They did record all of this to 16-track tape and it was mentioned somewhere how they embraced that limitation. I think it's pretty cool what they were able to accomplish with 16 tracks per song and it's probably a big change for them compared to the endless layerings of previous albums.
16 tracks is not much, especially if you consider that each singer has to go on a seperate track, how many mics they used for the drum kit, etc.
If they really only used 16 tracks without any bouncing, I'm even more impressed by how great the album turned out. They're really on top of their game!
Still really peeved about my Stride Rite demoitis. I know it's totally my fault for playing the blast demo to death, but does anyone else agree that the 2021 version is so much more beautiful and cathartic? It's brought me to tears on multiple occasions. The studio cut however is only giving me slight frisson here and there. On a more positive note the album is going down much smoother on repeat listens. Getting more comfortable with the mix and songs like Genies and Gem are really starting to open up.
I don’t remember the 2021 version being that different. Not structurally at least. Are there specific parts of the arrangement you miss? Haven’t listened in ages but I know people have a thing about the 2021 version.
Would they usually bounce drum mics/tracks to give themselves more room? Cause the drums go hard and everything is so up front.
Either way, whatever ‘limitation’ they had/imposed worked an absolute treat. This album has the perfect combination of layers and space.
Yes, it's not uncommon to bounce all drums through a compressor to glue them together. And I agree, the drums sound amazing on IIN, especially the hihats. Not only for how they are mixed, but also what panda plays is so smooth and fits each song perfectly.
I don’t remember the 2021 version being that different. Not structurally at least. Are there specific parts of the arrangement you miss? Haven’t listened in ages but I know people have a thing about the 2021 version.
Structurally there's one major change which is that the old version keeps the full chorus after the first verse, which I think works a lot better transitioning into the faster second verse. I do like the additional vocals but it was much more beautiful with the old Avey and Deak 'stay' harmony in its place.
The big sore point for me though is that most of the ascending vocal lines are swapped for descending ones. Some are a result of lyric changes which is fair enough but the chorus especially lost so much emotional weight because of that change. It was a beautiful soaring melody with an air of optimism and triumph over despair; now it just simmers down to nothing. A lot of folks had a similar gripe with Passerby, which never really phased me as I wasn't a huge fan of that one anyway. I dunno, I might be overreacting a bit cause this is probably my first true case of demoitis after years of being a fan.
FWIW I still do enjoy how the song ended up, just not as much as I did before and wanted to know if anyone had similar feelings. The blast radio demo is definitely the best recording of that variation if you want a comparison.
Yeah, I'm not even sure if it's a Waltz or not now.
As much as I like how IIN and TS turned out, I'm still hoping for lots of love shows from the past few years to be released on Bandcamp, just because it would be nice to have some different versions of all the songs they rotated in HQ. Lots of really great stuff ended up on the cutting room floor, like the above mentioned versions of stride, car keys extended intro and transition into dragon slayer, auto tune passerby, faster broke zodiac, etc.
Yeah, I'm not even sure if it's a Waltz or not now.
As much as I like how IIN and TS turned out, I'm still hoping for lots of love shows from the past few years to be released on Bandcamp, just because it would be nice to have some different versions of all the songs they rotated in HQ. Lots of really great stuff ended up on the cutting room floor, like the above mentioned versions of stride, car keys extended intro and transition into dragon slayer, auto tune passerby, faster broke zodiac, etc.
not to mention screens, working, frg, unsolved mysteries, wide eyed, applesauce, grass, banshee beat, native belle, bluish, no more runnin
_________________
I pray deep like
Buuuuuuudhaaaaa
If it does sound more sparse than other albums which I'm not sure I agree with myself, I honestly love how big and bold each track in the mix is and everything has room to breathe. And every instrumental part and ESP the voices and drums just sound friggin better than ever. Rich is the wrong word. But like. Idk pure or something. Big and pure and undiluted, almost crystalline or prismatic in some quality.
Also this is pretty much how I heard it all live. Live mixes are just always a lil more noisy cuz of unpredictable live mixes/sound systems I think. I
I do think there's extra space on early parts of Magicians and on Gem but it's in a beautiful way. First part of Defeat too.
Clubs on the other hand almost has an MPP like effect on the ears where it feels really disorienting (at first) even tho the melody is actually relatively ...well not simple, but strait forward maybe.
And then Kings is obviously going out of its way to nearly be acapella and to drop away to complete silence multiple times. I love Kings a lot. It flies by for me
welll there's no like forest ambience samples or anything but the way the raccoons have their hands in the soil and on the tree trunks feels right with the album's sound feeling earthy and grounded
dio I didn't see a show in person but I agree that the songs all sound completely faithful to the live arrangements, which I guess is what I meant by sparse. You're right that it doesn't actually sound sparse. undiluted/prismatic is a good way of putting it, the actual quality of the sounds is very full-spectrum, vividly real, thick, heavy, solid, tactile
_________________
I pray deep like
Buuuuuuudhaaaaa
ACAB is so exciting because it feels like (not that this isn't often the case) something that came about from the boys just jamming in the studio and deciding it was good enough to be on the record -- and it feels like they were only confident enough to do that because of the presence of Russell Elevado. Such a treat in any case.
_________________ Oh lucky me / That sweet horse meat
dio I didn't see a show in person but I agree that the songs all sound completely faithful to the live arrangements, which I guess is what I meant by sparse. You're right that it doesn't actually sound sparse. undiluted/prismatic is a good way of putting it, the actual quality of the sounds is very full-spectrum, vividly real, thick, heavy, solid, tactile
Exactly, well said. It's not sparse, but for the most part, there's fewer instruments or sounds going on at the same time, which gives each element enough room of the frequency spectrum to fill and shine through. The magnolia part in magicians is a good example. It's basically just drums, fuzz bass, piano, and vocals, but it just sounds huge!
I agree that the 2021 version of Stride was perfection and much more cathartic. I do think they kept some of the magic in the last chorus at the very end but I was a huge fan of the raised melody. Still came out really well though and I can always go back to that version
ACAB is so exciting because it feels like (not that this isn't often the case) something that came about from the boys just jamming in the studio and deciding it was good enough to be on the record -- and it feels like they were only confident enough to do that because of the presence of Russell Elevado. Such a treat in any case.
Haha I had a similar thought that they made acab because elevado just really REALLY wanted some handclaps on the album
_________________
I pray deep like
Buuuuuuudhaaaaa
Gotta say the album's hitting a new level today. Headphones on, doing some cooking, washing some dishes, just enough preoccupation that I'm not over-listening
Genies is fucking awesome, defeat is fucking awesome, Gem and I is fucking awesome.
_________________
I pray deep like
Buuuuuuudhaaaaa
Still really peeved about my Stride Rite demoitis. I know it's totally my fault for playing the blast demo to death, but does anyone else agree that the 2021 version is so much more beautiful and cathartic? It's brought me to tears on multiple occasions. The studio cut however is only giving me slight frisson here and there. On a more positive note the album is going down much smoother on repeat listens. Getting more comfortable with the mix and songs like Genies and Gem are really starting to open up.
I definitely have similar feelings to Stride re:demoitis. The early live recordings felt so immersive and fluid and I liked the structure and length. While the song is still beautiful, I agree with others that say Deak's vocals either being too dry or mixed too high distract from the music. Something about the way he enunciates certain lines like "lost one to cancer two to..." don't blend in and the live and Blast versions captured some kind of magic. I'm squarely in the Royal > Stride camp for recorded versions whereas I think I preferred Stride to Royal in the live versions. Panda are also definitely missed here. They make Royal even more magical.
ALSO, does anyone else remember in the live boots for Magicians (I think it was Cincinnatti) where Avey let loose one of his trademark primal screams after the first "magnolias" part? I keep wishing there'd be more screamy bits like that in this AC-era.
dio I didn't see a show in person but I agree that the songs all sound completely faithful to the live arrangements, which I guess is what I meant by sparse. You're right that it doesn't actually sound sparse. undiluted/prismatic is a good way of putting it, the actual quality of the sounds is very full-spectrum, vividly real, thick, heavy, solid, tactile
Exactly, well said. It's not sparse, but for the most part, there's fewer instruments or sounds going on at the same time, which gives each element enough room of the frequency spectrum to fill and shine through. The magnolia part in magicians is a good example. It's basically just drums, fuzz bass, piano, and vocals, but it just sounds huge!
Maybe I explained myself wrong. I certainly wouldn't want this album jam packed with sounds like Centipede Hz. It just feels like some little flourishes here and there are almost missing. Gem & I is a good example. Doesn't it feel like of the 2.5 verses, there should be a few geo sample(s) going on? Maybe I'm just nit picking. Cause every song really is beautiful.
I'm a big fan of 70's production styled records. Like all dry and devoid of any pretension. Third by Portishead is arguably my all time favourite album, so it's a treat to hear AC embracing this sort of thing, specially since Time Skiffs feels more wet and full of effects. The second part of Defeat is like a thesis of this concept, it's very simple indeed, doesn't have a lot going on. Just enough.
this is my favorite AC LP release still I've been a fan. TR is right there tho. I've never been so instantly happy and tearful listening to an LP on first, 2nd, 9th listen.... when TS came out I couldn't help having this overwhelming disappointment of the missing songs I wanted tonbe on there so band. The LP itself is amazing tho. and Now that we've come full circle, I'm blessed with the final results!
I'm a big fan of 70's production styled records. Like all dry and devoid of any pretension. Third by Portishead is arguably my all time favourite album, so it's a treat to hear AC embracing this sort of thing, specially since Time Skiffs feels more wet and full of effects. The second part of Defeat is like a thesis of this concept, it's very simple indeed, doesn't have a lot going on. Just enough.
All very well put, especially the bit about Defeat. Also loving how conspicously 60s/70’s styled this recording is, I never felt that was a prominent feature of these tunes in a live setting. IMO that era was hands down the best ever time for studio recordings and big up to the band and Elevado for executing it perfectly. Earlier in this thread I made a half-joke about this album reminding me of Starland Vocal Band. This morning I was kind of wondering if that really held up to scrutiny and like…I feel like it’s so on point. The absolute last vibe I was expecting from this record but I’m adoring it
Some very early impressions from a first listen, all opinions expressed are subject to change…
Defeat should have been left off the album entirely and works far better as its own thing (in fact, this album generally could have done with a lot of cuts). The abrupt transition into Gem startled me and actually made me laugh out loud in my car. Not in a good way, but in a “Really? That’s what we decided to go with??” sort of way. Unfortunately, I consider most of the albums sequencing and tonal handlings to be a massive bungle.
Clubs provoked a similar “Wtf, really??” reaction in me. On the one hand, it got my attention in a way that AC hasn’t in a long time. But on the other, the song sounds unfinished and is honestly unfit for this album. It could have been cut and saved for a later project that expands on this new funkier style. It’s the right direction for this band but in the total wrong place.
I promise there are positive opinions on the way, but first let me get through the rest of my criticisms. I never liked Broke Zodiac and I still don’t. It just sounds so hollow to my ears. Genie’s, however, I have always loved, yet my first impressions of the album reworking were pretty mild. I do like the choice of shifting the sound palette away from the aquatic tones of the tour towards something dryer and woodier so there is hope that this version will grow on me with time. Finally, Kings is mid and maybe should have been moved to the MIDdle of the album.
In general, I think most of these songs will grow on me. It did with Defeat and it absolutely did with Soul Capturer, which is now a contender for strongest opener, right up there with DYSTW. Magicians was basically a slam dunk with me from first listen and should have been the album’s emotional centerpiece in the same way Banshee Beat was for Feels. Gem and Stride are also insta faves right out the gate. There is a lot of beauty on this record that I simply cannot deny. When the album is working, it is WORKING and working over time. For all my criticisms regarding pacing and tone, it does produce a bold result. Far bolder than Time Skiffs, though perhaps not better.
Again, these are very early impressions. I will follow up in the future once I’ve had more time with the record. I think it is ultimately a grower. Thankful to have closure with these tracks and thankful for this community. I don’t post often, but I am always lurking. Hehe
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum
Stoked to listen on the plane!!
((
