The Wonder Years Band • Page 112

Sorry to hear that man. If there is anything I can help with please don't hesitate to send me a DM

 

Just dropping in to say I'm very glad this band exists, especially during these weird times.

 

shoutout to the last minute and a half of We Look Like Lightning. Listening through Sister Cities for the first time in a long time.

 

also am I insane or would Will Yip and TWY be an awesome combo? Vox are way too in your face on this album and he's known for turning vox down and letting atmosphere shine through, which could really allow all three guitars to come through finally.

 

Keep Yip far away from them please

 

Yip was manning the board for their 10 year anniversary shows back in 2015. They recorded/filmed it and nothing has ever came of it.

 

A lot of people seem to dislike Will Yip but he produced last couple albums by mewithoutYou and The Menzingers, all of which sound good and are celebrated on this forum. Why is that?

 

He’s gotten a lot better. I think a lot of people point to floral green, descensus, the things we think we’re missing, and maybe some others, as vocals being way too far down and treble being too high, which can result in an exhausting listen sometimes.

 

I think that combo would be interesting at the very least. I'd be down to hear it.

 

There's a lot of cool atmosphere in Sister Cities that gets drowned out sometimes because there are too many vocals/instruments fighting for that space. I feel like Yip could provide a good balance to let everything shine through.

 

Dan actually just mentioned on the Riot Fest livestream that the story was complicated but essentially the film didn't look or sound the way they wanted it to, then they sent it to be edited and the files were lost somehow. Didn't know Yip was involved but that's interesting.

 

Some of it is his ubiquity in the scene (see also: John Feldmann) and some of it is his style grating. In particular since you mention Menzingers, Hello Exile was criticised by some fans for the fact that the vocals were difficult to pick out to the point of making the lyrics hard to understand on first listen.

I personally think him working with TWY would be a good fit but there are other producers I'd like them to work with first.

 

Hard pass on Yip working with TWY. I can't think of a pairing I would be less happy with (although I was not a fan of how the last two records sounded). I would honestly love another record mixed by Steve Evetts, Suburbia and TGG sound fantastic.

Who they should work with depends heavily on what sound they want, but I stand by them working with Andy Hull.

Edit: also, as for the last two mwY records, they sound serviceable but they had far more interesting production on every other record besides A-->B Life. Honestly, I still get sad imagining how good the end of "Rainbow Signs" (and it's already so good) could be if Yip hadn't made it sound flat and lifeless instead of heavy and dramatic.

 

Eh, different strokes, [Untitled] is an absolute masterpiece for me from a production standpoint.

 

I definitely think [Untitled] is one of the best things Yip has done! But imagine if the chorus of Wendy and Betsy hit even harder... and with another producer, I know it could have.

I should add that Pale Horses and [Untitled] are two of my favourite records of all time. My point was mainly that even when Yip is on top of his game, there are still some disappointing things.

 

The only TWY record that doesn't sound like shit production wise is The Greatest Generation. It is also easily TWY best record

 

Looking back now, yeah, but Upsides and Suburbia’s production worked at the time.

 

TGG is definitely the best sounding, but Sister Cities is on another level songwriting wise. TGG is 2-3 songs too long.

 

I don't necessarily disagree but very curious as to what you'd take off TGG

 

Tracks 9-11

 

tracks 3, 9, 11 for me. I also don’t love the closer- but obviously you’d need the medley to stay.

 

I don’t know if I 100% agree with cutting three songs, but if three had to go it’d be these for me as well. The rest are stone cold killers.

 

Found this neat tree on a hike in metro Cleveland!

 

Nice! Where at exactly?

 

Rocky River Reservation, but it was off the trails, so really weird coincidence!