[speen]

oh shit! i’m off the forum for like a week and come back to this. Exciting to see peoples reactions. I’m holding off for the real release though… I think I want it to be an october album

[Nil_0001]

hedgecore wrote:

All the names of the these songs blend together in a bad way

Elaborate

[Nil_0001]

I'm honestly 100% percent happy with this album. Really didn't care about this songs back in 2022 when I got into the band. Quite frankly found the fantasy aesthetic boring. But oh boy OH BOY. Since the day Defeat clicked I knew this was gonna be big. This is like a perfect record for me. All the psychedelic sounds, the classic 60's sound pallette, the way panda uses his china as a crash. All his drumming here is excellent, he's becoming a big influence for me, such an amazing witty drummer. Soul Capturer sounds so happy. Genies is so quirky, almost sounds like a sea shanty! Broke is gorgeous, that chorus sounds hopeful in the same way MPP does. All of these melodies sound so full of joy and beauty. And my fucking god Magicians of Baltimore and Defeat...How the fuck do these two songs exist? Magicians is so amazing, the pianos, the weird sounds, the drum rolls at the beginning, the slide guitar, ALL THE "WHERE IT GETS HOT ON THE MAGNOLIA" VOCALS, that Leslie speaker at the end...such a joyous celebration of their hometown. And Defeat is just a big human achievement, really cannot understate how affecting and devastating it is. the last part just crushes your soul if you let the song get you.

Gem and I is fun and quirky and so lovely and weird. The vocals are joyous as well. Broke is completely on par with Royal and Desire, those beautiful vocals, completely raw and naked. All the Clubs serves as a very good way to round things up in a weird fashion. And Kings Walk does a good job as the closer. Certainly wouldn't put it anywhere and wouldn't change a single thing about this sequencing. Engaging and weird at every turn. Hope people learn to embrace that, don't forget this band released No More Running and OPEN UP YA back to back.

[howsoever]

So funny that the prediction about studio chatter was real

If they’ve been facing Beach Boys comparisons for most of their career, this is their Beatles album. Straightforwardly weird. I dig the dry tape vocals with simple chorus a lot; a bit jarring that Soul Capturer and Defeat record the vocals a bit differently

Love the slowdown and speed-ups with the drum fills in the first half of Magicians. Keeps it from being too sleepy. Just a bummer it covers up a bit too much of the vocals as they kick in

ACAB is actually crazy. Elevado’s hip-hop production with Avey going medieval mode again. Chamber pop?

King’s Walk has always sounded to me like it’s always existed as an AnCo song. The juxtaposition with ACAB makes me imagine a king walking through his kingdom in rubble—this whole world is getting cooked. Is he coming to terms with his role in it? You decide

Panda’s vocals are just getting better and better with every new project. It’s kind of crazy. I’m glad Deakin got Stride all to himself to layer his own vocals. They really shine

I honestly think it needed to be slightly longer. At least one more song to make the balance of the tones a little better. Maybe a better proper closer to the album. Making me at least hope their next album has a more consistent theme that flows like a story—that’s why I love CHz

[hedgecore]

the low end rattle/rumble in the bass in the chorus for Magicians is sooo pleasing to my ears

where's the conversation for live versions of these songs? I wanna hear em (but don't want to jam up this thread if there's a better place)

[time5sumranch]

skiffs feels like being in nature and now feels like exploring a historic area of a city

[foxtrot]

time5sumranch wrote:

now feels like exploring a historic area of a city

I like that.


hedgecore - maybe start a thread in the live forum - best versions of each Now song?

[油の男]

Maybe the most disappointing album I've heard from these guys in the decade I've been listening. Aside from Defeat, it just sounds so empty and barren. A far cry from the busyness of CHZ and PW, IIN? manages to somehow be a slog to get through. I saw a different playlist on 4chan that managed to make it a bit more interesting by opening with Kings and closing with Defeat (as it should have been), while incorporating Prester John. Unfortunately, Prester John (as with everything else on TS) is infinitely more busy than anything sans Defeat and Animal Collective Are Bad (ACAB, which also, while being a fantastic track, is so out of place on this record). I don't know what in the world happened to Genie's, because live sounded so full and warm, and who can forget the absolutely magical Trains Across The Sea interpolation that is sorely missed in the studio version. Still a fantastic album, which makes it all the more disappointing. In embracing minimalism and cutting back on the noise, it seems less like Animal Collective and more like Dad Rock Lite (2020s Edition).

Thanks for subscribing to my blog.

[zarya]

hedgecore wrote:

the low end rattle/rumble in the bass in the chorus for Magicians is sooo pleasing to my ears

I feel like I've not seen anyone really comment on the low end of this album. It's seriously crazy. I think Magicians' final rumbles must be a pitched/slowed down low E hit on avey's bass - it's just too low for that but has an interesting attack. Genies has some real rumble, too. Makes my brain feel liquified; shakes the car; really tickles my subwoofer on the hifi.

Defeat being in the middle of the album *is* weird...I wonder if it should have been a suite after all! Splitting it into parts would trick folks into seeing it shorter as it is...maybe

[leaf_dwelling]

only a few listens in but this is top tier AC. my overall impression is that for maybe the first time this LP is a true representation of live AC. To me, they're two very different bands (studio vs. live), on the road they were often playing with the ideas of new songs (lyrics, framework etc.) with non traditional stage set ups and then when the album was released it was like this whole new experience, and the jams ended up so polished.

genies, gem, and magicians are my personal favorites so far, really love the grooves and vocal harmonies throughout. really enjoying the album flow and find myself slowing down when defeat hits because it's a such a slow burn only to get hyped with gem > kings side to close it out.

[Sufjan]

I love the rougher, closer sound of this album compared to skiffs, but can't help but think that the albums would benefit from switching production styles. Dragon Slayer with the tight, 60s psych sound of IIN would be perfection, just as genie's probably would've benefited from the wide soundscape of skiffs. Anyway, I still love both albums. There will always be aspects of live boots that will be missing or changed and really just gotta accept that we have both and the music is great at its core

[TetsuoUnderFire]

Sufjan wrote:

I love the rougher, closer sound of this album compared to skiffs, but can't help but think that the albums would benefit from switching production styles. Dragon Slayer with the tight, 60s psych sound of IIN would be perfection, just as genie's probably would've benefited from the wide soundscape of skiffs. Anyway, I still love both albums. There will always be aspects of live boots that will be missing or changed and really just gotta accept that we have both and the music is great at its core

i'm just glad we got at least one "yup" in Defeat.

[Tropic]

Album rips. Surprised by some of the negativity. Kings is classic old school AC. Great closer. Everything sounds great. Still haven't gotten to listen on my good headphones.

There are some foibles with the tracklisting for sure. It was definitely a difficult one for them to put together. I think it's important to remember the pandemic robbed us of a bonafide masterpiece, which to my mind--with Elevado--would've looked something like this:


Magicians from Baltimore
Broke Zodiac
We Go Back
Car Keys > Dragon Slayer
Prester John
Passer-By
Cherokee
Gem & I
King's Walk
Genie's Open
Royal and Desire
Defeat

Separate EP:

Soul Capturer
Strung With Everything
Stride Rite
Walker

[mildew_on_rice]

Tropic wrote:

Album rips. Surprised by some of the negativity. Kings is classic old school AC. Great closer. Everything sounds great. Still haven't gotten to listen on my good headphones.

There are some foibles with the tracklisting for sure. It was definitely a difficult one for them to put together. I think it's important to remember the pandemic robbed us of a bonafide masterpiece, which to my mind--with Elevado--would've looked something like this:


Magicians from Baltimore
Broke Zodiac
We Go Back
Car Keys > Dragon Slayer
Prester John
Passer-By
Cherokee
Gem & I
King's Walk
Genie's Open
Royal and Desire
Defeat

Separate EP:

Soul Capturer
Strung With Everything
Stride Rite
Walker

I had a similar breakdown but I removed songs that likely wouldn't have existed had they been able to record when they originally wanted to.

Main Album:
Kings
Gem & I
Prester John
We Go Back
Passerby
Royal and Desire
Dragon Slayer
Car Keys
Broke Zodiac
Cherokee
Defeat

EP:
Genie’s Open
Stride Rite
Walker
Magicians From Baltimore

Probably Wouldn’t Exist:
Soul Capturer
Strung With Everything
All the Clubs Are Broken

[Hellomark]

Tropic wrote:

I think it's important to remember the pandemic robbed us of a bonafide masterpiece,

Yeah this is really what I can't get over, the more I listen to this the more I feel like Time Skiffs, as a full album, wasn't the best move. I get why they did it, especially at that point in the pandemic when it was really anyone's guess when they could get together again, but it feels like the remote recording process was not to any of these songs' benefit (except maybe Strung, I like how that one turned out).

[denjanenna]

Hellomark wrote:

Tropic wrote:

I think it's important to remember the pandemic robbed us of a bonafide masterpiece,

Yeah this is really what I can't get over, the more I listen to this the more I feel like Time Skiffs, as a full album, wasn't the best move. I get why they did it, especially at that point in the pandemic when it was really anyone's guess when they could get together again, but it feels like the remote recording process was not to any of these songs' benefit (except maybe Strung, I like how that one turned out).

yeah i feel that
i think cherokee shines too given the circumstances

[Slippi's Applesauce]

i think strung definitely would've existed in some form since they were working on it in 2019/2020 and Avey had already played it live at least once. no clue on ACAB, but yeah since they described soul cap as a pandemic dream i can't see it existing

[Fritz]

Hi friends could anyone possibly hit me I will pay it forward! You're all very nice!

[opposite field]

I feel like I am over the no double album thing. I actually really like that this and Skiffs are their own separate things. It's cool to get two records back to back and even though the songs are from the same batch I think they succeeded in making each record feel like it can stand on its own and is its own thing. I don't think this feels like a leftovers album at all like I've seen some say. If this sounded just like Skiffs I think it would be cool initially but wear off real fast.

That said I do think it would have been kind of a power move to be like here's the new 2 hour long Animal Collective album but what can ya do. Curious to see how this is received in the wider world.

[rohcti]

Hellomark wrote:

Tropic wrote:

I think it's important to remember the pandemic robbed us of a bonafide masterpiece,

Yeah this is really what I can't get over, the more I listen to this the more I feel like Time Skiffs, as a full album, wasn't the best move. I get why they did it, especially at that point in the pandemic when it was really anyone's guess when they could get together again, but it feels like the remote recording process was not to any of these songs' benefit (except maybe Strung, I like how that one turned out).

I agree

[coral lord]

This album has classic Avey in Magicians, Panda with his catchiest pop song since MPP in Gem and I, and Deakin with a truly gorgeous ballad in Stride. Kinda crazy how loaded it is.

[blindmowing]

Listening to IIN has increased my love of Skiffs, and listening to them mixed up as one mega album has enhanced my love for these songs even more. Both are great records, would've been cool to get a mega double album, but as it stands we've all got the capacity to create our own albums out of these songs, and the fact we've gotten two albums instead of one is cool just to have their own art/aesthetic/pacing. It's the best of both worlds. We got AC music quicker since they did a remote album, and we still got a really bona fide crazy amazing second album a year later. We can paint it many ways, but I'm choosing to see it as a win-win.

[Jam]

^^ I don't really see the point of getting caught up on what could have been. Both albums are fantastic through and through and the band is always interested in mixing up the sonic palette -- the two albums are distinct and that's what always happens. It's more interesting that way. They're twins and that will always be such a cool thing about them.

[coral lord]

convinced anyone saying this album sounds sparse or empty is listening on a phone speaker or something

[r_o_s_s]

Has anyone from the band actually said that if the pandemic wasn’t a thing, we would have gotten one big mega triple album?? It doesn’t really seem like their style tbh. I think we would have ended up with similar results. Just perhaps some songs shifted between the two records.

[BreadBagel]

coral lord wrote:

convinced anyone saying this album sounds sparse or empty is listening on a phone speaker or something

Listened to the album 5 times with some decent headphones. I do think it sounds sparse. Sometimes the sparseness works really well, like in most of Defeat, since it's supposed to be a long epic moody song. But in other cases, I feel like some weird geo sounds are just missing, like in Gem & I's verses, most of Genies Open, and Defeats middle section even. Those are more upbeat fun moments that could have benefited from more sound effects/drones/flourishes etc in my opinion. I dunno, maybe I'll get used to it.

[wilandhugs]

Man that empty feeling is hitting... no new AC news for a while... consider me spoiled.

[willie dustice]

One mixing thing that bothers me: when they sing Magnolias on Magicians and one of their voices cuts out before the other. I’ve listened to it so many times and it’s still a bit jarring and unnatural feeling to me.

[willie dustice]

BreadBagel wrote:

coral lord wrote:

convinced anyone saying this album sounds sparse or empty is listening on a phone speaker or something

Listened to the album 5 times with some decent headphones. I do think it sounds sparse. Sometimes the sparseness works really well, like in most of Defeat, since it's supposed to be a long epic moody song. But in other cases, I feel like some weird geo sounds are just missing, like in Gem & I's verses, most of Genies Open, and Defeats middle section even. Those are more upbeat fun moments that could have benefited from more sound effects/drones/flourishes etc in my opinion. I dunno, maybe I'll get used to it.

Yeah the person on here that posted “wow awesome Geo record” confused me. It would be hard for me to point out what he’s even contributing on most tracks.

[destiny]

coral lord wrote:

convinced anyone saying this album sounds sparse or empty is listening on a phone speaker or something

Hahahaha forreal. Cannot comprehend that listening to stuff like Magicians or the last section of Defeat. Every song is jammed pack of shit... like every other AC project except for A day with the homies and campfire song.

Some complaints seem very odd, but i can understand being offput by some songs, the sequencing, or some studio decisions. But to me I dont much understand demoitis for this. These songs are just straight up how they sounded live, no major alterations in composition or performance (taken boy/midnite session) even lyrics. I've had striking demoitis in my time as an AC fan mind you.

[blindmowing]

the "Geo sounds" seem like subtle accents this time around, rather than a main feature like on their records between '07-'18

i wouldn't consider this sparse though... i mean, it's all relative...compared to PW and CHz of course it is, but that thing was jam packed to the gills and their last two have struck a really good balance of space and depth and layers...close listens to this one reveals a shit ton of layers and little sounds...they're subtle though, more ambient and "soft" sounds

[opposite field]

Geo plays a lot more like regular music now for lack of a better term, if you haven't seen them live in a while I feel like it might be hard to pick up on. He has two full keyboards that he often plays along with Deakin in addition to his samples and hurdy gurdy. Still textural but less hit that sample here and then that sample there and push the faders up and twist those knobs" kind of thing. He's all over these songs, just not in the way you're expecting probably.

[BreadBagel]

blindmowing wrote:

the "Geo sounds" seem like subtle accents this time around, rather than a main feature like on their records between '07-'18

i wouldn't consider this sparse though... i mean, it's all relative...compared to PW and CHz of course it is, but that thing was jam packed to the gills and their last two have struck a really good balance of space and depth and layers...close listens to this one reveals a shit ton of layers and little sounds...they're subtle though, more ambient and "soft" sounds

Perhaps the official release plus speakers rather than headphones will reveal these subtleties to me. I'm not judging yet, because every AC album has taken many multiple listens before fully clicking so we'll see. I'm usually a maximalist when it comes to music, like more is more rather than less is more. So it might just be a personal preference thing that I won't fully get over. I will say the songs are incredible, just feels like they could have been... incredibler...

[blindmowing]

opposite field wrote:

Geo plays a lot more like regular music now for lack of a better term, if you haven't seen them live in a while I feel like it might be hard to pick up on. He has two full keyboards that he often plays along with Deakin in addition to his samples and hurdy gurdy. Still textural but less hit that sample here and then that sample there and push the faders up and twist those knobs" kind of thing. He's all over these songs, just not in the way you're expecting probably.

ya, was pretty weird to see how 'traditional band playing instruments' they seemed last time i saw them. first time i actually felt okay with calling them a 'rock band' which always seem weird to me previously.

i fully expect them to swing the other way for the next era.

[rohcti]

Listening to 7s is fun after this. Totally different sonic palette

[Hellomark]

willie dustice wrote:

One mixing thing that bothers me: when they sing Magnolias on Magicians and one of their voices cuts out before the other. I’ve listened to it so many times and it’s still a bit jarring and unnatural feeling to me.

To be fair I don't think that's a mixing thing, that's pretty much how they sing it live. Definitely a different type of harmony for them, more Americana than pop.
And yeah Geo definitely contributes a lot of sick stuff to these songs, in addition to some well placed samples (magicians finale guitar bends, maybe the best thing on the album) and keyboard, he's also rocking the hurdy gurdy on almost all of these songs.

[coral lord]

willie dustice wrote:

One mixing thing that bothers me: when they sing Magnolias on Magicians and one of their voices cuts out before the other. I’ve listened to it so many times and it’s still a bit jarring and unnatural feeling to me.

wouldn't call that a mixing thing, that's just how they sing the song.

ah hellomark beat me to it

[hatredcopter]

r_o_s_s wrote:

Has anyone from the band actually said that if the pandemic wasn’t a thing, we would have gotten one big mega triple album?? It doesn’t really seem like their style tbh. I think we would have ended up with similar results. Just perhaps some songs shifted between the two records.

I think they said they were supposed to record in March 2020…so if there hadn’t been a pandemic, the album could have been the 13 songs from the 2019 tour and that’s it. Maybe an album plus an ep.

[Nil_0001]

opposite field wrote:

Geo plays a lot more like regular music now for lack of a better term, if you haven't seen them live in a while I feel like it might be hard to pick up on. He has two full keyboards that he often plays along with Deakin in addition to his samples and hurdy gurdy. Still textural but less hit that sample here and then that sample there and push the faders up and twist those knobs" kind of thing. He's all over these songs, just not in the way you're expecting probably.

Yeah, this is the important part and the key to the sparseness. They're playing like a normal band now. These past 3 years they were playing music as a normal band would. That's why it sounds 60's, and that's why it sounds sparse and that's why it is special. Like it or not, I personally like it, but this is who they were and the key to like the record is understanding that.

[coral lord]

A lot of Geo's sounds and textures are harmonizing with other instruments on this album, it's fantastic.