Gang of Youths - angel in realtime (February 25, 2022) • Page 15

album is easily my favorite so far this year. i can’t get it out of my head

 

Once you said it the guitars of Kingdom and brothers are verryyyyyy U2, but subtly so

 

imagine hearing this album and being like “ah, yes, a 6.8 is fitting”

 

This is a very dense listen and I'm the type of person who needs numerous listens to have a somewhat fully-formed opinion on an album, so I think this record is going to take me a while (GFIL was very similar).

That being said, really liking it on first few listens.

 

never heard of this band before (I can say that about a lot of artists though) and a few tracks into this so far, really enjoying it. vocalist reminds me bits and pieces of a few different singers but I think Matt from The National is the one I hear most similarities too (which is a good thing, love The National) - at least on the opener for sure.

 

Love this. Such a powerful album, definitely an early AOTY contender.

 

Pitchfork is wack

 

my wife said he sounded like daughtry a few times on the album and honestly i’m so shook

 

I really wish I enjoyed this more. The story is amazing, the vocals are great as always, instrumentation is tight. But this feels so overwhelming to me, not emotionally but in an auditory processing way? There’s so much going on and I struggle to take it in when I can’t pinpoint a single instrument while listening to this.

Idk if it’s an attention span thing or an issue with how I comprehend music with too many elements. I hope it grows on me or I can get past this. I have similar issues with GFIL too, but those songs were so important to me at the time and seeing Gang of Youths live is a transformative experience. Haven’t felt the drive to listen to them again after seeing them in concert a few years ago.

Although, I’m curious about how my dad would feel about this album — my granddad told my dad & aunt that he had another family before he married my grandma when dad was maybe 12 years old. I hope my granddad found absolution from my other aunts and uncles before he died, he was a wonderful man who just happened to make a bad decision in his youth.

 

My gf said it sounded like Alt Buble

 

I don't think I've ever made any blanket "long albums are bad" statements. The album I ranked number 1 on my 2010s decade list is 65 minutes and 16 songs.

I do feel like a lot of long albums these days don't earn their length, though, and I know I've pushed back when you and others have suggested that fleet 8-song or 10-song tracklists feel incomplete or even feel like EPs. In many cases, I think 10 or 11 tracks is the sweet spot. But this album -- thematically, lyrically, musically, etc. -- has a lot to say and a lot to give, and it makes sense that it's a long, epic, widescreen record. It earns the length in a way that, say, Notes on a Conditional Form, or Reflektor, or The 20/20 Experience (all examples of albums I'd describe as "long for the sake of being long") really don't.

 

I like how the one for Interpol’s Turn On The Bright Lights basically boiled down to “I wasn’t around/old enough for this album when it came out and I don’t get it.”

 

You definitely did not make a blanket statement. I do remember you acknowledging being ok with being left with the feeling of wanting more, where I don’t mind having a little more to hold me over for couple of years between releases.

I feel like this year has been pretty spot on with release lengths, and albums feeling full without feeling thin or bloated by tracks. That’s included so 10 track albums from Gregor Barnett and Dan Andriano, to longer albums like this Gang of Youths (agree on the cinematic reference and it feels appropriate for dealing with the range of topics and feelings around loss) and Frank Turner’s album (which I don’t love every song but there a little more to sift through so I don’t feel shorted).

Appreciate the reply.

 

You can’t remove a single song from this album without weakening the story and the structure. It’s the definition of no filler.

(Which is something you could definitely not say about their last album.)

 

My only criticism of this album, and maybe this is a product of its length (though I usually think length is a plus), is that it feels a little repetitive. I feel like Dave’s vocal melodies were more varied on GFIL, and as Mary mentioned above, it’s hard to separate a lot of the instrumentation so the songs blend a bit musically. The overall feel of the songs is incredibly catchy and they sound great and I bop my head the whole time, but when I’m not actively listening it’s hard to recall a lot of specifics.

 

I disagree that they blend, I've woken up with three different songs from the album stuck in my head the last three days. I do get being overwhelmed by all the layers though, even if it doesn't bother me personally. This may be counterintuitive but I actually found that listening in my car helped me make sense of all the sounds better than listening on headphones did, don't know why.

 

The guitar line that kicks in about halfway through in kingdom is very very U2

there is cohesion but enough moments here that prevents the song from blending imo

 

Excited to see what the setlists are like for these shows

 

Completely new to this band. In the wake of your leave sounds is monumental.

 

I'M ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY

 

This is stunning. Already an AOTY contender for sure.

 

Here we go

 

Bought tickets to Brooklyn Steel before this becomes too expensive.

 

It's a returner day for me folks

 

got my ticket over the weekend. $50+ bucks in Philly is pricier than I thought it would be, and yet far too little for the experience I'm hoping to have.

 

Finally got around to this. Excited to dive in more