The Wonder Years - The Hum Goes On Forever (Sept 23rd 2022) Album • Page 59

If I'm being completely honest I've never understood the complaints about the sound on NCTH or Sister Cities.

 

Yep, I don't think my ears work quite the same as others that have that complaint though haha

 

I don’t know anything technical about music production but I know that when I listen to most music in my car the volume is set to 16-18 and on NCTH it’s gotta be at 22

 

I've always thought this over the years too haha.

 

Like I know that it doesn’t sound the same as their other records but I can’t tell you exactly why

 

I have been told I have a tin ear, does that mean anything

 

I don't know that I would take that as a compliment

 

Oh I am not lol

 

I remember when NCTH leaked and I was convinced that my download was just really low bitrate because it sounded so bad. I was positive the leak was like 128kbps and The Real Album would sound good (then I put the retail CD in my car on release day and it still sounded bad). I’ve really grown to love that album but it always takes until like the end of Patsy Cline to get used to how cluttered and messy it sounds.

 

Pretty sure even members of the band have commented about how they aren’t a fan of how the mix turned out

 

With NCTH, I don't think it sounds bad or anything, but (and I'm absolutely not able to use technical terms to describe this), it just sounds much smaller/less powerful than it should. Like there are some truly epic moments on the album, but the production doesn't help it explode or pop like it should, in my opinion. Doesn't really detract from my experience of the album though

I have really no issues with Sister Cities' production. A few parts absolutely sound muddy, but I feel like that kind of just fits the mood of the album

 

I think NCTH sounds thin and weak but Sister Cities actively grates me sometimes (and I still love both to pieces). Both albums are deserving of a remix and remaster, and if the band reads this I would pay so much for both.

I totally get that not everyone would be as picky about a mix as me, but I've worked on 4-5 records with my bands and through that developed an ear for these things that I can't turn off, lol.

 

This is where I'm at. I never return to NCTH. Probably only listened to it all the way through like 3 or 4 times, because something sounds off about it. No technical knowledge, but it just doesn't sound right. Bits that should be loud are quiet. The vocals are hard to make out sometimes. Everything sounds a bit muddy. Sister Cities is my favourite TWY record and I have never noticed anything strange about it - again, probably due to my untrained ear.

 

This is wild. NCTH has two or 3 of my favorite TWY of all time on it lol

 

I've tried so many times to listen to it. But I get a few songs in and give up. The songs are great live, but can't get through the record.

 

SC production doesn’t bother me too much except for the first two songs, but NCTH sounds absolutely horrible, and I also think most of the songs on it are awful

 

I will die on the hill that NCTH is my favorite Wonder Years record.

 

It has some of my favorites too but it definitely doesn’t sound as good as other records

has Dan ever sang harder/higher than he does on Bluest Things?

 

He does on Heaven’s Gate as well as a couple times on this album. Wish he would stop, especially on songs that are quiet and much more reserved like on Summer Clothes and Laura & the Beehive. I think it’s pretty grating most of the time

 

My 2 cents on the mixing/mastering debate: NCTH is just straight up mixed like a typical Steve Evetts record which is way too muddy for a band with as much detail as this. It's overcompressed and there's so much masking so everything is fighting for space. I vaguely remember Nick mentioning he was quietly working on a re-mix back in the NCTH thread when he used to be active on the site. I've grown into the sound, it's sort of charming and nostalgic for some reason that I can't quite put my finger on.

Sister Cities, on the other hand, is mixed quite well. But it has the absolute worst master I have ever heard on a modern music recording. Holy shit. It's somehow clipping and overcompressed in some spots, and yet the dynamic range of the master is way too wide (for those who're bogged down by the lingo - listen to Pyramids of Salt in your car; you'll catch yourself turning the volume up to hear the verses and then scrambling to turn it way back down once the chorus comes in). I made a joke earlier in the thread that it's mastered like a Christopher Nolan film.

Mixing on the new one is pretty solid, and by far their best. There are a few spots where the vocal mix isn't my favorite (the de-esser on Lost it in the Lights is removing too much of the s/f sounds and it's super noticeable when he sings "what if, what if, what if" at the beginning).

My hot take? None of their music has ever sounded as bad as Suburbia. Shit sounds like it was tracked in a cardboard box.

 

I think you mean South Philly basement

 

Basically how I feel! It’s a fun catchy record that’s doing interesting things, especially on the songs where they build off of Sister Cities, but I think songs like Paris of Nowhere are so bland

 

I always thought the production on Suburbia was intentional. I've always enjoyed the sloppy, raw sound it has. I can't verbalise it but it sounds like you're listening to something through a lens of nostalgia, that I had assumed was intentional by a band so careful and meticulous with their song writing.

It's similar to the last Bleachers record I loved, yet most people seemed to hate the production on that. I enjoyed the way it sounded like the band went into the studio, did a one-take recording and left. It's low-fi but it works for the kind of music.

 

I will admit Paris of nowhere is the one pop punk song here that hits for me. It’s just a lot of fun, which a lot of the others here aren’t imo

 

things I like on the new album: improved production, loads of little layered riffs and details poking out even in songs I'm less wild about (three guitarists = they are now the pearl jam of pop-punk), many of dude's best lyrics to date. I actually also really like the other dudes' goofy voices poking in from time to time, which helps break up the gloom a bit. "songs about death" reminds me weirdly of the converge blood moon album. "oldest daughter" might be the platonic ideal of a wonder years song. some of the lyrics on the closer ick me out a bit but the closing lines are quite moving.