Red Mosquito

Sgt. Crackpot wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:if they go back to BoB for the next record I'm gonna fucking mentally unravel

What if this was their last album?

then in my opinion they're going out with a bang, and as my favourite band

this album sounds like the same band that made TB2000

Very rough ranking after a few listens

Dance of the Clairvoyants
Superblood Wolfmoon
Quick Escape
Comes then Goes
Alright
Buckle Up
River Cross
Seven Oclock
Never Destination
Who Ever Said
Take the Long Way
Retrograde


Superblood will probably go down a bit over time. I've listened to that song a LOT the past two weeks, and it's catchy as fuck with a lot of highlight moments. As the others become more familiar they'll move up. But even the lesser songs have moments I really dig.

Fattie_Vedder wrote:

Sgt. Crackpot wrote:

Fattie_Vedder wrote:So far This album is to me is like Yield and Riot Act had a baby. And it’s fucking wonderful.

:phallic eggplant emoji:

Question is, which album is representing the eggplant emoji? Or are you referring to your own excitement over this?

I haven't listened to it, so proposed excitement. Both albums are favourites of mine.

Fattie_Vedder wrote:

Sgt. Crackpot wrote:

Fattie_Vedder wrote:So far This album is to me is like Yield and Riot Act had a baby. And it’s fucking wonderful.

:phallic eggplant emoji:

Question is, which album is representing the eggplant emoji? Or are you referring to your own excitement over this?

Spring has sprung indeed.

i'm not saying this thing is rubber soul or anything (or even vitalogy) but motherfucker it's really good and hitting a lot of sweet spots and i'm ecstatic we get to hear it this far into the trip. worth the 8000+ posts and then some. hope everyone is having fun tonight.

I'm in my basement posting on a PJ message board reacting to a new album like it's 2002 again.

Could I please get some help? Thank you.

Who Ever Said is not getting enough love...it really clicked the third time through

I must have read "we wanted to capture the energy of the live show" and groaned 100 times in the last several years, but they've done it

Homeboyd wrote:Who Ever Said is not getting enough love...it really clicked the third time through

it's great

evenslow wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:It’s the year 2020

Pearl Jam just got came along.

Breath just got its ass kicked.

By the band that wrote it.

Quick escape.

didn't you say this thing was a big piece of shit?

I said I didn’t like it. I still don’t like an awful lot of it. But good headphones do wonders


**those two punk numbers have no place being nit just in the middle of the record but even on it.

Take the long way is exactly what I was talking about. You could put that on ST and it would sit among the others perfectly. It’s a reheat/leftover.

Thanks!

Sgt. Crackpot wrote:

Fattie_Vedder wrote:

Sgt. Crackpot wrote:

Fattie_Vedder wrote:So far This album is to me is like Yield and Riot Act had a baby. And it’s fucking wonderful.

:phallic eggplant emoji:

Question is, which album is representing the eggplant emoji? Or are you referring to your own excitement over this?

I haven't listened to it, so proposed excitement. Both albums are favourites of mine.

I am legit excited for you. And impressed with your resolve to wait for the release.

So I finally got home to listen to this on some decent headphones and wanted to update my thoughts:

Who Ever Said *** 1/2
-Still not totally sold on this. The original word on this was pretty damn misleading. Not bad....just not great.

Superblood Wolfmoon *** 1/2
-This still plays better as an album track than a single. It actually seems to have more life coming after WES.

Dance of the Clarevoyants ****
-Same impressions as before.

Quick Escape *****
-Best song in 20 years. Hands down. It has swing, swagger, groove, and pure attitude. Who knew they had this in them still? Feels like a less frantic and more developed 1/2 Full....turned up to 11. Ed is solid, Matt and Jeff own it, Stone hammers away and Mike's solo FITS the song instead of mindless wanking.

Alright *****
-Gives Quick Escape a run for its money as best song in 20 years. It's pure fucking gold and is the next great opener. It's like an ambient and more mature Oceans. Ed is top notch here, Matt is great, Jeff is solid, and Stone and Mike add a ton of atmosphere to this thing.

Seven O'clock ****
-The opening minute or so is a little off to me as Ed's vocal delivery is different but the last 3/4's of the song is spectacular. Ed's voice soars and the song just hits hard that last half.

Never Destination ***
-Definitely get the BRY vibe blended with Supersonic but then the song kinda changes gears in the outro and gets better. The problem is the opening half which just feels like a retread of older material.

Take the Long Way ****
-Matt and Stone/Mike own this song. Love how the guitars just cut through the song. Great vocal melody by Ed. Outro is total gold again. Still the second best hard song on the album.

Buckle Up ****
-Upon further listen, this thing is pretty demented but in a great off-kilter way. It's like I'm Open coupled with Parachutes.

Comes Then Goes ****
-This is a really good solo Ed song but a real missed opportunity to beef up the backend with some heavier guitar work or shading by Stone and Mike. Like others have said, it's different than Ed's more recent solo schlock/dreck of Just Breathe/Future Days/Out of Sand/etc. Feels fresh like Thumbing My Way but doesn't have that downtrodden melancholy of TMW. Totally hear that Pete Townsend acoustic "fury" that a reviewer stated earlier.

Retrograde ****
-First half of the song is just kinda mehhhh….then the back half kicks in and absolutely saves it. Definitely not Sirens Pt. II. It's not as straightforward and bland as Sirens. Tremendous outro.

River Cross **** 1/2
-Elegiac and some wonderful touches by the band to close out the album. Love Matt's work on this as it's ever-present but doesn't overpower everything else going on.

Bottom Line: **** 1/2 overall
-This record lays waste to Avocado/BS/LB. This sounds like a completely different band than the one we've been saddled with for 18 years. It's like they ret-conned those 3 albums and progressed on from Riot Act. Where has this band been for these past 18 years???? It has a burning fury, hopefulness, and unabashed experimentation that's been sorely lacking for so long. Ed has some really great moments here and his decade-old vocal ticks and over-emoting don't ruin songs like in years past. His range here is terrific. Mike doesn't do any rock wanking but builds solos that add to the vibe of each song. Stone is grinding away and anchors things quite well. Jeff and Matt are the absolute studs of the album though. Their playing and song contributions are spectacular. The final MVP is Josh Evans. This album is going to put him on the map. He captures so much space and atmosphere and pushes the band in so many directions it's a glorious listening experience, even with a few missteps (mostly Ed's contributions with WES, SBWM, and ND). Bottom line is I'm floored they could produce such a consistent album this late in their career. I'm also kinda sad so much time was lost in that 18 year/3 album period.

dimejinky99 wrote:

evenslow wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:It’s the year 2020

Pearl Jam just got came along.

Breath just got its ass kicked.

By the band that wrote it.

Quick escape.

didn't you say this thing was a big piece of shit?

I said I didn’t like it. I still don’t like an awful lot of it. But good headphones do wonders

dimejinky99 wrote:You’ll be happy and unsurprised to hear dance of the Clairvoyants is the best song on here.

You’ll be dismayed or unsurprised to hear the rest of it is bog standard stodgy bland Pearl Jam fare.

Woohooo yeah! Is my first impression. Thank you to those that sent me the link. I'm not on board with any of the LB and Backspacer hate here. I'm generally of the mind that this band falls into that Tom Petty-like 'high batting average' band, where they just seem incapable of putting out something I won't like. Too many strong songwriters. They're not a band that puts out those mind bending/change-the-game/makeeveryone else catchup records, but not many do. And well on first listen ... I think they are gonna give me yet another keeper. I'm not on some trip of being a "rejuvenated" fan or needing to be rejuvenated ... I've dug the past few albums and felt they were necessary. This continues the journey and I'm so proud they're still around and doing it. I usually fall pretty close to Stip, and I think he said this is a Yield-Riot Act-Lightning Bolt sort of mix and I think I might agree. I also think this album has it's own distinct character. I love that they can do that. There's a Gigaton vibe. I love how their albums sort of speak to each other. I can't comment much on the lyrics yet, but here are my initial impressions.

Who Ever Said - So, I'll need a few go rounds with this one. I'm a *huge* fan of Getaway. One of my all time favorite openers along with Life Wasted and Go. This one I'll get back to. I liked it, but I can't say highlight. It rocked, it had some cool guitar, there's a song there I'm gonna like. Did it lead into the vibe of the rest of the record? I dunno, may be not. But it sounded good. Looking forward to more listens.

Superblood - It's growing on me. Like I said before, a musical cousin to Gods Dice and Grievance with the choppy chord sequences.

Dance of the Clairvoyants - yep, killer song. They sure did it. A track that stands out in their catalogue as it's own thing. Bravo.

Quick Escape - Oh man! Loved it, gave me chills actually. Man just a cool mixture of sounds, grooves, solos, and just a total ripping trip of a song. Put a huge smile on my face and will be a stunner in concert. Matt and Jeff are stars here. Just simply, the best rock band doing their PJ thing at a very high level and feeling current.

Alright - flowed nicely after QE, I really felt good about this one. I'm gonna dig future listens. Really helps establish that core Gigaton vibe that's going on here. It has the core qualities of this album. If I were to describe this album's vibe, this song might contain alot of it.

7 oclock - Maybe a War on Drugs sort of sound here? Definitely some Bruce, but it's got some good flourishes that further establishes the album vibe that Alright established. This is really turning out to be an *album* at this point. I'm not sure how the first couple tracks fit with these, but this is the core of the album, and I'm digging it.

Never Destination - yeah it's a rocker, but it fits the vibe of the tracks that preceded it. I don't know why. Now I'm a little bit more puzzled by the first 2 tracks and I'm not sure how they lead into the rest of the album.

Take the Long Way - put another smile on my face. I really like Matt's Cavedweller, and this feels like that. This was missing on LB, why wasn't he given a song on that?

Buckle Up - yes! some weirdo shit, and I think I'm gonna be down with it. Riot Act had Help Help, which I didn't like at first but is *spot on* now. This one could be one of the stronger 'weirdo' PJ tunes. I'm gonna have to go back to it some more.

Comes Then Goes - some Far Behind esque guitar playing. The chords really stand out. Again, I usually need time with lyrics but I feel like this is gonna deserve repeat listens. He's gonna sound great w/ this on stage during a quiet section or in his solo sets.

Retrograde - dug it, and dug the climactic finish. It feels like it gives resolution to some of the themes and sounds heard in the middle section, so I think this feels like it could be a key track. I'll want to spend some time with this. Could play an In Hiding role, but In Hiding was something else entirely and hard to ever top.

River Cross - completes the Gigaton vibe. The band members tastefully added good bits to it.

I am not on board in any form with the idea that the band didn't put effort in the last 2 albums. I feel like, if any criticism was fair, it's that they beat the songs up too much and didn't let them breathe. They clearly scrutinized, or maybe overscrutinized at times, the songs on those albums. This is them relaxing in the studio. They're taking a few chances, but still being self-assured. They're kicking it, losing themselves in some of the sounds but also recognizing the gravity of where they are at in their career and what's going on in the world. I feel like this will be relevant to me, and I'm gonna really enjoy playing this on my turntable and my earphones. Backspacer and LB were big "car" records. I think this is gonna be a headphones record. Good late career record. Essential if we want to see how older rockers can age well.

Donald wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:

evenslow wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:It’s the year 2020

Pearl Jam just got came along.

Breath just got its ass kicked.

By the band that wrote it.

Quick escape.

didn't you say this thing was a big piece of shit?

I said I didn’t like it. I still don’t like an awful lot of it. But good headphones do wonders

dimejinky99 wrote:You’ll be happy and unsurprised to hear dance of the Clairvoyants is the best song on here.

You’ll be dismayed or unsurprised to hear the rest of it is bog standard stodgy bland Pearl Jam fare.

I can finger point to each song every one of these comes to when they aren’t mash ups or versions of older ones.

I don’t have to though. RM will do that soon enough.

it's 3am and I was just thinking "all this excitement has meant that I can't sleep", then I remembered I hadn't taken my meds yet

what a day RM! I was glad to share it with you

Could someone help me find this please? Thanks!

Tuolumne wrote:Woohooo yeah! Is my first impression. Thank you to those that sent me the link. I'm not on board with any of the LB and Backspacer hate here. I'm generally of the mind that this band falls into that Tom Petty-like 'high batting average' band, where they just seem incapable of putting out something I won't like. Too many strong songwriters. They're not a band that puts out those mind bending/change-the-game/makeeveryone else catchup records, but not many do. And well on first listen ... I think they are gonna give me yet another keeper. I'm not on some trip of being a "rejuvenated" fan or needing to be rejuvenated ... I've dug the past few albums and felt they were necessary. This continues the journey and I'm so proud they're still around and doing it. I usually fall pretty close to Stip, and I think he said this is a Yield-Riot Act-Lightning Bolt sort of mix and I think I might agree. I also think this album has it's own distinct character. I love that they can do that. There's a Gigaton vibe. I love how their albums sort of speak to each other. I can't comment much on the lyrics yet, but here are my initial impressions.

Who Ever Said - So, I'll need a few go rounds with this one. I'm a *huge* fan of Getaway. One of my all time favorite openers along with Life Wasted and Go. This one I'll get back to. I liked it, but I can't say highlight. It rocked, it had some cool guitar, there's a song there I'm gonna like. Did it lead into the vibe of the rest of the record? I dunno, may be not. But it sounded good. Looking forward to more listens.

Superblood - It's growing on me. Like I said before, a musical cousin to Gods Dice and Grievance with the choppy chord sequences.

Dance of the Clairvoyants - yep, killer song. They sure did it. A track that stands out in their catalogue as it's own thing. Bravo.

Quick Escape - Oh man! Loved it, gave me chills actually. Man just a cool mixture of sounds, grooves, solos, and just a total ripping trip of a song. Put a huge smile on my face and will be a stunner in concert. Matt and Jeff are stars here.

Alright - flowed nicely after QE, I really felt good about this one. I'm gonna dig future listens. Really helps establish that core Gigaton vibe that's going on here. It has the core qualities of this album. If I were to describe this album's vibe, this song might contain alot of it.

7 oclock - Maybe a War on Drugs sort of sound here? Definitely some Bruce, but it's got some good flourishes that further establishes the album vibe that Alright established. This is really turning out to be an *album* at this point. I'm not sure how the first couple tracks fit with these, but this is the core of the album, and I'm digging it.

Never Destination - yeah it's a rocker, but it fits the vibe of the tracks that preceded it. I don't know why. Now I'm a little bit more puzzled by the first 2 tracks and I'm not sure how they lead into the rest of the album.

Take the Long Way - put another smile on my face. I really like Matt's Cavedweller, and this feels like that. This was missing on LB, why wasn't he given a song on that?

Buckle Up - yes! some weirdo shit, and I think I'm gonna be down with it. Riot Act had Help Help, which I didn't like at first but is *spot on* now. This one could be one of the stronger 'weirdo' PJ tunes. I'm gonna have to go back to it some more.

Comes Then Goes - some Far Behind esque guitar playing. The chords really stand out. Again, I usually need time with lyrics but I feel like this is gonna deserve repeat listens. He's gonna sound great w/ this on stage during a quiet section or in his solo sets.

Retrograde - dug it, and dug the climactic finish. It feels like it gives resolution to some of the themes and sounds heard in the middle section, so I think this feels like it could be a key track. I'll want to spend some time with this. Could play an In Hiding role, but In Hiding was something else entirely and hard to ever top.

River Cross - completes the Gigaton vibe. The band members tastefully added good bits to it.

I am not on board in any form with the idea that the band didn't put effort in the last 2 albums. I feel like, if any criticism was fair, it's that they beat the songs up too much and didn't let them breathe. They clearly scrutinized, or maybe overscrutinized at times, the songs on those albums. This is them relaxing in the studio. They're taking a few chances, but still being self-assured. They're kicking it, losing themselves in some of the sounds but also recognizing the gravity of where they are at in their career and what's going on in the world. I feel like this will be relevant to me, and I'm gonna really enjoy playing this on my turntable and my earphones. Backspacer and LB were big "car" records. I think this is gonna be a headphones record. Good late career record. Essential if we want to see how older rockers can age well.

nice post