Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on Apr 10, 2015 9:13:47 GMT -5
Another homerun for my boys!
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Mike
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Post by Mike on Apr 10, 2015 10:02:45 GMT -5
2/2 for me so far. "The Wolf" will be a fantastic follow up. I think it's catchier than the lead single tbh.
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getonthebus
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Post by getonthebus on Apr 10, 2015 10:26:43 GMT -5
The Wolf is better than Believe, but both are definitely lacking the energy and passion of their previous albums and singles. There's no fire, no urgency in the vocals. They're just...there.
I mean, compare this to Below My Feet, which is more rock than banjo. It's night and day.
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ILLUSION
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Post by ILLUSION on Apr 10, 2015 12:48:09 GMT -5
I just think this new music lacks originality. Their previous sound was so unique to them and I loved that about them.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on Apr 10, 2015 12:49:34 GMT -5
They are coming for a million sold first week. LEGENDS. STADIUM FILLERS. ROCK GODS. ETC.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on Apr 17, 2015 12:45:17 GMT -5
3 of my friends and I got General Admin tix to their show at Coney Island on June 2nd. #boom #tearsofjoy. Looks like they just added another show for the 3rd. I. CAN'T. WAIT.
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swim
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Post by swim on Apr 23, 2015 18:45:24 GMT -5
www.nme.com/reviews/mumford-and-sons/160388/10 Much has already been made of Mumford & Sons’ abandonment of their beloved banjos for album number three. Yet anyone who’s seen the quartet live - which, when you consider their knackering touring schedule and commitment to playing far flung fields as well as arenas, is a great many people – will attest that there have always been hints of a rockier side lurking beneath the folksy facade. With the assistance of Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs on 2009’s ‘Sigh No More’ and 2012’s ‘Babel’, Mumford & Sons rapidly became one of the biggest bands in the world. The abrupt switch of producer for ‘Wilder Mind’ then, only seems a risk until you find out exactly who they’ve roped in to help out. Initial sessions were helmed by Aaron Dessner, from gods of gloom The National, and the album itself was overseen by Haim, Florence And The Machine and Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford. Interestingly, Florence regularly works with Ford, but is using Dravs as producer for her upcoming album ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’, like some high stakes game of chart-topping chess. The influence of Dessner’s band is clear from the get-go, not just in the New York-centric title of opening track ‘Tompkins Square Park’ – which references a small East Village patch of green favoured by Hare Krishna monks and hipster dog walkers – but its driving bursts of melancholy. Before Marcus Mumford’s tobacco-glazed vocal sparks into life, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a particularly rousing offcut from The National’s 2010 album ‘High Violet’, complete with a propulsive chorus that nudges itself into The War On Drugs’ school of heartland rock. ‘Believe’ follows, with twanging guitars and stadium-reaching riffs. It’s far from typical of the record though, something which will come as good news to those upset at the group’s presumed Coldplay-ification. Second single ‘The Wolf’ is far more substantial, a thrusting and unforgiving three-and-a-half minutes that flaunt the band’s continued fondness for ye olde turns of phrase (“Leave behind your wanton ways”, compels Marcus, like a winsome medieval gent plonked down in the middle of Manhattan’s Avenue A.) The record’s unmitigated massive moment is the unrelenting ‘Ditmas’, named for Ditmas Park, the Brooklyn district the bulk of The National call home. A desperate purging of love and loss, its four-to-the-floor beat is Mumford & Sons at their most enthralling; a band not just refusing to be pigeonholed in the waistcoats and acoustic hoe-downs of the past, but propelling themselves into the future by way of vast licks, emotive lyricism and one hell of a catchy melody. The major key revelry of ‘Just Smoke’ and tumbling fury of ‘Snake Eyes’ plug into a similarly widescreen vision, the band’s sound boosted immensely by the introduction of an actual drum kit, as opposed to the lonesome kick-drum Marcus has been booting about for the past six years. Yet softer moments remain: the earthy harmonies of ‘Hot Gates’ offer hushed reverence, and the delicate ‘Cold Arms’ lets a lone electric guitar ring out as Marcus sings of lovers betrayed and left “all torn up”. ‘Only Love’ is the perfect synthesis of the two distinct elements of this album, and in turn its makers, a whispered build-up bursting into a gigantic beast, brimming with passion and 1970s Fleetwood Mac guitars. Still missing the banjos? Didn’t think so.
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swim
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Post by swim on May 3, 2015 15:24:37 GMT -5
As expected, the album is getting mixed reviews. Thoughts on how big it will open? For sure less than Babel. I'm thinking 200k about the same as ZBB this week.
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H.
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Post by H. on May 3, 2015 17:22:34 GMT -5
I'm thinking 300k.
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Green Baron
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Post by Green Baron on May 3, 2015 17:26:21 GMT -5
75k
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on May 3, 2015 17:45:04 GMT -5
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Post by hopelesslywanderin on May 3, 2015 23:31:14 GMT -5
As expected, the album is getting mixed reviews. Thoughts on how big it will open? For sure less than Babel. I'm thinking 200k about the same as ZBB this week. A 71 on metacritic is pretty solid.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on May 4, 2015 6:33:52 GMT -5
I love these guys more than life itself but no way in hell am I paying 5-7 more dollars for live versions of 4 songs that sound pretty much identical to the album versions LOL. I could see if they put extra songs on there or something like Babel did.
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getonthebus
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Post by getonthebus on May 4, 2015 9:42:55 GMT -5
It's a pretty good light rock album, but it's not a very good Mumford album. There's no momentum, no emotion or power behind these songs, which to me was their best and most defining characteristic.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on May 4, 2015 10:59:23 GMT -5
The first two tracks sound almost identical, based on the iTunes clips. I actually thought it was due to a glitch LOL. Anyway, still looking forward to buying this at lunch. Mumford always serves me that emotional rawness, banjo or no banjo. It was time for a change anyway. Critically, their 3rd album shift is faring better than, say, The Strokes, who also used their second album to essentially appease fans of their debut and then threw fans and critics both for a curve on their 3rd release, which was unfairly maligned.
What worried me the most was the connection to The National, who usually bore the life out of me, despite hipsters and critics alike drooling over them. I can hear some of the influence but hopefully, it's not TOO much.
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Post by hopelesslywanderin on May 4, 2015 12:05:04 GMT -5
I'd say standout tracks for me are Tompkins Square Park, The Wolf, Cold Arms, and Ditmas.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on May 4, 2015 20:43:32 GMT -5
Monster was the first song that made my jaw drop but boy, did it EVER. Ditmas can be a single, easily. The melody is very catchy and it's well executed. They are an official guitar, keys, and drums band. I like it. It suits them well. Plus, it's what they claim to have always wanted to make so hey. I am actually having a very serious, deep convo while this plays in the background and it suits. It's meant to be a soundtrack. Bravo. Another home run.
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Nick
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Post by Nick on May 5, 2015 8:21:43 GMT -5
Very solid album. I'm really liking it.
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Post by when the pawn... on May 5, 2015 11:12:28 GMT -5
I was very bored by this album.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on May 5, 2015 12:28:37 GMT -5
I can see why some people would say that. I honestly wish that Aaron Dessner was not allowed anywhere near these guys because The National is not a very...dynamic band, in terms of their sound. That said, I still hear Marcus's voice cutting through what I will call hesitant or genteel production. Plus, his songwriting has gotten sharper. I feel the way I felt about the Arctic Monkeys, when they radically reinvented their sound after their first two albums and went psychadelic. They have now found their groove completely and have emerged triumphant. Of course, I am definitely not worried about Mumford's sales, though it is possible they might see a slight decline due to disgruntled banjo fans. I never thought I would see a day when people would clamor and cry over the lack of a banjo but whatever.
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Green Baron
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Post by Green Baron on May 5, 2015 12:57:20 GMT -5
The National are my 5th favorite band of all time, but turning Mumford & Sons Into The National'sclone is not good.
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swim
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Post by swim on May 5, 2015 18:03:39 GMT -5
I miss the energy that was on the last two albums. Dropping the banjos isn't the problem, it's the songwriting as a whole. The songs stand alone well enough I guess, but this takes a lot to listen to from beginning to end.
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Post by Active Aggressive on May 6, 2015 11:56:21 GMT -5
It's a depressing, heavy album in general. Tompkins Square Park kinda sets the mood and tone effectively. It took a while for that song to click with me but it's great. I still prefer the second half (though I really like Believe and love The Wolf) but I am already coming around to the first half.
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SHOOTER
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Post by SHOOTER on May 6, 2015 16:26:28 GMT -5
Projected to debut with 245-265k (265-285k SPS).
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The Upper Hand
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Post by The Upper Hand on May 6, 2015 18:11:21 GMT -5
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Post by hopelesslywanderin on May 6, 2015 23:29:56 GMT -5
I miss the energy that was on the last two albums. Dropping the banjos isn't the problem, it's the songwriting as a whole. The songs stand alone well enough I guess, but this takes a lot to listen to from beginning to end. I think the songwriting is tauter on this album than on either "Sigh No More" or "Babel," although SNM has more standout tracks and is the better album as a whole imo. A lot of the mediocre reviews just don't make sense to me. Aside from a few tracks ("Believe" and "Only Love") this album isn't Coldplay-ish or U2-ish at all. It's a bit like The National, but with a more grandiose, populist flavor. Their melodies and lyrics are as grandiose as ever but are also moodier and more restrained. Song structure is varied as well, where as with Babel they did the whole loud-soft build on just about every song with a few exceptions. I understand that a lot of people don't like grandiose, so a lot of reviewers are going to give them bad scores on principle, but complaining that they've gone from something supposedly unique (pop hooks set to folk-rock instrumentation) to something generic doesn't resonate with me at all. "Tompkins Square Park" is one of the best modern rock tracks in recent memory. It's probably too long to be a single, but damn that's a good song.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on May 7, 2015 10:45:01 GMT -5
The critics who have been giving negative reviews have admittedly never liked the band to begin with. If only critics could be objective and put bias aside but alas.
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Post by when the pawn... on May 7, 2015 11:58:58 GMT -5
I only listened once but probably won't again. In my opinion, the change in sound is neither here nor there. I didn't hear any song that comes anywhere close to "Little Lion Man," "The Cave," "I Will Wait," "Lover of the Light," "Awake My Soul," "Sigh No More," "Hopeless Wanderer" and I could go on.
Metacritic has Sigh No More at 68, Babel at 63 and Wilder Mind at 59.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on May 7, 2015 12:56:54 GMT -5
I cannot WAIT to see them bring passion and emotion to the stage when I see them at Coney Island. They will slay these songs live and I will probably sacrifice myself on stage.
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Post by hopelesslywanderin on May 7, 2015 15:13:45 GMT -5
I only listened once but probably won't again. In my opinion, the change in sound is neither here nor there. I didn't hear any song that comes anywhere close to "Little Lion Man," "The Cave," "I Will Wait," "Lover of the Light," "Awake My Soul," "Sigh No More," "Hopeless Wanderer" and I could go on. Metacritic has Sigh No More at 68, Babel at 63 and Wilder Mind at 59. A lot of the reviews have been complaining about them going from something unique to something generic, while others never give Mumford and Sons (or any other huge band) good scores. I don't give reviews much credence. I disagree about the songwriting. You reference "Lover of the Light," when in my opinion that's the worst song Mumford has ever released, as a single or otherwise. "I Will Wait" was nice, but there wasn't anything special about it. I'll take "Tompkins Square Park," "The Wolf," "Cold Arms," "Ditmas," "Snake Eyes," and "Monster" over anything on Babel besides maybe the title track or "Below My Feet."
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