Derek™

I think all of these variants look - or at least sound - like great choices.  I tip my hat to whoever chose them since they all seem fit.

Don’t really need a second copy of this thing but I’m struggling to resist the siren call of that silver-blue merge.  Especially if it turns out half as nice as the WATR color-in-color.

Black vinyl, no-gimmick $22 double LP.  You really can’t beat that.  It was an effortless PO last week, I really like the single from it.  Sounds just dreadful. 🤍

We’re getting something from Rafael Anton Irisarri this year, too.  Fairly confident it’s a new album but can’t say for certain since he’s only been teasing a test press through Dais.

3 hours ago, whoa said:

Was about to suggest Norman Records, but they're sadly sold out of the Dinked Edition (I think I grabbed the last one from them, sorry). Norman do the most rock solid mailers for their orders. Banquet is always a good shout too.

Try out Drift yet?  They usually have Dinked editions.  I preordered the new Deathcrash through them the other week.

1 hour ago, alwaysopenmouth said:

I guess I was expecting more, and kept thinking “uh huh is that it?” on multiple songs.

idk it’s not bad, but I felt underwhelmed

Damn, that’s pretty wild.  For me, I found myself noticing how level and tame the songs were starting out, but admiring the heights and layers they’d achieve.  When the first few songs in a row established that, I was along for the ride and didn’t feel underwhelmed at any point, to be honest.  I kept waiting for a dud track to come along and didn’t find it.  I think the final track maybe left me expecting a smidge more considering it was also the title track, but it works as a little breather and come-down for the whole thing.

Different strokes for different folks though.  I just haven’t read too many takes from anyone who enjoyed the last LP but feels anything less than impressed with the new one.  You’re entitled to feel however you’d like, I’m not here to convince you to PO it or anything.  You present a pretty interesting opinion.

33 minutes ago, alwaysopenmouth said:

Yes actually I did, enough that I heavily considered picking up that pricey TSTNPOTD release, and I was excited to check this out. I’ll listen to it a few more times to see if it clicks, I usually don’t write off records until after a few listens at least

Interesting.  What are you not especially jiving with this time around?  I feel like it’s an extension of TSTNPOTD through and through, just with a slightly bigger budget and more polish.

Did you dig Parannoul’s last record?

38 minutes ago, Boaty McBoatface said:

Shut up, Derek. 

Nah.

37 minutes ago, Sad Heart said:

@Derek™ I view this as an alternative take, rather than trying to improve or one up the original. The original will always be the best cause that album is perfection instrumentally, it doesn’t need to change. The mix however is a different story. But a reimagining is cool, cause you can take it at its own and still appreciate the original, instead of a remake. I think it sounds rad and mostly grabbed it cause I sold my OG copy a long time ago and never got around to getting the deluxe. But regardless, this is fun, and that’s a win to me. 

Definitely not a sequel or one-up, yeah.  TAITA 2: Reloaded (Retirement Edition) just doesn’t have the same ring to it.  The mixing is maybe one of the bigger appeals here.  I think the big test is seeing how many Thrice fiends actually reach for this record on their shelf if both versions reside there.

20 minutes ago, xfactor675 said:

Also Derek, why does it have to have a purpose? Why can't they just do it if they want to. Also as much as i like the og one it sounds awful, and always thought it could have been much better album with a better mix. And now this one delivers it, and they don't sound old and sloppy. For me it was a perfect surprise I'd never expected.

The surprise factor is probably my favorite aspect of this release, I agree.  They had no obligations to do something like this.  Typically if one jumps through the hoops to fully retread a previous album, though - especially if they pull in features - I would say there’s generally a purpose for the time, energy, and funds being spent to make that happen.  99% of the time, anyway.  Maybe this is within the 1% that is strictly “for funsies”… and if so, that’s great.  I personally haven’t been able to get into anything Thrice has done post-hiatus, so this is probably as close as I’ll get to hearing the band in their current state output something I can at least kind of resonate with.  But again, even if the production isn’t to your preference, I still think 2003 TAITA and its nuances (flaws) make it untouchable, like Matt said.  Not as a flawless album, but as a pillar of nostalgia.

That being said, do not misinterpret this dialogue as me posting “this shit sucks 😂 why would our guys buy this?  Just track down an OG ffs”.  Because that’s not what I’m saying.  The band is moving a lot of units on this thing so the interest is clearly there.  I’m definitely seeing some comments on various platforms that do insist this feels more like a live album – some going as far as to call it “soulless” – with others questioning, too, the entire point of re-recording just this album in their discography.  If anything I’m not entirely alone with this old-man rant.

3 hours ago, xfactor675 said:

sounding better than the og one

Maybe a little debatable.

I’m with Alan in admitting that I don’t exactly get the purpose of doing this.  You’re 100% right; re-recording an album note for note, it would be goofy to expect something that stretched way outside the box.  I wouldn’t want to hear this album remixed by 12 different artists on 12 different tracks.  Nor would I want a full acoustic / demo version of it.

I guess for me, TAITA was sort of “the” album that opened my youthful eyes to modern genres and bands that became a cornerstone to my tastes today.  I don’t listen to much Thrice in 2023.  I do still have their pre-hiatus stuff on the shelf, even if I seldom reach for it, but I cannot deny that everything about TAITA is etched into my brain from an absurd amount of listens over the last two decades.

I think the OG TAITA was on Island, right?  They seem like a weird black hole for select artists and albums.  (Thinking of Thursday’s WATT, another teen staple of mine.)  Part of me thought that this re-recording was Thrice taking a page from Taylor Swift and trying to do their own “version” of the record that they’d have full rights to.  But I’m also thrown off from that theory a bit, since TAITA has seen several repressed over the years – compared to WATT, again, which feels under lock & chain.

So, again; I’m just confused about the purpose of this thing.  It proves that the band members still have their technical chops even if they’re all older and more tired than they were in 2003.  Dustin’s vocals sound like they’ve held up well, but… I’m still going to be a buzzkill and say that the nuances and production of 2003 TAITA make it its own special record and snapshot of its time.  This new recording doesn’t take me back 20 years.  It feels like a live capture of the record without the audience, with some questionable features (Architects 🤢) and I just don’t know what to make of that.

At the end of the day, it’s neater than a lot of the anniversary approaches discussed above, so I should probably just back off and let it be.  Still think it’s weird though.  Sort of like updated interior inside of a vintage muscle car, or something.  Rides the same.  Still satisfying to drive.  Maybe even has a few new bells and whistles to ooh and aah.  But still kind of misses the mark when it comes to the experience of enjoying something from days gone.

12 minutes ago, Bronchitis said:

I just assumed they never had it in stock. Grabbed the blue the other day. Hope it comes out looking somewhat like the mock up.

Same x 3.

Album is very good as well.  I know some people couldn’t get over the lo-fi production of the last LP… but they shouldn’t have an issue this time around.  Even with extra bells and whistles by way of more prevalent strings and electronics, I think it’s still in line with everything that’s drawn me to Parannoul’s previous work.  I’m quite happy with it and eager to hear what repeat listens reveal.

I have an extremely hard time believing the retail exclusive magenta sold out at Topshelf, unless they only had 1-2 copies in their shop… which seems very improbable.  I was on their product page within moments of the PO going live on Friday night and it was never available.

Really starting to jump the shark I see.

4 hours ago, Seanbo said:

I really liked the picture on the order page a lot more than the actual product.  Looks nothing at all what was advertised. Weird 

Check this out.  It’s taken straight from the band’s manager a few days ago.

”I don’t know what to say. I originally thought it was just the process of the vinyl production getting muddy, but I just dug back into the sales order and saw that the wrong color code was sent into production. These were supposed to be marbled clear vinyl with heavy red and blue splatters. The clear color code is #15, but #14 was entered instead. So that’s where this issue stems from. #14 is an opaque blue. I’m very very very sorry that I didn’t catch this back in March. I am in contact with the manufacturer to see what can be done.”

I feel like Jeniferever is definitely more on the post-rock side of things but to be totally honest, I haven’t revisited them in a minute.

I haven’t tried the new Deathcrash single yet, but was just listening to their EP last night.  Their 2022 record was great as well.  I don’t think either had programmed drums, though.

POs up at Drift, Rough Trade, Resident, and a few other spots.  No-brainer preorder.

25 minutes ago, dapeebs said:

We thinking it’ll ship prior to Q1 2024?

Presumably, though it depends on how production and record plants will fair this year.  Hopefully less bottlenecking but I’m not optimistic.

But if this was a remark on Topshelf’s handling of the AGBPOL preorder, I suspect they’re probably in a better spot since they’re no longer dealing with stock in legal gridlock, in a warehouse off limits to them.  I think it’ll be fine.

…But also not available yet. 😅 You can sign up to be notified when they drop over at Topshelf though.  I figure the music will be available 1/28 but the PO could drop anytime before then, feasibly.  (Or maybe even after, which would be weird.)

1 hour ago, joneboon said:

As for suggestions for vinyl color for the Pale Horses version: Rainbow?

Hopefully not.

19 minutes ago, drewberinger said:

nothing just ass options

I only stick with CT for the yearly vinyl 

They’ve had some pretty nice variant exclusives in the past, I want to say… but I think the bigger draw is probably those live albums, yeah.

Did anyone else catch this tidbit on the Cherry Tree page for the PO?

“Cherry Tree members who pre-order First Two Pages of Frankenstein via the member store will also receive a Flexidisc single of “Weird Goodbyes (feat. Bon Iver).” Previously released digitally, this will be an initial physical release of the song ahead of its future home.“

Lotta’ folks are speculating that we may get another LP or EP later this year, containing that track.  It’s interesting phrasing regardless of what it means.

15 minutes ago, dantheriver said:

Nothing very limited, who cares if you couldn’t check out for half an hour?

Presumably the swarm of Phoebe fanatics who got into vinyl when the pandemic hit, and will hyperventilate if they don’t buy every “pretty color” to showcase on a YouTube channel with 26 subscribers.

RIP.  I wasn’t even really enamored with that song to begin with, let alone on a flexi. 😶

What do you Cherry Tree folks have access to, in terms of exclusive variants?

Just now, OldKentuckyShark said:

Clear?

Indie shop UK exclusive.  I’m thinking the US will get one too but we won’t know until later today or even tomorrow.

16 minutes ago, drewberinger said:

The description of “thought experiment” didn’t tip you off?

Thought experiment = people thought they were getting some actual music. 😅

47 minutes ago, N8TRU said:

I'm pretty sure the band gets off to the angry reaction of fans.

At least the Full of Hell/Nothing "Full of Nothing" collab is coming. Maybe that won't be a play on words.

Are you sure it’s not Whirr who has the love-hate relationship with their fanbase?  I don’t know if I’ve gotten that vibe from Nothing.  But I know the lines sort of blue between the 2 bands, sometimes.

Regardless, that is indeed a promising collab. 🤞

22 hours ago, ntslash said:

It was closer to $50, but mine is still sealed and I have no intention of listening to it. Do you want to buy it?

I’m in the market for some more shelf filler to waste space in the collection, so yeah.  Can you do $45?

I get why people scrambled to buy it.  (“Because Nothing.”)  And to be fair, there were several people in this thread alone who paused long enough to read the description and contemplate the pricing… whereas I have no doubt tons of fans just raced to add it to the cart and checkout the moment it was announced.

But I’m not looking to chastise anyone for buying it.  I do think it’s a gimmick release and now that it’s been out for a while, and the mystery has subsided, I was just wondering if there was anyone here who’s actually played it multiple times.  (Or at all.)  I can’t say I’m overly surprised by the responses.  Discogs has some pretty salty reviews too.

I actually forgot this release existed.  To those who dropped ~$70 on it; how many times have you actually played this one?