Franzi Schwade
LIGHTNING BOLT -- PRE-LISTENING
Our Opinions on the songs
So guys, I (Franzi) can't really describe music but I tell you the overall feel of the songs & I tried to get an idea of the lyrics, if I could understand Ed
Chris knows more about music, he added his comments after mine Enjoy!
F = Franzi says
C = Chris says
1. Getaway
F: We got this song twice because of a cd-error the first time. I liked it more after the second listen.
It's a faster mid-tempo song I would say. Not nearly as fast as MYM, but still one of the Top3 fast songs on the album.
Ed is slightly screaming the whole time. I guess the lyrics are about faith. Didn't understand much, but it's
more of an optimistic song.
lyrics snippets "hey heyy...it's ok" ... "it's alright"... (often)
"It's alright, I got my own way to believe" is a line that appeared more than once.
"sometimes you find yourself"...
Sounds strange, but it felt kind of right to the melodies.
C: Bass doubles the vocals in the verse - if I had a guitar while listening, I would have figured it out, but now I forgot about it
2. MYM
F: you know that one
C: Yeah.
3. My Father's Son
F: It's a strange one, couldn't describe it. Ed's voice sounds unfamiliar at the beginning, I thought that Stone sang first, too.
Mid-tempo. Really something new.
C: Could catch one line which was something like "My mother...she's a work of art". The verse is almost only vocals, drums and very much bass...
very bassy...dark atmosphere IMO. I like that song as I generally like challenging song structures I thought the bridge is very funny - like a poppy tune making fun of something.
4. Sirens
F: It's a beautiful one, Chris and I thought from the beginning that it sounded a bit like Pink Floyd, kind of like Mother.
At the start he sings several times:
"Hear the sirens..."
It's more of a slow song, but has a nice mood to it, feels lonely, like being alone somewhere at night, just my opinion.
I guess it's a heartbreak song, although I didn't understand most of the lyrics.
There is a guitar solo in it with notes that reminded me of binaural-area solos of mike, but I'm really no guitar expert
It has a catchy melody between the chorus, don't know if that's the bridge or the verses, but I think it will grow on you the more you listen to it.
Overall I think it's a classic PJ song (without being cheesy) that many people will love.
C: It's a long song. In the end, this line gets repeated over and over: "The fear goes away...". The song has a short and rather calm Mike solo.
5. Lightning Bolt
F: To me it really sounds similar to the live version, no big surprise here. Not my favorite song, but the production sounds nice.
It's got an awful fade out at the end & a guitar solo in between. But you know the rest
C:Sometimes I find fade-outs suitable, sometimes I don't. For this one it's ok for me. But I always wonder with what kind of song end they would come up if they play it live...and sometimes they would become very creative about that and I'd love to hear that on an album as well.
6. Infallible
F: It's an unusual PJ song, It has strong drum (and bass) lines and not so much guitar. The music sounds a bit aggressive & has a
more contemporary feel to it than the usual stuff. Eds voice is still in the normal range as a contrast to the more loud music
Lyric snippet if I heard it right
"put your faith in good hands,
pay no more than a glance"
"you think you've been here before"
(oh god, how embarrassing if these lyrics would be totally wrong, but I had to write fast
)
It gets screamier at the end & to me it feels a bit like alternative rock in the direction of the newer Foo Fighters songs.
It has a few voice overlays at the end.
& a fade-out again.
C: I found it to be rather long as well. Multiple guitars, backwards played open the song. The rhythm then is very "stompy" IMO. I wrote up some rhythmic notations amd guesses a few harmonies (for some of the other songs too) but find it now hard to remember or express.
7. Pendulum
F: I loved Pendulum. I picture Ed in a dark and moody room, like in a club, but the feeling is very lonely.
Eds voice is very soft and extremely in front of the music (you actually can understand the lyrics very well). The lyrics are very dark.
"my shadow left me long ago"
"understand where we d(w)on't go
this may pass
this may last"
It's really dark and kind of trippy.
It has a strang "a-ah-ah-a-..." part at the end. not his typically "hiiihiii"
There is also a Tambourine which makes the song sound even weirder and it ends with a few fast drum beats, very unique.
C: Echo-y Piano Intro, like in a big hall. Dark mood overall.
8. Swallowed Whole
F: It's the song that reminded me of Backspacer the most.
The lyrics are very environmental.
"I can feel the dawn,
I can feel the earth,
I can feel the living"
"Where's the song inside the wind?" (several times)
mid-tempo
C: Has a rather fast riff, mainly played by an acoustic guitar. Eigth notes, and, if you know what I mean, to count: 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2 (emphasizing the "1" - a classic alternative rock rhythm). I find the chorus rather "poppy". I noted an "OK" judging the song while listening. But, who know, if it evolves in my ears
9. Let The Records Play
F: It's a fun and ironic rock'n'roll song. It's really catchy and easy to listen to but I think it will get boring after time, at least for me.
It has a break shortly before the end & then more solo guitar and instrumental music for about 20 seconds til the end.
C: I'm with Franzi - Rock'N'Roll riffs (the verse and fragments here and there), sounds rather ironic (without recognizing the lyrics). If I am right, Mike plays slide guitar licks and a slide guitar solo with wah-wah effect. I also noted: "Bridge!" I guess I liked it
10. Sleeping By Myself
F: It's similar to the Uke version, it's more folky, in the direction of Mumford&Sons. With vocal harmonies from the band.
There are louder instrumental parts between the choruses, then the music gets in the background, Eds voice to front & back again.
I wrote "feels displaced". It's just a strange place on the album & Brendan told later that he was the one who wanted this song on the album so bad,
soooo. It's his fault. Would be more fitting as a b-side.
C: There is a "solo" (related to the vocal melody) as an instrumental bridge before the last chorus, I guess. I made a footnote: "Almost trivial." I recognized an Ukulele at the end of the song.
11. Yellow Moon
F: It's a slower song, reminded me of Mark Lanegans Bleeding Muddy Water.
It had a few lyrics with metaphers of the sky & falling stars and stuff.
Otherwise, for the first listen there's not so much I could write about it.
C: In the verse it has a odd time signature: 6/8 - 5/8 ... I noted "echo-y vocals" and something like a dark "fairy tale".
12. Future Days
F: You all heard it. It's really cheesy It has a light echo effect on Eds voice and vocal harmonies. Also it's more like an Ed song, only little soft background music.
The end has the cheesy keyboard. But I guess all the non-PJ-fans will love it, haha.
C: I never found that song too cheesy but considered it to be a challenge to accept it in the catalogue, haha. I like the production...I understand why the piano fits into it...but I could live without a piano here
All in all, I think those are great songs, so, even if I might don't like one or the other, maybe you'll love them.
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