xp - really? You've never had that feeling where you love an album but don't need to hear anything more from that band?
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 6 December 2013 09:17 (ten years ago) link
Without the gauzy atmospherics they'd basically just be Kurt Vile mk II and who wants that?
― Matt DC, Friday, 6 December 2013 09:50 (ten years ago) link
agreed - the gauze is the main draw, hence why Slave Ambient >> first lp
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 6 December 2013 10:23 (ten years ago) link
Like, other than Baby Missiles, I'm not sure "songwriting" is one of their main strengths at all.
― Matt DC, Friday, 6 December 2013 11:03 (ten years ago) link
The first and last song presents great song wriying as well
― nostormo, Friday, 6 December 2013 11:29 (ten years ago) link
this album is so fucking rad
― le goon (J0rdan S.), Sunday, 2 March 2014 16:35 (ten years ago) link
meaning the new one
― le goon (J0rdan S.), Sunday, 2 March 2014 16:36 (ten years ago) link
New album is just brilliant. So warm and comforting, even though it's pretty miserable. As if Springsteen and the E Street Band had made an album with Mark Knopfler in between BITUSA and ToL, but all concerned happened to have been listening only to Neu at the time.
― Unsettled defender (ithappens), Sunday, 2 March 2014 16:58 (ten years ago) link
Can't wait to hear this. 'Slave Ambient' was a big record for me.
Interesting you mention Knopfler as Dylan's 'Series of Dreams' (which he plays on) sounds like the prerequisite for War on Drugs.
― Internet Alan, Monday, 3 March 2014 10:09 (ten years ago) link
Yeah excited as well - so this is Slave Ambient II, I gather (not a bad thing)?
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 3 March 2014 10:14 (ten years ago) link
More like he realised Tiny Missiles was the best song on Slave Ambient and based the album around that … Lots of lazy Knopfler lead guitar lines all over it.
― Unsettled defender (ithappens), Monday, 3 March 2014 12:22 (ten years ago) link
Oooh, that sounds great. Definitely ready for a new album by these guys
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Monday, 3 March 2014 15:18 (ten years ago) link
it is much more minimalistic than Baby Missiles.it's good, though Slave Ambient had more hooks. this one seems a little unfocused maybe.
― nostormo, Monday, 3 March 2014 15:44 (ten years ago) link
BTW, i see more Springsteen doing 80's Sophisti-pop than Dire STRaits
― nostormo, Monday, 3 March 2014 16:49 (ten years ago) link
The single is fantastic, if it's all in that vein I am 100% down with this project.
― Matt DC, Monday, 3 March 2014 16:51 (ten years ago) link
it's not all rippers but the ones like "red eye" are all killer
― le goon (J0rdan S.), Monday, 3 March 2014 16:52 (ten years ago) link
I mean I really, really like Slave Ambient as well so I'm happy with some balance here.
― Matt DC, Monday, 3 March 2014 16:54 (ten years ago) link
i won't be surprised if they like Destroyer's Kaputt.
― nostormo, Monday, 3 March 2014 16:59 (ten years ago) link
i discovered the war on drugs because they opened up for destroyer on the kaputt tour, thought they sounded like a rad space rock tom petty or something
― chive on you crazy diamond (diamonddave85), Monday, 3 March 2014 17:00 (ten years ago) link
the sequencing on this album reminds me of their live show in that they got the bangers out of the way at the beginning and then just let the jam ride for the rest
― chive on you crazy diamond (diamonddave85), Monday, 3 March 2014 17:06 (ten years ago) link
"rad space rock tom petty " is exactly how I describe this band to people
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 3 March 2014 17:06 (ten years ago) link
I'm only five tracks in but this fucking rules.
Also Dire Straits are just about the only thing left from the 80s to be properly revived but they're all over this record.
― Matt DC, Monday, 3 March 2014 21:19 (ten years ago) link
Eyes To The Wind is amazing, how many instrumental lines are there weaving in and out of one another by the end?
― Matt DC, Monday, 3 March 2014 21:30 (ten years ago) link
One of the things I love about the record is that it's packed full of hooks, but very very few of them are chorus/vocal hooks – they're almost all guitar lines that are used incredibly judiciously for maximum impact.
Must write up my Granduciel interview …
― Unsettled defender (ithappens), Tuesday, 4 March 2014 16:26 (ten years ago) link
This is all up on yo***be now ...
Been listening all morning, really enjoying it. the 4 min ambient outro to the first track kills the pace a bit though.
― Steve Reich In The Afternoon (Against The 80s), Wednesday, 5 March 2014 11:33 (ten years ago) link
almost all of the songs have this problem on this record, but i can live with that
― nostormo, Wednesday, 5 March 2014 12:35 (ten years ago) link
is this streaming anywhere yet?
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 5 March 2014 14:06 (ten years ago) link
it's on grooveshark. was listening to it yesterday.
― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 5 March 2014 15:54 (ten years ago) link
thx!
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 5 March 2014 16:11 (ten years ago) link
yrwlcm!
― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 5 March 2014 16:16 (ten years ago) link
Hearing a bit of early Spitiualized in the ambient sections
― Steve Reich In The Afternoon (Against The 80s), Thursday, 6 March 2014 09:15 (ten years ago) link
listening to the album stream on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0PxpilZvjc
this is great. it's a cross between tom petty solo, dire straights, and 80s-era springsteen. if you had asked me, before listening to this, if i wanted a "nu" version of any of those acts, i'd have said "no." but i love this.
― Daniel, Esq 2, Monday, 17 March 2014 17:24 (ten years ago) link
opening of burning sounds just like rod stewart's young turks
― Daniel, Esq 2, Monday, 17 March 2014 17:44 (ten years ago) link
going in for my third listen today, but i think i'll probably start on the second half. i think the lengthy spaced out jams on the first side are awesome but they kind of make me burned out by the time i hit the other side.
― Karl Malone, Monday, 17 March 2014 18:11 (ten years ago) link
best thing i've heard this year.
― Daniel, Esq 2, Monday, 17 March 2014 20:40 (ten years ago) link
After having spent a week with this, I am inclined to agree.
― Matt DC, Monday, 17 March 2014 20:46 (ten years ago) link
yeah. though i wish they used a real drummer instead of the monotonic drum machine
― nostormo, Monday, 17 March 2014 21:03 (ten years ago) link
yeah, i picked up on that, too. wonder why they chose a machine (when it clearly makes a difference).
― Daniel, Esq 2, Monday, 17 March 2014 21:04 (ten years ago) link
the sax on the haunting idle is just great. and the intro reminds me of some police song whose title i can't call to mind.
― Daniel, Esq 2, Monday, 17 March 2014 21:06 (ten years ago) link
(sorry; maybe the sax is on eyes to the wind; i'm not really focusing on individual songs right now)
― Daniel, Esq 2, Monday, 17 March 2014 21:08 (ten years ago) link
That kind of mechanistic stiffness is essential to the sound I think, it keeps everything else tightly reined in.
― Matt DC, Monday, 17 March 2014 22:01 (ten years ago) link
Wow, I love this. The first album in a while where I couldn't wait for it to end so that I could immediately listen to it again. I mean:
dire straights, and 80s-era springsteen. if you had asked me, before listening to this, if i wanted a "nu" version of any of those acts, i'd have said "no." but i love this.
Double/triple OTM.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 00:13 (ten years ago) link
I'm liking it too though I'm currently inclined to say Slave Ambient was better - I feel like there was a bit more variation on that album. I think someone said it above but the new one is basically "Baby Missiles" many times over.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 04:13 (ten years ago) link
the new one is basically "Baby Missiles" many times over
People keep saying this but it's not actually true, unless you're just not listening to Under The Pressure, or Suffering, or Eyes To The Wind, or the title track, or...
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 10:10 (ten years ago) link
the impeccably smooth production is reminding me of (whisper it) Kaputt a little bit.
― Angkor Waht (Neil S), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 10:14 (ten years ago) link
This really gets my blood running. Never really figured out slave ambient (probably didn't play it enough), but this feels way more fleshed out to me.
In addition to those already mentioned, the record makes me think of "Starfish"-era Church, and 80s Dylan, the latter especially with regard to vocal phrasings and the Knopfler collabs.
― Mule, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 10:21 (ten years ago) link
(whisper it) Series of Dreams is the best Dylan-song!
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 10:31 (ten years ago) link
Ha, I think someone said that on a thread I read the other day, but I can't remember if it was a recent or old thread. Was is you?
― Mule, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 10:34 (ten years ago) link
the euphoric glide of "under the pressure" reminds me of "more than this" a little bit. i wasnt into "slave ambient" but this album is very very lovely indeed.
― everyday sheeple (Michael B), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 12:56 (ten years ago) link
x-post: lol, nope, don't think so, but I'd like to know who it was.
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 12:59 (ten years ago) link