Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface (July 28, 2017) Album • Page 225

Damn I just heard Manchester on House of Cards. Anyone else catch it? Season 5 Episode 10

 

So what's the consensus on Black Mile vs. Science fiction? They're both great albums but song to song I think there is a clear winner...

 

I can’t choose and nobody can make me.

 

Black Mile is great, need to spend more time with Science Fiction

 

I'd probably have to pick Science Fiction, but I love them both, and that's all that really matters.

 

Science fiction

 

Idk why they have to be compared, but Black Mile destroys SF

 

The Mistake is fantastic. Probably my favourite melody on the album outside of The Maze. Lead SD and The Parts are probably my bottom two but I think both are great. Truly no filler on this album.

 

Here are the reasons that I would have sci-fi a bit higher. I would say that sci-fi is probably more dynamic than this record. it has both pretty quiet moments and moody/darker quiet moments while this album to me has just pretty quiet moments and it's loud parts are louder. I also find sci-fi more relatable lyrically, I love the lyrics/story on this album but it's not going to help with my anxiety of religion, nuclear war, bigotry, depression, and other main issues facing the world right now that I think brand new tackled really well.

From a vocal performance aspect I also give the edge to sci-fi bc I feel Jesse uses a lot of different voices/vocal styles really well on the album where as I've always felt andy sort of has two styles of singing depending on what octave he is in, this is why cope felt like it ran together for some people I think bc he was only ever using his higher style.

I think both albums sound great but from a production stand point I would probably give the edge to black mile. They captured some really great sounds on this album and that really heightens the listening experience.

I love both albums I've probably listened to both of them at least 60 times, maybe more. But that's why I think at the end of the day I'll probably have sci-fi a bit higher.

 

I think Science Fiction is better than Black Mile, but I think both are absolutely great and are easily the two best records I've heard in a long time. It's still head-scratching to me that we got these two albums within a month of each other.

Maybe my logic doesn't make sense (probably a Same Logic joke somewhere in there) but the 8-year-wait made me appreciate SF more than I appreciate Black Mile. For Brand New to release an album as great as SF after all the pressure and hype of such a long wait and then they release an album that blows everyone's insanely high expectations is really, really impressive to me.

 

Why the hell are we pitting two albums against each other from two different bands? Why does Brand New always have to be brought up in ManOrch discussions?

 

I'm happy for people to compare important albums from two popular and influential bands that have often been associated together on this site and in this 'scene'. That makes sense to me. However I can never participate as I've never been able to get into Brand New. I like a song here and there but nothing has really stood out. Listened to the first three songs from the new one and it was sadly the same feeling again.

I can understand the frustration expressed above about Brand New always being brought into this thread but due to the close association they have and influence that the bands carry, it really isn't a shock, particularly when the albums were released almost back-to-back and the general consensus is that they're two of the best albums released this year.

 

I'm not a fan of Brand New being brought up every time there is a MO conversation, such as saying MO should open for Brand New, or bugging Andy about Brand New, or what have you, however since the Brand New thread has like 20,000 posts already I figured I'd gauge the opinion here since these two albums were released so close to each other and I'm sure it's a very nuanced and tight debate and it's been a little bit of time now, and there hasn't been much Brand New talk in here besides a few users saying they haven't listened to this in a while because of that record, so I was curious.

I certainly feel like there may be a little bit of last album and wait bias for Brand New, but I am for sure biased to MO, so I was seeing what others thought. Both AOTY contenders for a lot of people for sure!

 

I think there are songs on SF that I like more than the best songs on Black Mile, but as a whole I like Black Mile better. I think. They both really are great. 2017 has been an unexpectedly great year for me.

 

I disagree, because I think the wait bias made people more critical of the music that was coming out, and it still held up better than I think most of us expected.

 

I've lost most of my desire to continue listening to Black Mile already. Still do once and a while but the magic has rubbed off.

 

God I really love both records

 

ABMTTS and SF are great records to play back to back. I agree with @teebs41 about being able to slightly relate more to the lyrics on SF but that's not to take anything away from Black Mile. Both are great records no need to pit them up against each other. I chose to cherish and appreciate both, we are so blessed that they both exists. Definitely my two favorite records of the year and I don't see that changing.

 

they are live on FB right now

 

I think it's very fair to compare MO to Brand New or keep them in the same conversation. Most MO fans I know, got into the band directly because of Brand New. MO has been on 4 or 5 different Brand New tours, mostly when MO was still trying to make a name for themselves (07, 09). It was that exposure that brought MO a lot of fans. I don't think it's that odd to always have the two bands in the same conversation at all.

 

I listened to MO before BN, but I think it was because of a friend who showed me MO, but also liked BN, so she probably found out about them because of BN.

 

Brand New is the only reason I listen to Thrice, Manchester Orchestra, and mewithoutYou, all of which are in my top 5 bands.

Thrice was the only one I had heard of from around the time I discovered Brand New in the early 00s, but didn't become a fan of Thrice until they toured with Brand New in '09.

I'm grateful for all of these bands, but especially grateful that Brand New introduced me to amazing artists that release music much more regularly.

 

They are live in my always.