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Old 10-13-2017, 11:37 AM   #259
bigoltitties
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Initial impressions having heard the album the whole way through:

Hats off to Rick Rubin, this is the best produced BC album this side of Machina. I fucking hated what was done to Spaniards as it's a rock song and should have been produced as such, but that aside, there are subtle touches to songs like Processional, Mandarynne and Shiloh that take them to the next level and Billy's vocals sound great.

In terms of songwriting, this is such a level above MTAE it's hard to believe the same person is responsible for both. Where MTAE was shallow and calculated this is from the heart, and profound in places. Exactly what made me fall in love with Billy's music from the start.

There are weak points, for me Antietam was very forgettable and I skipped over it. And Spaniards was botched, but listenable in the context of the album.

There are absolutely zero cringe moments or moments where I thought he should have taken the song somewhere else or ruined it. They are largely simple songs, but that is intentional and is fitting to the general theme.

I'm delighted to be honest. I was not expecting much.

 
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