Owen - The Avalanche (June 19, 2020) Album • Page 4

I haven’t listened to an Owen record since No Good For No One in high school....2002. Woof.

 

Dive in, this new one is one of his best.

 

Yeah I feel like this is the most consistent Owen record, every track is great.

 

I do find myself wishing there was one song that was more like "A Burning Soul" or "Settled Down" from the last record, a little more of a rock vibe if that makes sense. Love the new record and agree it's very consistent but that would be my one complaint but I'll admit its a bit of a reach haha.

 

After listening again this morning I take back my above comment, I think the two singles from this one do actually have the more "upbeat" or "Rock" vibe I was talking about above. "A New Muse" & "On With the Show" still two of my favorites from this record even though they were out beforehand.

 

I agree with that, the last two albums had Bad Blood and Settled Down which were distinctly more rock-oriented for Owen. On With the Show is probably closest and thankfully its fantastic

On With the Show and The Contours are two of my favorite tracks of the year so far

 

Headphoned is probably my favorite from
The back half, I would absolutely love to see him to do a full band session with songs from this and some older ones

 

LP3 was my first AF record too, but it seriously has become a top 5-7 for me, so this comment makes me excited to check this out!

 

Listened to this early this morning and the songs that weren’t standouts all hit so I think this is perfect now... also realized how long I’ve been a huge fan and that I kind of started taking his guitar playing here for granted because I’m so used to him making it sound effortless

 

Yeah I'm absolutely in love with this.

 

I've always wanted to learn some Owen/AF songs on guitar but I'm too lazy to deal with all the different tunings

 

I loveeee playing around in different tunings that I borrowed from Mike but I can't finger pick to save my life so no Owen riffs for me :(

 

I've learned a variety of Owen songs and the tunings are so tough to keep track of

I Got High, The Armoire, Who Found Whose Hair in Whose Bed, Love Is Not Enough, Places To Go, The Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi - all well worth learning though, so fun to play

 

Yeah when I make the effort I do enjoy playing an alternate tuning and noodling around for a bit, my problem is I can never memorize the tuning or the fingering, and if I don't learn enough songs in that tuning I never really feel like the effort is worth it to switch into it and remember how to play.

That said, maybe I'll stop being a noodge and learn Too Many Moons already

 

“Mom and Dead” is fucking me up.

 

Listening now. I feel like At Home.. is the only Owen album I really love. I don't even know if I've listened to any after that one. This is good so far.

 

No joke I first heard this album in the midst of the worst depressive episode I’ve ever had and it couldn’t have been a better soundtrack haha

 

So the first four tracks on this thing are just unbelievably strong and the rest of the record is also great.

“On with the Show” is such a stunner. If I’m being a little too honest, this summer’s been a little difficult for my mental health and I definitely lost my normal enjoyment out of a lot of things, including music. But that track seriously just hit in a way that I haven’t been able to connect with music with in a long time.

Production is also perfect IMO.

My only qualms:
1: that cake line is pretty wonky. Lol
2: the lyrics on wanting and willing are really depressing and dirty in a way that makes me a little hesitant to spend time with it. Or at least what I was interpreting it as, maybe I’m way off base. Like I don’t blame mike for writing about things like that to work through or explore them, but it’s really sad to hear.

 

Wanting and Willing is a definitely a hitting-rock-bottom narrative.

 

I've always felt his lyrics can swing wildly in quality, sometimes within the same song

 

No idea what took so long but this got a 7.2 on Pitchfork.

Owen: The Avalanche

 

Great read. Confirms his divorce though, which is a bummer.

 

really good album, though it does feel a little front loaded after a few listens.

realizing New Leaves might be my favourite from him