Had to be there I guess. Very repetitive. It's a little fun at some points though
Probably will only ever listen to "Down by the River" again. Nothing bad to say about the album in general though. Pleasant
The "Man"-"Tick"-"Black Tongue" run is "let's start a band, bro" punk slop. But then "Pin" is great, and then following rest of the album is more interesting in general than the first 5 tracks.
Much higher energy and quality than the earlier studio albums. A lot of cool additions/improvisation. Even the worst songs on this album have their strong moments.
Great album, but nothing incredibly memorable about it. Very consistent. I would rate just about every song a 4/5, but unfortunately there is nothing about the album that takes it to the next level for me.
Track 1: Dolly's mom tries her best for her child
Track 2: Mom cucks Dolly
Track 4: Dolly is getting consoled by mom because she got cucked again
Insane plot. Her singing is great, but most everything else is mid
Not quite sure why this album is so well received. I respect the concept of an album that is mainly from the perspective of southerners, explicitly anti-racist, and only created a decade or so after horrific state violence against minorities was common in the mentioned locations (notably Birmingham), but nothing besides that concept is appealing at all.
Vocals - mid
Instrumental/composition - generic
Lyrics - the selling point, but often satirical and dissonant which can feel insincere.
My issue with many satirical songs manifests most plainly through "Rednecks." Who is this song for? The message is wholly anti-racist, but the continuously repeated refrain, intended to be the catchiest line, has a slur in it. If the YouTube comments are fair sample of the fans of this song, the fans are mainly people who like the slur spam (and the brainlet "the north is actually the same" section), and then the anti-racist message is mainly used to shield the song from any criticism.
The rest of the album isn't any better. The Johnny Cutler through line is too insincere and silly to be taken seriously. The best songs are probably "Marie", "Louisiana 1927", "A Wedding in Cherokee County," and "Back on My Feet Again," but I don't really want to listen to any of them again. This opinion could change in the future I guess. 1/5
Overall a great listening experience. At times can feel a bit gimmicky or substanceless.
Glorified Target music. About half of the album's tracks are tolerable, some good elements some bad elements, but then other half is hard to sit through at all. The title track may be the only wholly good song. This album is profound music for Imagine Dragons and stomp clap hey listeners maybe?
I'm completely unsure where the almost universally positive response to this album comes from. Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe the vapid pseudo-nostalgia doesn't work on me. The fans often compare it to Springsteen, which I can somewhat see. Maybe if someone less talented than Bruce Springsteen by every metric tried to create a song like "The River," they could end up with something like "Suburban War" (top 3 on the album). I dunno...
But I'm glad others love it I guess
It's interesting. Nothing about it is particularly good, but at least its not boring.
Just a great listen. Guaranteed to make you tap your foot.
Extremely mid. Could've been a 2/5 with how useless most of these songs sound, but the last four tracks are on the better side of mid.
It is kind of good, but mostly whatever. Sometimes it feels like generic electronic noises with a guy just barely singing over said noises. Enough songs are good to make it solid overall though.
Somewhat better than I expected. A whole album of edgy growling and the random, interspersed rap segments are the most grating parts. The 90s cooked up some scourges of music genres.
