Dig it.
After listening to them more thoroughly, I can give some thoughts about them. I'd been waiting for Love Hurts for ages, and it's been great to finally hear it. It's definitely different to the acoustic version, the guitar riff is slightly different (it may simply be that it wasn't clear enough in the live recording but I think it's more than that) and there is some effect on the tone as it isn't clean. Which is great because, as I've said before, it differentiates it even more from Drive which it would remind people of. I have to say the song on the whole is quite simple and straightforward but in my opinion it's all the better for it as it's really driven by a solid vocal melody and catchy riff, which is all it needs. The solo is probably the only unexpected thing about the song, as it's less like Drive's or Talk Shows on Mute's and more like Neither of US Can See's.
Dig was quite a pleasant surprise. It's definitely a case of the band trying something they've not before. There's a nice 90's sound to it and I'm kind of getting a self-aware feel about it, like they know exactly how it sounds and don't care one bit. There's also a serene vibe that's reminiscent of Wish You Were Here. On the podcast Mike and Brandon spoke of how much work they did on the song, it being in fact "the most toiled-over" song on the record. That does come out in the song, it sounds like it has a lot of polish, a lot of care over what direction it takes them and how it sounds as a whole. I think that if this track had been on the previous album, it would have sounded really different, perhaps quite empty and raw - or a little minimalist like Southern Girl is - when this song really needed a warmth and depth to it. Which is the case, as it feels quite lush. I think Brandon outdoes himself vocally with this song, he shows his range well and I feel he has brought his voice from the stage it was in A Crow Left of the Murder to a point now where he seems fully comfortable with the style of his singing. The guitar is catchy, and the bass, while hanging in back for the majority of the song, really shines in places like the bridge.
It's good to hear the keyboards in the background of Love Hurts - and I know that they're there on A Kiss to Send Us Off; I'm glad DJ Kilmore is really stretching himself, he's completely off the scratching business and has been moving on to more interesting sounds ever since Morning View. Even though the scratching effect seemed part of the band especially during the S.C.I.E.N.C.E era, making them "hip" or something I don't know, it was quite limiting as it was something that could have easily been overused. With Morning View he definitely started introducing more interesting sounds like a whole strings accompaniment in Aqueous Transmission and some ambience in Are You In. There was an mp3 version of the vinyl he used for the album, and after hearing about it I have a heck of a lot more respect for him and DJ's in general; it must take quite a bit of skill to time those samples and get them rolling at the right time with the rest of the instruments. These samples add a lot more to the songs than simple scratching could ever do. I was quite disappointed with his involvement (or lack thereof) in A Crow Left of the Murder, and I hope he's doing more on this album.
After listening to them more thoroughly, I can give some thoughts about them. I'd been waiting for Love Hurts for ages, and it's been great to finally hear it. It's definitely different to the acoustic version, the guitar riff is slightly different (it may simply be that it wasn't clear enough in the live recording but I think it's more than that) and there is some effect on the tone as it isn't clean. Which is great because, as I've said before, it differentiates it even more from Drive which it would remind people of. I have to say the song on the whole is quite simple and straightforward but in my opinion it's all the better for it as it's really driven by a solid vocal melody and catchy riff, which is all it needs. The solo is probably the only unexpected thing about the song, as it's less like Drive's or Talk Shows on Mute's and more like Neither of US Can See's.
Dig was quite a pleasant surprise. It's definitely a case of the band trying something they've not before. There's a nice 90's sound to it and I'm kind of getting a self-aware feel about it, like they know exactly how it sounds and don't care one bit. There's also a serene vibe that's reminiscent of Wish You Were Here. On the podcast Mike and Brandon spoke of how much work they did on the song, it being in fact "the most toiled-over" song on the record. That does come out in the song, it sounds like it has a lot of polish, a lot of care over what direction it takes them and how it sounds as a whole. I think that if this track had been on the previous album, it would have sounded really different, perhaps quite empty and raw - or a little minimalist like Southern Girl is - when this song really needed a warmth and depth to it. Which is the case, as it feels quite lush. I think Brandon outdoes himself vocally with this song, he shows his range well and I feel he has brought his voice from the stage it was in A Crow Left of the Murder to a point now where he seems fully comfortable with the style of his singing. The guitar is catchy, and the bass, while hanging in back for the majority of the song, really shines in places like the bridge.
It's good to hear the keyboards in the background of Love Hurts - and I know that they're there on A Kiss to Send Us Off; I'm glad DJ Kilmore is really stretching himself, he's completely off the scratching business and has been moving on to more interesting sounds ever since Morning View. Even though the scratching effect seemed part of the band especially during the S.C.I.E.N.C.E era, making them "hip" or something I don't know, it was quite limiting as it was something that could have easily been overused. With Morning View he definitely started introducing more interesting sounds like a whole strings accompaniment in Aqueous Transmission and some ambience in Are You In. There was an mp3 version of the vinyl he used for the album, and after hearing about it I have a heck of a lot more respect for him and DJ's in general; it must take quite a bit of skill to time those samples and get them rolling at the right time with the rest of the instruments. These samples add a lot more to the songs than simple scratching could ever do. I was quite disappointed with his involvement (or lack thereof) in A Crow Left of the Murder, and I hope he's doing more on this album.
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