Unpopular opinions time!
Mar. 18th, 2008 08:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
exsequarI feel like I'm the only one not freaking out about Pretty. Odd. In either a positive or negative sense. I don't love it; I don't hate it. It certainly didn't make me want to cry. I'm irritated with their claims to aiming for a more stripped down, natural sound actually turning out to yield an album just as overproduced as the first, just with a lot of strings instead of synths. Some of the songs are lovely and pleasing - my favorite is Northern Downpour, and I love That Green Gentlemen, except for the word salad lyrics. I haven't listened to it enough to pick out other favorites (I've been out all day with the fam). I tend to agree with the critics on Folkin' Around - that is, I don't like it. The one that has the lyric "You remind me of my famous friends" just makes me facepalm.
I think it's a very pretentious album, and while sometimes that can be cute and adorable in interviews or whatever, in an entire album it's a little hard to swallow. It feels like they're tugging at our hands and going "Look! Look! I've been listening to new music! Aren't you PROUD?" It's entirely too derivative in places, and while I think there's a lot of talent backing it up (they do write some damn catchy melodies!) I really really want them to find their own sound. I guess I was hoping for an MCR-style sophomore effort. Three Cheers is 100% MCR for me, with many and various influences subtly and brilliantly interwoven into something that is entirely their own, greater than the sum of its parts.
They're still really young. They have a lot a lot of potential, and I am certainly not giving up on them. Hopefully this album will grow on me too, because hi, I paid 70 freaking dollars for the deluxe version (what was I thinking???). I still think they're preciouses, and I love Ryan singing (most of the time - he still makes me cringe a couple times here), and I will continute to giggle fondly over their shenanigans, but I've been sorta sensing this direction in my feelings for them for a while - sort of more "aw, how cute" than all emotionally involved, or declaring their music GEEENYUS! I do still think Brendon is ridiculously talented, and the way they've really become a band is wonderful, so I have high hopes for those kids. For kids they are, and kids they will not always be.
I think it's a very pretentious album, and while sometimes that can be cute and adorable in interviews or whatever, in an entire album it's a little hard to swallow. It feels like they're tugging at our hands and going "Look! Look! I've been listening to new music! Aren't you PROUD?" It's entirely too derivative in places, and while I think there's a lot of talent backing it up (they do write some damn catchy melodies!) I really really want them to find their own sound. I guess I was hoping for an MCR-style sophomore effort. Three Cheers is 100% MCR for me, with many and various influences subtly and brilliantly interwoven into something that is entirely their own, greater than the sum of its parts.
They're still really young. They have a lot a lot of potential, and I am certainly not giving up on them. Hopefully this album will grow on me too, because hi, I paid 70 freaking dollars for the deluxe version (what was I thinking???). I still think they're preciouses, and I love Ryan singing (most of the time - he still makes me cringe a couple times here), and I will continute to giggle fondly over their shenanigans, but I've been sorta sensing this direction in my feelings for them for a while - sort of more "aw, how cute" than all emotionally involved, or declaring their music GEEENYUS! I do still think Brendon is ridiculously talented, and the way they've really become a band is wonderful, so I have high hopes for those kids. For kids they are, and kids they will not always be.
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Date: 2008-03-18 10:20 pm (UTC)I'm pretty much regretting downloading this. I only did because I've had a shit day and I wanted to be cheered up, and my excitement for this album has been stupid. And it didn't cheer me up.
From what I've read so far, I am the only person who isn't loving Northern Downpour. I'm decidedly unimpressed with that song. But bizarrely I do love Folkin Around (clearly I just have ludicrous taste in music). She Had The World is my favourite at the moment.
Don't get me started on the album version of Behind the Sea. It drowns Ryan out too much. Brendon's voice would work on that version, but Ryan's voice isn't that powerful and he's lost on it, which was why I love the alternate version. I managed about 30 seconds of the album version before having to skip. Plus the album version is missing the comedy "haoom" thing lmao.
I do think this album will grow on me after further listens, I think it's just the mood I'm in today. And like you say, they're wearing their influences too visibly on their sleeves, but they are young and stupidly talented (Brendon especially) so they have to time to work out who they really are. It feels to me like they've just tried too hard to distance themselves from Fever (which I loved on first listen apart from Lying).
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Date: 2008-03-18 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-18 11:51 pm (UTC)