Saosin - Along The Shadow (May 20, 2016) Album • Page 84

i only like WYWB and LN. great albums.

 

Please, I don’t think we can handle polarizing TBS takes bleeding into the polarizing-in-its-own-right Saosin thread. That’s too much critical mass of band line-up opinions.

 

Taking Back Saosin

 

This thread comes alive every 6 months strictly for people to argue over best albums and best singer. SaoBoard never dies.

 

ISOSG > Red Light or whatever the name of the last album was. I couldn’t tell you a single name of a song on that one it was so forgettable. Felt very let down after all the hype of AG rejoining.

 

Ideology is Theft, Second Guesses, and Control & the Urge to Pray are some of the best songs this band has done. The rest of Along the Shadow ranges from pretty meh to solid to good

 

Yeah those three are all way better than anything on ISOSG.

 

Silver String came out and it definitely hit me hard, how is that song forgettable, not sure, to me it's a banger too

 

Whatever. Guess I just gotta make a playlist that’s just TTN and their albums in order and listen to it at work this afternoon, so I can have up-to-date Saosin opinions that no one will care about.

 

My take on the ISOSG hate is that the first 6 songs are so bad everyone gives up by time Say Goodbye starts. 7-13 are all solid songs and this direction is better for Cove's range.

 

I probably haven't heard it in at least 10 years, but this thread now has me wondering......

 

I actually did revisit ISOSG earlier this year for the first time in years and I don’t think it’s bad. I legit think On My Own, The Worst of Me, and Is This Real can stand up with some stuff on the S/T

 

I'm doing my own discog run right now and I'm going to be straight up here.

I don't get the hype over Translating The Name. It's a fine EP, and maybe it was a "you had to be there" sort of deal, but it just feels okay.

Truth be told, one of the barriers I have for getting into post-hardcore stuff is the feeling that lyrics are never written with the music in mind but are poetry forced to fit in music that also is not designed to elevate the lyrics, but to just be there while the lyrics happen. It doesn't suit either of them.

I very much prefer the sound of the self-titled album, where there are clearly defined and strong verses and choruses. Relistening to it now and it's actually even better than I remembered.

 

yes you did have to be there. TTN is a seminal second wave post hardcore release. its more niche.

self titled is definitely a specific product of its time too. more broadly alt rock sounding.

 

Yeah, I guess this makes sense. Maybe if I'd heard it when it came out I'd feel more strongly about it. Or maybe I wouldn't; as stated above there are some things about the genre that don't appeal to me, so if this was responsible for those things, then maybe I'd just feel the same no matter what.

 

TTN is just five of the best songs I've ever heard. I love every aspect of it dearly.

 

I think even without the personal attachment, I would still be pretty blown away by the musicianship on the EP, it goes so hard and it so complex at times, just really amazingly crafted songs

 

to be clear i still think its a great ep. and i much prefer that genre to alt rock which to me is oversaturated because its a huge genre that dominated for a while.

 

Maybe it's because I don't play an instrument or know anything about music theory. When you say it's complex, I have no idea what you're referring to.

 

While I think TTN is their best material instrumentally too, what really puts it over the top are the more fluid song structures and AG's layered, wandering, unrestrained vocal melodies. I feel like that gets way overlooked when people boil it down to "Anthony had a better voice."

Like, I don't mind Cove's voice on the bug album. It's his radio friendly, pandery, boring melodies that make it such a clear downgrade. Just compare this to Come Close as a good example.

 

I don’t think you need to play an instrument or understand music theory in order to have a particular opinion about it. I play drums and I actually think the drums on TTN are a little too busy at times. I know Alex wrote the parts and someone else recorded them, but I think the execution of drum ideas was better on S/T.

With that said, I love that hypnotic guitar melodies at times and the frantic energy through the EP. Anthony’s dueling vocal just add more to it. Equal parts spacey and aggressive. Good grooves throughout. Great EP

 

I just mean that I've noticed people who actually sit with this stuff, whether for a living or as a hobby, tend to see things differently than people with a more surface take on a subject.

It's not just with music, but with everything. I think people get more sensitive to the mechanics of things and it colors their opinions. Which is fine, I'm not criticizing it, but just acknowledging it exists.

 

Yeah I'd love to hear something like that come out now.

 

I came to Saosin a little late, like I think I heard TTN and the singles from self-titled for the first time around the same time. (Which, is maybe part of why I really go to bat for “You’re Not Alone,” lol.) But, I still think that EP is a real special lightning-in-a-bottle project. Everything about it is just so focused and sharp and effective.

 

@Penlab yeah I mean, I don't know anything about music theory but when I hear those songs and listen to each instrument, it's impressive