The Hotelier - Goodness (May 27, 2016) Album • Page 49

Back to less negative whining on my part I see Christian cut his locks a bit.

 

Tiny engines discussion on Twitter with people about hype and album rollout pertaining to this record.

 

They're like a thousand times smaller. Literally.

 

disagree with pretty much everything tiny engines person was saying but if someone's first thought while listening to an album is "good, but not as good as their last one" they deserve any flack coming their way imo

 

I kind of see what they were trying to say. Like if I approach Goodness thinking it's going to be another depressing emo masterpiece I'm almost certainly going to be disappointed, because they've made a conscious attempt at moving away from that. Their past brilliance certainly fuels the hype and makes me expect a fantastic album, but that shouldn't have to be on the same terms as their previous releases.

 

agree w/ you, but was referring more to what he said about tuning out hype being on the listener. in the same sense that bands don't owe their fans a [Masterpiece Album] 2.0 and no one should demand that of them, listeners don't necessarily owe the band the effort required to approach a massively hyped follow-up on its own terms. stuff like 'Goodness is good, but it's no Home' is annoying af to read, but they have a point about hype affecting listening experience. if you have a specific expectation in mind that's solidified by the hype surrounding a record, approaching the record on its own terms is way easier said than done.

 

like to bring up an example, in 2011 Cymbals Eat Guitars followed up their massively hyped debut with Lenses Alien. (imo both albums are incredible but the elements that make Lenses good are completely different from the elements that make WTAM good, and Lenses is hard to appreciate without the context of their latest record). anyway, according to the band, Lenses flopped. it was well-received critically, but a lot of listeners didn't understand it and people stopped coming to their shows. that's not on the band (even tho releasing an 8 min song with a section of noise as the first single probably didn't help), but it's not on the listeners either. the people who loved WTAM for its pop moments and were expecting something that built on that didn't owe the band the 15 listens or whatever it took for the brilliance of Lenses to click.

i don't think Goodness is gonna flop at all, it's probably gonna blow up actually, but Home was a super impactful record for most of the people who heard it, so it makes sense that a lot of people are gonna go into this record with preconceived expectations. this is of course amplified by the hype surrounding the album, some of which was brought into existence by the album lead-up itself. ofc listeners should make an effort, but if they don't or if it doesn't work, it's not on them imo.

(sorry for double post)

 

Whoever runs the Tiny Engines Twitter account should not have that job. What a laughably unprofessional exchange that was.

 

p sure that's the same person who runs tiny engines and also a pr company haha. frankness > professionalism any day tho

 

Yeah, I figured it wasn't just some random social media person. But this is the second or third time this album cycle where that account has tweeted something questionable.

 

I like the label, but this release just hasn't been handeled well. If I'm hotelier this is my last record with them.. I really think it's the label and not the band. They could have released this record on ANY label they wanted after home and they chose to stick with the label that got them here. Im fine with an early roll out but making comments about the artwork and now this, I would say they have done a terrible job with public relations.

 

They've gotta realize that people are going to say things like what James said. I'm not talking about the army of people they sent advances to (which, I mean, if you hate advance buzz so much, don't send the record to so many people), but rather about fans when the record finally comes out. It's not going to live up to Home for some people. That's just how it works. You released a record that resonated with people in huge ways. That's the kind of record that people have really special connections with; the kind of record that ends up an all-time favorite; the kind of record that, in the eyes of some listeners, a band can never top, no matter what they do. As the label, you can't lash out at every fan who thinks the new one is less monumental.

 

I would really be interested in whose idea it was to send out the advances so early in the roll out process.

 

would they have really sent the advances out with the release date in mind though? for all we know the release date was originally sometime in april but got pushed to may due to vinyl delays.

 

After the Hotelier's experienced w labels why would they work w anyone but Tiny Engines though? Seriously doubt they'd leave

 

Idk, pretty sure PUP/whoever their label is have done exactly the same thing in terms of sending out albums to everyone and their cat, and has the same release date and a similar announcement date iirc

 

oh okay, idk then. seems like most people who get advances don't end up reviewing the album tho so it might just be relative to when the album's finished rather than the release date. but idk how advances work so yeah.

 

That was a long time ago...they were a different band then. I mean a label like run for cover would be perfect for them. Big enough to get them exposure but still indie enough that they can do what they want.

 

it is.
i love chuck, haha. always was a huge pleasure to work with, one of my favorite people in the industry

i was shocked they didn't go to something like sideonedummy for this release. if they didn't here, they obviously were comfortable with the people they were around

 

Reading this thread I was expecting the TE guy to be lashing out at other Twitter users, but all I saw was a perfectly civil exchange, am I missing something?

 

Yea maybe it's not as bad as it seems, the hype comments were a little strange and how it's on the listener. I think we just need something to preoccupy our minds until we get the record....Still so far away!!

 

Yeah I mean it's not the listener's fault, but it's not on the band either. Tough call

 

good tweet

 

Begrudgingly agree

 

1. Pretty sure The Hotelier aren't going anywhere - they've been fucked over by bad labels in the past and they trust Tiny Engines - who doesn't contract their bands, no reason for them to leave

2. Anyone who followed Tiny Engines as a label prior to The Hotelier "signing" knows that the label sends out advance copies way early for even the smallest publications, they've always been great with that. They even used to give download codes of the album weeks early to people who pre-ordered physical copies

3. Tiny Engines is Tiny Engines - In my opinion, no one should be upset or angry about that Twitter conversation, I do see both points of view, though