Saosin - Along The Shadow (May 20, 2016) Album • Page 85

I guess I'll just have to accept that I don't get it.

 

im sure you get it just fine

in the same breath that id say ttn is more unique id still say it was their first release and so some of it is less than optimally developed. for example the end riff of lost symphonies always reminded me a high school battle of the bands moment lol. seven years is probably the most consistent track, i think its pretty perfect.

 

I don’t listen to TTN very much anymore but of all the old classics it does such a good job of sucking me back into memories of listening to it on the bus, at school, on limewire, etc. lightning in a bottle really is a good word for it. Perfect little encapsulation of the chaos and melody of post hardcore.

 

In better news, relistening to Along The Shadow is a delight.

 

I did a discog run today. Personally I don't get the ISOSG hate, though admittedly it is a little forgettable and I don't have an urge to revisit it anytime soon.

Also, I gave this a listen again for the first time in a while. Cove sounds great on this.

 

I'm not really sure Beau would have wanted her to dump that info around but she suggested in the Circa Discord that Beau said it to her in a message somewhere.

Either way, if you follow Beau then it's not a massive surprise. He's always been the force behind Saosin and there always seems to have been instrumental demos ready to go from him, throughout the years.

You do have to wonder if Cove might replace Anthony for the foreseeable future. It would probably work well for all parties involved.. here's hoping anyway.

 

People seem to be forgetting Cove is in Dead American (who seem to be on the rise lately) as well as partially being in SKSK. He's probably more reliable than Anthony but it's not like it's gonna work out to it being a full-time gig in Saosin.

 

I did a discography run at work (not paying the most attention, since y'know, work) and ended up changing it roughly halfway through Along the Shadow. Not because it's worse than what came before, but like... I just realized I'm not into Saosin enough to listen continuously to them for that long.

The EP is still the peak. What a sharp batch of songs that is, in a way that I don't think can be replicated. That opener & closer in particular go so hard imo.

Going from that into self-titled, I really appreciated the way they found a catchier and more polished version of that TTN sound. It's a natural evolution that does something different enough to not just feel like lesser TTN, but still feel reasonably comfortable next to it. I still think "You're Not Alone" is a successful anthemic ballad.

ISOSG wasn't as off-putting as I expected going into it, but it was still pretty clearly a step down overall. While TTN feels raw but perfectly focused, and self-titled more polished but still focused, ISOSG doesn't really hold together. The most interesting thing it had going on was getting heavier at times, which wasn't enough to make me revisit it over the prior releases. I guess it mostly working as decent background music is a win?

Would be interesting to revisit ATS without having gone through everything else before it, lol. The Anthony who'd done that Circa Survive material rejoining the band didn't feel like enough of a revelation to pull me in after ISOSG, but maybe it'd hold up better on its own terms. What I heard certainly enforced my "can't be replicated" take on TTN.

 

Not to go on with my contrarian take, but I honestly think Along The Shadow is way, way better than Translating The Name. It's probably as was said before with the latter being rawer and more formative material, but I think Along The Shadow is a lot more defined and accessible, with clearer verses and choruses in the songs and more audible and discernable vocals. Which is to be expected at that stage of their career, I guess.

 

See that to me makes it worse and more boring. Plus Anthony's vocals are way better on TTN.

 

I disagree. I dunno what to say, SpyKi, I guess we'll just have to duel out in the rain. (starts looking for the high ground)

 

agreed. I also straight up disliked a lot of the vocal melodies on ATS. Plenty of good classic Saosin vibes there, I’m glad we have it, but also a good amount of stuff that just didn’t stick for me.

 

over here loving everything except the burnt clock album

 

The four covers together in my Spotify playlist of the albums looks pretty funny to me.

 

If you are open to the cheesy soft cry your eyes for dumb breakups.. ISOSG is fine for that.. besides that yeah its weird for a Saosin album... S/T was amazing. I also am just happy AG got a full length with the band. Along The Shadow will always remind me of what I listened to when I had to drive like an hour home every day when it came out.

 

Pretty sweet set list!

 

ISOSG is obviously the weakest album of the bunch but it’s not an awful record IMO.

It’s very much half killer/half filler for me. Would have been a solid EP with Secrets, Deep Down, Changing, On My Own, Alarming Sound, Worst of Me, Is This Real, and Fireflies.

 

Also; Saosin will never be a full time touring band anyways y’all lol

 

Full set. Time stamps on YT if you click over there.

 

I'm 100% with you. I really like most of ATS, but I have two gripes: Anthony's vocal melodies are way less adventurous than TTN, and the production doesn't do the layered guitar parts justice.

I only fully realized the production problem after watching some good quality live recordings. Take Silver String. It actually has a cool lead in the chorus... that I literally didn't know was there on the album version. Beau produced both TTN and ATS himself, so I'm not really sure why he went for a warmer, thicker sound on ATS. Really thwarts the main strength of this band.

 

I agree while acknowledging TTN was a lightning in a bottle moment. Along The Shadow felt like the perfect encapsulation of everything they had done, and having Anthony back was the cherry on top.

I do feel like some of his melodies or layering were too much, especially on the screaming side. His aggressive vocals sound shrillier than they did on TTN.

 

Looking to be a slower day at work so I'm doing a discog run

 

TTN was a time and place that will never be replicated, and that's okay.

The time was 2003 and the place was purevolume.com.

 

you mean the SaoBoard

 

AbsolutePunk.net was right there.