ok. Out today. I like some of it. It just feels a bit juvenile. Wide Awake was a triumph because of its sparseness and this has almost none of that hushed and introspective tone. His lyrics have become very general as well. Pitchfork nailed him for that. "No One Would Riot For Less" is one of my favorite songs he's ever written but otherwise this album is full of misguided arranging and self-aggrandizing that just puts a damper on things.

Take it away.

I still haven't been able to get past the second track. I've tried 5 times and I just can't stand it.

quote:

Originally posted by Jglass:
I still haven't been able to get past the second track. I've tried 5 times and I just can't stand it.

Oh my.

Yep. It's been a disappointing year of follow-ups for me. I don't know why, I was working as hard as possible to go into this album w/o expecting anything specific. It's just not my cup o' tea I guess. I think I'm going to try and go from track 3 on and see if I can do it w/o the first two tracks.

Try track 10, at least. It builds nicely.

I really did like Four Winds when I heard it off the EP. Considering I've come to dislike Oberst a great deal since I'm Wide Awake, that's quite a feat. I'll listen to the rest of it soon.

I haven't heard anything off the new album. I was just going to buy it on a whim because I liked his previous three albums a lot (even Digital Ash in a Digital Urn.) Now I am wondering if I should still do that since no one on here really seems to like it and the reviews are so-so. I think I will need to listen to a few songs off of it.

quote:

Originally posted by Jglass:
Yep. It's been a disappointing year of follow-ups for me.

Actually, this is how I felt last year. I hated the new albums by TVotR, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and a few others. Although this year already has two huge disappointments for me in Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Bloc Party (I really liked both of their debuts,) there have been great follow-up albums by Modest Mouse, The Shins, Andrew Bird, Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon and LCD Soundsystem.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
I hated the new albums by TVotR

You mean you enjoyed their earlier work but hated Return To Cookie Mountain? Why?

Conor is only 26 or 27 but on this album, he sounds like he's 45 or 50. I loved the maturity of i'm wide awake, but Cassadaga is just boring. theres a few good tracks but overall its severely lacking in intimacy and any urgency he used to have. He's an extremely talented songwriter, anyone who says otherwise is very wrong but he needs to take a step in another direction if he wants to get back to making great records.

quote:

Originally posted by Portable Joystick:
You mean you enjoyed their earlier work but hated Return To Cookie Mountain? Why?

Well I never cared for their EPs or singles but yes, I did like Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes a lot more. I have gone through this with plenty of people but seeing as you are relatively new I will explain it to you. I found their debut to be a gripping, energy-searing, musical listen. They used different elements of funk, some jazz, pop, rock, layered vocal textures, striking melodies with a counter melody sometimes mixed with a smart harmony. They really seemed like a talented group of musicians. Not many people cared for this album in 2004 but it was like #8-10 on my year-end list. So the new one came out and it got glaring reviews, much better than their debut. I bought it without first listening to any of it and I despised it. Some of the songs are amazing like "Wolf Like Me," "Dirtywhirl," and "Tonight." One of the hidden songs is better than anything else on the entire album and I did think that "Wolf Like Me" was easily one of the top five songs of 2006. However, everything else was extremely cautious and very boring. Where in Babes they mixed new and varying sounds, on Mountain they shyed away from that and simplified things--where is the saxophone on this album that worked so well on the debut? And the first four tracks are just snoozers of songs. If you like it, great for you, but I will take any of the albums on my list over it and I would definitely take Babes over it any day.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
I haven't heard anything off the new album. I was just going to buy it on a whim because I liked his previous three albums a lot (even Digital Ash in a Digital Urn.) Now I am wondering if I should still do that since no one on here really seems to like it and the reviews are so-so. I think I will need to listen to a few songs off of it.

Well, it is currently streaming on Saddle Creek's website so you can listen for yourself... I like it so far.

edit: newbie question - why doesn't the quote look like it's supposed to?

The <QUOTE> at the end of your quote needs to be a </QUOTE>.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

Actually the reviews are pretty good. It got 4 stars from RS. I have the feeling it will be a grower for me.
This year I liked a surprisingly number of albums that were not liked by critics: Bloc Party(album of the year for me), CYHSH(ok, so maybe not quite on the same level with the first, but still very good), Air(very very underrated), and there are a few more I though were pretty good and were trashed by some critics. As for the critic darlings, yes, I do like Panda Bear(though I can't say at this moment just how much), "Neon Bible" is my number 2 album of the year, and I didn't listen yet to the LCD album. Very good year for indie so far.

I think the album is lovely. It's definitely not as stripped down as his other work. Cassadaga is a good mix of country and classical music. As you can see, I'm really enjoying it.

I think it sounds like the Milkman's Union, only a little more refined.

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:
I think it sounds like the Milkman's Union, only a little more refined.

Hawdy haw. You prick.
I have a new song up, actually.
WAHHHH.

I like it, but don't love it. Tracks are mostly hit or miss and about 1/3 of the lyrics are cliche or immature.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
Not many people cared for this album in 2004 but it was like #8-10 on my year-end list.day.

I actually like "Desperate Youth" more too - I think it is more consistent.

Desperate ranked #7 on my 2004 list compared to #3 for Cookie Mountain, just because the first album was released in a much stronger year.
Cookie Mountain was easily the most critically acclaimed album of the year - I don't care what Metacritic says - I didn't see Ali Farka Toure on any lists, and Tom Waits got by purely on old-timer credibility - TVOTR was hot in 06, because there wasn't that much to offer in that year.
That said, I still enjoy "Cookie Mountain", but I'm starting to think it would have made a better EP.

Anyway, I dowloaded Cassadaga but haven't listened to it yet because of Blonde Redhead. But I'm just going to wager that there is no way Connor Oberst can top I'm Wide Awake, which is a mini-masterpiece.

quote:

Originally posted by blueskyoas:
edit: newbie question - why doesn't the quote look like it's supposed to?

Maybe you deleted too much. On the second quote there should be a back slash---->(/) before the word 'QUOTE.' Maybe you deleted some stuff before hand and took off the [/ but only put back the [. Hope that is clear enough.

Thanks for the link, but you were a tad too late as I already bought it, I do like it though.

quote:

Originally posted by BContrat:
Tom Waits got by purely on old-timer credibility

Now let's not get crazy. Maybe you don't like Tom Waits--which is bewildering--but his three-disc opus was incredible. Heck, Brawlers alone would have been good enough to be on anybody's top ten list. Waits' latest effort was beautiful and stunning.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
Well I never cared for their EPs or singles but yes, I did like Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes a lot more. I have gone through this with plenty of people but seeing as you are relatively new I will explain it to you. I found their debut to be a gripping, energy-searing, musical listen. They used different elements of funk, some jazz, pop, rock, layered vocal textures, striking melodies with a counter melody sometimes mixed with a smart harmony. They really seemed like a talented group of musicians. Not many people cared for this album in 2004 but it was like #8-10 on my year-end list. So the new one came out and it got glaring reviews, much better than their debut. I bought it without first listening to any of it and I despised it. Some of the songs are amazing like "Wolf Like Me," "Dirtywhirl," and "Tonight." One of the hidden songs is better than anything else on the entire album and I did think that "Wolf Like Me" was easily one of the top five songs of 2006. However, everything else was extremely cautious and very boring. Where in Babes they mixed new and varying sounds, on Mountain they shyed away from that and simplified things--where is the saxophone on this album that worked so well on the debut? And the first four tracks are just snoozers of songs. If you like it, great for you, but I will take any of the albums on my list over it and I would definitely take Babes over it any day.

Hmmmm, I guess I'm just perplexed at how you really dug Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes and yet absolutely loathed Return to Cookie Mountain. I didn't see it as an abandonment of the style they developed on Desperate Youth, just a refinement and progression of that sound. And yes, while I think both albums have their high and low points, if I had to choose I think prefer Cookie Mountain. Although I enjoy both.

True, there isn't that same raw energy that can be found on songs like "The Wrong Way". Instead, Cookie Mountain features sound collages of slick production, luscious samples, soulful vocals, hip-hop beats, thick walls of guitars and off-kilter funky bass lines. Sure, I think a lot of these same elements can be found on their EPs and Bloodthirsty Babes. But what sets Return to Cookie Mountain apart is the willingness NOT to experiment, NOT to prove edginess, and not to out-avant-rock every other New York band. Instead it hones and improves the group's songwriting skills. And I have to disagree with your assessment of the first four songs -- "I Was A Lover", "Province", and "Playhouses" are three of the albums best tracks. Three of the band's best tracks for that matter. And although I like "Wolf Like Me", I don't think it's nearly as gripping as any of those. It is admirable that a band born from the No Wave revival scene, along with the (early) Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars, came to carry the same aesthetic without sounding No Wave, but soulful and spiritual instead.

I also don't really understand your criticism of the lack of a saxophone on the new album; it's not like it was THAT prominent on the first album outside of a few select songs, and is still present at times on Cookie Mountain. But yeah, I guess this is a Bright Eyes thread so I'll just shut up now.

I personally like "Cassadaga". I got it preorder and have had it for about a week, and listened to it about 10 times. My personal favorites are the first 5 tracks and "I Must belong somewhere", I would say that for me, it is nowhere near "Fevers & Mirrors" and "Lifted..." but is in the league of "Digital Ash," and "Letting off the Happiness." That said, I'm probably the only person who likes "I'm Wide Awake" the second least of all the non-ep's. The only lp or collection I like less is "A Collection of Songs." Although by putting it at the bottom of Bright Eyes albums, it is still probably in my top 50 to 100. I'm a bigtime Bright Eyes Fan and will probably like everything he puts out, sue me.