The Wonder Years - Sister Cities (April 6, 2018) Album • Page 159

Yeah I mean on a few tracks I got a Brand New vibe, but if I was writing for a publication I ain’t mentioning that band.

Also each listen I convince myself Raining in Kyoto is my favorite. When the volume picks up those vocals sound SO GOOOD.

 

okay, so here are my hot takes on the record

best three songs right now are it must get lonely, it looks like lightning, pyramids of salt. it must get lonely especially has really dug in to me the last couple days, that might be their best song. i totally agree with the person who said it's a progression from there there.

i also think it must get lonely is where the comfort spot of dan's vocals are. i don't love the ending part where he's yelling, but the rest of it is exactly where i think he needs to hang more. this is his best vocal performance, but sometimes some of the better "vocal" parts are brought down by just the way his voice sounds. absolutely not his fault and it's so awesome how much better at actually singing he's gotten, but some of the intonation brings those parts down slightly, sadly.

flowers reminds me of a mayday parade song. that has nothing to do with the song's quality, i just hear "you'll be the anchor" every time that song comes on

i really don't like heaven's gate that much, i think that's the only real misfire on the whole record

i almost wish there were more heavy parts on the record based on how much i like the bridge of WLLL

i'm still not totally sold on most of the second half, but it's growing on me. orange grove reminds me a lot of cul-de-sac as well

i do really like this album, it's definitely the full leap they needed after the sort of hesitant leap of the last one. super excited to see them today

 

I also didn't like Heaven's Gate at first and thought it was the lowest point vocally on the record, but I've come round to it now

 

Look I'm not getting into a "separate the art from the artist" debate in here. Speaking favorably about Brand New's music, as that review does, is speaking favorably about Brand New. I wouldn't compare anything I love to Science Fiction in a publication like that. It's gross. Nobody forced him to show appreciation for Brand New's music in his review like that, he did that all on his own.

 

The octave harmonies in the bridge of It Must Get Lonely are a great touch and honestly a pretty impressive showcase of Dan’s vocal abilities.

I agree with most of this except that yelling part in IMGL is my favorite part of the whole album.

 

Oh yeah, I think the way he sings is definitely the most impressive he’s been. I just think sometimes it’s just brought down solely by the sound of his voice a little bit, and it’s super impressive that he even at least tried for this knowing how he used to sound as well.

Part of my problem with that part is that it seems (I might be wrong) to be varying in a different tonal way from the quieter part and it just feels a little strained there in a way that I don’t love

 

There's so many other bands that you can draw comparisons to on this album, choosing to compare it to a band with that kind of member in it is gross and also could be impressionable and cause someone to check out the band.

 

I’ve listened to this record front to back 4 times now, it’s just such a wonderful album. I feel like everytime I try to listen to just one song, i end up wanting to hear the whole thing beginning to end

 

I think I can kinda see where you’re coming from and might be more inclined to agree if the melody/power of it didn’t impact me in such a strong way like it does.

 

Agreed that Dan’s best vocal range is on It Must Get Lonely but I actually l love when he kicks it up at the end

I realized this morning that this band learned how to make an emotionally resonant closer without relying on lyrical callbacks and codas. Those callbacks were kind of their forte (“I’m not sad anymore,” “were no saviors,” the end of Funeral) and this record doesn’t have that, but doesn’t suffer for it. Pretty big leap forward in album-writing that I didn’t pick up on at first.

 

I'm the opposite in that the first half of It Must Get Lonely is just decent, and then the powerful yelling part near the end completely blows me off my feet. I don't get the end of We Look Like Lightning as much as other people too, feels way too jarring, and the 'what song do you want to die to' isn't really a lyrical highlight, probably the weakest track for me sadly.

 

There is not a single moment on this album that sounds anything like any music brand new has made, first of all

 

yeah, i can see that. that's why i said i was doing my hot takes!!! my few criticisms/observations that i feel are solely on me

 

I know! Just felt like engaging with them

 

If someone is checking out a TWY record I'd figure they already know who Brand New is.... but I digress

 

This guy gets it. We should hang out more On Line™.

 

I feel like they already knew how on Funeral - all those revisited bits I don't think add to the emotional resonance of the song. In fact I think the song would be much more emotionally impactful without the medley. But yeah this is the first time they've done it - if you don't include NCTH. Lyrically that song is superb but for me it doesn't fully translate on record.

(Edit- and listening back now they do mention other songs in there 'clipped a bird on the freeway' etc, so yep, the first time)

 

Funeral would be immeasurably better without the medley. Brings down a great song.

 

huh, I always assumed most people regarded Dan's ability to pretty deftly weave recurring themes and callbacks seamlessly into his lyrics, both within and across albums, as one of his strengths as a writer. I mean, it's a pretty effective, classic literary device. The ending of Funeral was one of his and the band's finest moments at the time, especially the non-referential lyrics at the very end that provided quite the exclamation point to the message of the record. The album doesn't work as well as an entire statement without it.

Also, The Ocean Grew Hands to Hold Me absolutely calls back to the recurring imagery of the sea/water that's all over this thing. It's in the title even.

 

the ending lines of funeral are so, so good.

I always thought one of his best abilities was storytelling, though lyrically they've moved away from that on most of this album (bar Kyoto)

 

Yeah I mean there definitely aren't as many overt callbacks and references but he's still telling vivid stories and there for sure are callbacks/references/recurring motifs from earlier records on here.

 

for sure, it's all just a lot more fragmented, little snippets here and there. i'm not saying it necessarily makes it worse, just different

 

Does anyone else have issues hearing the vocals on some songs? Like if I'm not listening to the album with earbuds, it is especially difficult to make out what Dan is singing sometimes. Maybe it's just me.

I'll have to see if it's the same when I get the CD today.

 

Sometimes when one of their new albums drops I try to guess at which lyrics from it will go on to get referenced/called back on their next one. It's a fun game. One that I was totally right about back in the day was the "devil in bloodstream" stuff that's now appeared on both NCTH and SC.

 

It’s a strength, but doing the same thing 4 albums in a row becomes predictable and less of a strength and more of a crutch. I’m glad he did something else here to pretty resounding success.