble - still terrible. hate the beat, and the riff is a headache. meaningless. sometimes you dont appreciate things until they're gone and to hear YDS turn into this is just awful. it's not an embarrassment though, just something i hate. 2.5

hamburg hotel – this is good. I agree with the 90s vibe and its ‘incompleteness’ doesn’t bother me. It’s them having a go to what the kids are up to in their own way. Wouldn’t get anyone excited but appreciated for where it is. 7

grace. There was nothing wrong with telematic’s beat and it was a lot better than what’s here. Nonetheless I think it’s a good egg. It’s nice when karl let’s the words talk instead of the voice. Unlike a lot of this album, there’s nothing to get used to here. I think I might get bored of it pretty soon. 6

between stars – I think this is their most successful grab at outward-uw-pop for this album. Feels shorter than it is, and I like how the vocals nearly get drowned out because what words I can hear sound completely ridiculous. So the shouting is all left to mirror the noise of the song, and his delivery is excellent. Exciting! Some bits strike me as a tad stupid as expected for a song like this but I really don’t care right now. Better on headphones, you feel saturated. 8.5

diamond jigsaw – the second in the 1-2 punch of pop done right for them. That stupid fucking guitar threatens to upend everything into technoshitrock nonsense but it’s quickly assimilated into what works and karl is again on fire, plus the lyrics don’t sound half bad this time. 7.5

moon on water – the purpose of this one still escapes me. It’s a slowburn, it’s rich, it’s a bright light, it does nothing for me at all. I don’t even get mad at it, I don’t feel a goddamned thing here. like chemical brothers today: music that seems to exist purely because it’s what happened. Dry hole. 4

Louisiana – the wavering vocal already got the wary eye from me but I took it on its own terms, I liked the piano, the words were great, this was going to be a warm little send off. Oh but then the beat. That beat. Fucking ridiculous. Ruined. 3

Simple Peal – I dunno about you guys, but rick is pretty decent at capturing the ambient noises in your head when you simply sit back and experience life happening around you. Steady pulses, tones, a bit of peace, hearing something then quietly repeating it to yourself. Doesn’t fit on the album but who gives a fuck. Glad it’s here. 7.5

The cruel average of numbers has me rating this a 5.9 but I feel like it’s more of a 7. The album shows what theyre going for, they made a decent crack at it, and it’s another angle to a restless band always trying to create more. Still an apologist slant for what would be something I’d toss if it were done by others (because at the end of the day I wouldn’t care if I never heard ‘between stars’ from anyone else), but I really thought this was going to be the one that I didn’t care about. I’d hear it once, get back to what I was doing, and shake the dust from the kind of fanboyism that listens to an album he only likes half of a bunch of times. nooope. I may be mixed on this but they’re still grabbing me because it’s their trajectory and it’s still interesting. I think I’ve listened to it through about 7 times since yesterday and I’m still totally fine with it. I expected something pretty bad, and got something decent, so I’m happy.