Brian says band plan to Experiment on Next Record --'Might Be the Weird'

eagles1139 wrote:

I kinda wanna see Brian flex his storytelling muscles a little bit. He often says "I can't write about other people, I have to write about things I've gone through" but I think he should take emotions he's felt, rather than specific memories, and apply those feelings to stories about people that may be unlike him. Like he cites guys like Tom Waits, Bruce and Eddie Vedder as huge influences, but those are three songwriters that weren't afraid to write about abstract ideas or characters ( especially Waits). I'm not saying he has to go all Jungleland because that's not what he's currently into as a writer, but I definitely wanna see the lyrics branch out into new territories.

This. Brian's got all kinds of lyrical talent, but his songs always seem very economical and concise. That's worked really well, but it'd be cool to see some longer songs that really flesh out some ideas and characters and stories.

StitchesOnTheRadio wrote:

I like that they seem to never be satisfied, you know? Like they are proud of what they do, then they're over it and it's "how can we do better? What else can we try?" The fact that they're producing amazing stuff and still trying to change it up is awesome to me. I hope they never completely "find their sound" 'cause as soon as they do, they'll stop changing it up and they'll get boring. And then hopefully at the end of the line, they'll look back and say "we've had it all along".

I definitely admire the fact that they're never falling back on the same stagnant formula, but a lot of Handwritten felt like a major misstep to me at least. I think they really wanna find their own niche outside of classic rock band, but I don't think they've quite figured out where to go yet. Halloween definitely has a Horrible Crowes/National type vibe to it, so maybe that's the direction they're headed.

33RPMHero wrote:

I find "Halloween" and "Blue Dahlia" similar. Wouldn't mind if they took that approach on the next album.

yeah, i always thought these songs match each other perfectly. It may be because of this little word "sympathy" which is used in both songs haha

i feel like if it's one story told in two songs : in "Halloween" the lyrical I sees this girl and he realizes

Quote :

"I think I just saw the same scars upon you"

and than in "Blue Dahlia" he meets her

Quote :

"You gotta stay inside and wait for the night
And then come on over and see me"

and they talk about these 'scars'

Quote :

"Where'd you get them scars? "

I never noticed those lyrical similarities between Blue Dahlia and Halloween. Good catch. Yea an album full of songs like those would be cool.

@sandyangryjohnnyormary? You're right, Halloween definitely had a horrible crowes/the national vibe to it which was cool. I wouldn't be surprised if he line between THC and TGA got blurred. I hope though that by straying away from verse/chorus songs they don't end up sounding like the national all the time. I like the national a lot, but their lyrics frustrate me 'cause they're too ambiguous. I'd also really miss TGA's rock sound f they became like he national or gates or other bands that do that kind of writing. Handwritten maybe sounded too traditional rock but I hope they don't go too far the other direction.

I wonder about that maybe more so musically than lyrically. The music for Mae & Blue Dahlia is brilliant. Misery gets away with being simple but has something to it at least, Hold You Up had good lyrics but I don't care much cuz musically it's boring, Halloween captures my attention because the lyrics are incredible, the music to me is just ok. Given these latest 3 songs I just wonder where were headed on that front.

Steve70s wrote:

I personally think American Slang will prove to be the high for the band - I know it's not everyone's favourite album but I think it says the most to my ears.

Maybe for a couple people, but I'd hope most people wouldn't think so. For me it's not even in the same league as The '59 Sound or Handwritten. And I prefer Sink Or Swim because it's got that energy and passion that only comes with a debut album. Lyrically it's nothing special to me and the production is pretty bad, to be honest. No punch to it and it actually distorts on some of the louder parts of the record, which is a huge pet peeve for me.

JackStreetcar wrote:

Steve70s wrote:

I personally think American Slang will prove to be the high for the band - I know it's not everyone's favourite album but I think it says the most to my ears.

Maybe for a couple people, but I'd hope most people wouldn't think so. For me it's not even in the same league as The '59 Sound or Handwritten. And I prefer Sink Or Swim because it's got that energy and passion that only comes with a debut album. Lyrically it's nothing special to me and the production is pretty bad, to be honest. No punch to it and it actually distorts on some of the louder parts of the record, which is a huge pet peeve for me.

No punch to it? It sounds like a bright, dynamic rock record to me. It's not wall-to-wall sound like the albums around it, but I'd say it's plenty big enough when it needs to be. I'm not sure it's their high point either, but it's at least close.

I hope they release a Winter/Christmas type song in the future. For some reason, I have always felt like
"She Loves You" is the closest thing we have to a Christmas like song. Not sure as to why though. I think I just picture snow falling on a small town every time I hear the song. Don't know why I decided to post this in here but continue as you all were. haha

sandyangryjohnnyormary? wrote:

JackStreetcar wrote:

Steve70s wrote:

I personally think American Slang will prove to be the high for the band - I know it's not everyone's favourite album but I think it says the most to my ears.

Maybe for a couple people, but I'd hope most people wouldn't think so. For me it's not even in the same league as The '59 Sound or Handwritten. And I prefer Sink Or Swim because it's got that energy and passion that only comes with a debut album. Lyrically it's nothing special to me and the production is pretty bad, to be honest. No punch to it and it actually distorts on some of the louder parts of the record, which is a huge pet peeve for me.

No punch to it? It sounds like a bright, dynamic rock record to me. It's not wall-to-wall sound like the albums around it, but I'd say it's plenty big enough when it needs to be. I'm not sure it's their high point either, but it's at least close.

I don't agree that only a few people would consider AS as the high point. I think a fair argument can be made for it. Such as what Sandyangryjohnny said. Even if it's not wall to wall sound I think they brought a cool style to that record. It still interests me the most musically despite being a bit limited. I agree though that the production could have been better. "sss" sounds are awful on it when it's loud. But I complain about HW too because I have to turn it up when those songs come on just to match the others.

The cool thing about this band is a couple thousand of us can come on here and say "these guys are awesome" but when we go to list our favorite songs or rank the albums, everybody has a different view. I mean a lot of us still can't decide how to rank them. For me it's a 3 way tie between 59, AS, and HW with SOS as a close second.

Not that I don't enjoy discussing all this, but does anyone else find it funny that we're debating the next record at least a year and a half before it'll likely come out?

33RPMHero wrote:

I hope they release a Winter/Christmas type song in the future. For some reason, I have always felt like
"She Loves You" is the closest thing we have to a Christmas like song. Not sure as to why though. I think I just picture snow falling on a small town every time I hear the song. Don't know why I decided to post this in here but continue as you all were. haha

Go put Elsie on repeat. That whole record has a chill built for the winter time.

StitchesOnTheRadio wrote:

33RPMHero wrote:

I hope they release a Winter/Christmas type song in the future. For some reason, I have always felt like
"She Loves You" is the closest thing we have to a Christmas like song. Not sure as to why though. I think I just picture snow falling on a small town every time I hear the song. Don't know why I decided to post this in here but continue as you all were. haha

Go put Elsie on repeat. That whole record has a chill built for the winter time.

I rather not be depressed during Christmas time Shelby. Geeeeeeeeeeeez.

33RPMHero wrote:

I hope they release a Winter/Christmas type song in the future. For some reason, I have always felt like
"She Loves You" is the closest thing we have to a Christmas like song. Not sure as to why though. I think I just picture snow falling on a small town every time I hear the song. Don't know why I decided to post this in here but continue as you all were. haha

She Loves You definitely has a snowy/winter vibe to me as well.
Also, the alternative/acoustic version of Boxer always makes me think of Christmas!

stepsandnumbers wrote:

33RPMHero wrote:

I hope they release a Winter/Christmas type song in the future. For some reason, I have always felt like
"She Loves You" is the closest thing we have to a Christmas like song. Not sure as to why though. I think I just picture snow falling on a small town every time I hear the song. Don't know why I decided to post this in here but continue as you all were. haha

She Loves You definitely has a snowy/winter vibe to me as well.
Also, the alternative/acoustic version of Boxer always makes me think of Christmas!

it's dat percussion!

DeathoftheCool wrote:

stepsandnumbers wrote:

33RPMHero wrote:

I hope they release a Winter/Christmas type song in the future. For some reason, I have always felt like
"She Loves You" is the closest thing we have to a Christmas like song. Not sure as to why though. I think I just picture snow falling on a small town every time I hear the song. Don't know why I decided to post this in here but continue as you all were. haha

She Loves You definitely has a snowy/winter vibe to me as well.
Also, the alternative/acoustic version of Boxer always makes me think of Christmas!

it's dat percussion!

Indeed it is!