Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface (July 28, 2017) Album • Page 126

It's seriously still one of my favorite series but my god I literally joked the day before the game came out that the only way the plot could get more convoluted would be adding time travel and then they did it UGH

 

im already out here like "ok now i have to play kingdom hearts birth by sleep 5/12 part 2: Mickeys Revenge HD wait what happened in the last game again wait who is that why are there so many nobodies now oh wait is that a heartless what the fuck is an unversed where is merlin god damn it" and then they introduce that shit

 

ok heres what i think based on my many listens

there is a mineshaft
there is a family with 3 children and a divorced(?) set of parents
the dad worked in the mineshaft
SOMETHING happens that causes some event at a grocery store
possibly a miscarriage
The Alien is like, an actual alien or something that is not of this earth
the grocery store is pivotal as is the mineshaft
one of the kids is bullied or is troubled or something, possibly kills someone

 

So I think the kids get messed up from the divorced maybe and each has different problems the alien being about one of the kids who was bullied and grocery is one of the brothers that loses it, the moth and lead sd are also about that brother?

 

maybe idk that would make sense

 

Andy said characters reappear in different songs. The maze could be the children being born and each verse is about a different sibling... I really have no idea ha

@BoldTitan thinks there is no definite story and it's jusr a mix of fictional characters and Andy's own personal experiences.

 

Excited for those live videos tonight

 

That's what I've gathered from interviews and articles. It started as a full-on concept album but that wasn't working out so not all the songs are about that.

I only have one full listen so haven't figured out the story. But I do love that "The Maze" seems to be from the child's perspective singing to the parent.

 

This album is everything I didn't know I wanted out of MO. One listen through and I'm pretty sure this is my favorite of theirs. It's definitely their most cohesive, most challenging, and most mature sounding album. Can't wait to dig in more.

And thank you to the little birdie who flew into my inbox.

 

Didn’t Andy originally say it was about a town?

 

The maze- writing from his and his daughters perspective.

The gold- story of a miner and his family from the perspective of the wife. Compared to Andy going out on tour and coming back changed. References his dad telling him to take a moment and breathe it down

The moth- moths are attracted to light. Story of what seems like a broken couple. One always searching for faith and God and never getting close enough. You can crash here, but you don't really live here anymore

Lead,SD- written about a stoner kid and his life in SD. Then various stories about getting cabin fever and losing it during winter time up there. Uncertainty about fatherhood. Elise was a victim of the grocery store attack from an arrow. Although other references to rounds so not definitive if it was a gun or arrow. Weird paranormal line thrown in

The alien- written about a kid who's dad cut his ears off and was bullied and called an alien. Comes home to do something. Ends up cutting into traffic takes out a bunch of people and ends up in the hospital taking meds

The sunshine- just ramblings about a close person

The grocery- kid grabs the gun and goes to grocery. Goes crazy pointing it at the cardboard people in the ads. Tries to kill himself and it doesn't fire. The entire song is filled with lines about wanting to have an unwavering faith like his father and see the truth that is hard for him to see

The wolf-the hardest to decipher. Sounds like a drunken accident or rage possibly. Family secrets that have been kept away. Hole in your stomach makes me think he was shot in the grocery possibly. But waitress watching the levitation puts it in a diner probably. Ultimately just trying to find the truth in the relationship

The mistake- miscarriage and shame. Being with someone they were unsure of. Rushing into marriage. Played against everyone else's mistakes in life.

The part- Andy and Amy's story.

The silence- the culmination. Him trying to give everything he could but feeling like he fell short. Burying the demons of his past. Trying to keep the harsh world from his daughter. Not wanting to corrupt her with his past. Trying to protect her. Once again final theme of there is only left what you leave as an impression for your children. Let me hold my eyes and be glad that I got there....and scene


This was half Andy in interviews and half me analyzing.

It was originally supposed to be about two brothers in some town can't remember the name but he saw a picture of south Dakota and read into the mine stories and started crafting random stories mashed with his own experiences and thoughts and fears. Like most MO albums it isn't concrete.

 

This is great work

 

I like birds.

 

If you're being blessed by birdies, please be sure to purchase a copy.

 

THIS!!

Also there's is levitation in the wolf!!

 

Review: Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface | Sputnikmusic

 

I'm a big fan of birds. Some of the best, those birds.

 

Stopped by the record store on my way from work and they had this in. Despite having preordered the gold version already, I decided to pick it up. Listening now. Has anyone figured out which track Nate Ruess is on? I feel like I heard him on The Maze but I could be wrong.

 

The maze is a beautiful opener. Andy sounds great

Lead is like three different songs it's so dope

The sunshine is so weird, I never thought they'd write a song like this. It transitions so well into the grocery

 

Well, here I am.

I was purely an observer of the forums, but this record has made me sign up in the hopes of having heard it by now and conversing about it..

Sadly the beautiful night ride to this record never came, but tomorrow is another day.

Great to hear such kind words about the album, I sincerely hope it lives up to the expectation.

 

I love everything about this record. I had similar, if not higher, expectations for COPE and still remember sitting on a park bench being slightly disappointed on my first listen as I rolled through each song. I didn't feel that once through my first listen here. I'm very happy with how this turned out. How did they do this?

 

The grocery is pretty wild. Remember when I said ilavlac was my favorite Andy vocal performance? I mighta spoken too soon

 

Also kyle was right about the drums in the wolf. Hell yeah

 

Oh man I got some great news today. USPS updated my arrival date for the Gold Package from Thursday to Friday... I'm so happy for many of you

 

Finally finished my first listen. Literally. All I can think about is The Silence. Wow.

I will say that The Sunshine put a big smile on my face right off the bat since I've been listening to The Alien so much.