Saosin - Along The Shadow (May 20, 2016) Album • Page 17

I'm really liking this record...here's some thoughts.

I like the diversity of sound (Old Friends, Secret Meaning, The Stutter, Sore Distress, Along the Shadow really stick out and sound different than anything this band has done before).

I enjoy the throw back sound of the early to mid-2000's (Count Back, Ideologies, Control and the Urge to Pray to name a few). No current bands really do that sound anymore (I really liked it then and still like it now).

Really disappointed that the "bonus tracks" aren't included on the vinyl because Drinking From The Fountain is the best song this band has ever written. I guess this was a label decision and not a band decision but it still sucks for the fans. They seem to fit as the last and second to last tracks.

Anthony kills it on the album. I love his scream voice and it is layered nicely on most songs with his cleaner vocals. No one does screaming like him and its awesome to get a full album of it instead of just a song or two.

I wish there were some more faster and heavier songs (like Sleepers, Collapse, Lost Symphonies, Translating).

Overall, I think they delivered about as good a record as I could hope for considering its been years since In Search for Solid Ground (which to me was a disappointment for how safe and bland it sounded). I feel like they took some risks here and they pay off.

 

It's on kingdom leaks (deluxe edition too) if you wanna go that way.

 

Benjamin, I DO wanna go that way.

Thanks

 

I really do enjoy the record.. I think that it will hit harder in full quality as well.. I may just listen to radiohead until I can hear it better quality.. I feel like this record only has so many listens where it will be really enjoyable and I don't want to waste them

 

I hope circa responds to this with a really ambient record hah

 

I'm at college orientation but all I want to do is go home and listen to this again, ha

 

Wait so what is this out on?

 

Streaming on Pandora

 

Blegh

 

I know. I made an account so I could listen to it because it wouldn't let me listen otherwise. Irritating.

 

I like it more with every listen.
Count Back from TEN might be in the lead ATM

 

"Drinking from the Fountain"

Holy moly!

If they don't play this song live, I will protest.

 

"Drinking from the Fountain" is definitely one of my favourites.

 

I'm content with it. They're obviously older and different people than TTN. I dig it a lot though.

 

Same here. "Second Guesses" had me thinking I was listening to "Anthology." This is hardly a complaint, though.

I like this. I can definitely see where people are coming from saying that middle sort of blends together, but I've always wanted just a little bit more of this sort of structure and focus from Circa, so this works for me.

 

I was thinking Thrice when mentioning @Garrett L. not when I was listening to this album.

 

Ah, my bad.

 

yeh. they have completely lost me at this point. feels bad

 

I want more OLG-ish stuff from Circa. Just putting that out there in the universe.

 

I love every Circa Survive album, Descensus is my 3rd or 4th favorite depending on the day

 

An ambient Circa album would be everything to me.

 

Honestly the drumming and guitar playing on this record have really put it over the top for me. The drum performance on here is absolutely insane... Anthony was good on here by for me instrumentally the band stole the show

 

Yeah the drumming is on another level, absolutely top notch. Guitars are great as well.

 

Alex was the first drummer that made me realize I wanted to play the drums.

 

I've listened to this probably a dozen times now, and I like it more with each listen. I like almost every song, but I think Second Guesses is horrible, and The Stutter Says A lot is pretty middling. (For what it's worth, I also hate You're Not Alone, so softer Saosin might just not be my jam.) I'm also lukewarm on Ideology is Theft, where I like everything except the chorus, but that chorus just feels... I'm not even sure what the right word is. There's a common thread with the guitar melodies in everything I've mentioned in this paragraph. Pandering, maybe? Upbeat, in a way that feels cheesy?

There's definitely some weird pacing going on, which might be a product of the album being written over such a long timeline. A LOT of songs on here would serve as good closers: Control and the Urge to Pray, Along the Shadow of a Man, Old Friends, Sore Distress, and even arguably Illusion and Control, if only for its last minute, would all make excellent closers.

Conversely, Racing Toward a Red Light is the only song on here that I think would be a good opener. The Silver String is a really good song, but it doesn't start things off with much urgency. I think the flow would be improved exponentially by switching the two of them in the track order.

I also wish a lot of the songs went on longer. Some of them build to these points where they feel like they're just about to go crazy, but instead of following through, they just kind of end. The Secret Meaning of Freedom is especially guilty of this, but something like half of the songs do it, and it drives me crazy.

With all of that said, I think this is Saosin's best overall work. Warts and all, the material here fucking slams. The polished, radio-friendly sheen that self-titled and especially ISOSG had is completely missing, and there's this darker, don't-give-a-fuck edge to the album that the band desperately needed to return to form. This is an easy AOTY contender for me so far, and it still feels like something I'll continue to appreciate more with time (and with a better quality stream.) I'm really grateful that Saosin is back.