As someone who’s already said above that, while delighted for the band and impressed by their sensibility across the board, the lyrics hold me back from getting on with this:
Fuck Pitchfork for singling out June as a song that cops out or backs away from a difficult subject.
Reminds me of their last Frightened Rabbit review. Just mean-spirited and fucking unnecessary.
I feel like they’re far more predictable than they used to be score-wise. Particularly when it comes to non-US guitar-music that isn’t Radiohead.
And that mention of June… I’m not sure the reviewer realises that those lyrics aren’t just coming from a place of support but actually living through it. Should have done their fucking research. And if they did know, then fuck me what a genuinely horrible thing to write.
They must have known. Presuming they’ve done even the slightest bit of research, every single article, review, interview etc with the band mentions the facts around that song. I don’t see any way the reviewer wouldn’t have been aware and it’s at best an absolutely awful, insensitive piece of writing and at worst a really disgusting attack on the way a grieving man chooses to express himself.
As a note on whether or not the reviewer knew, the press pack that came with this album for review was FAR more in depth than most including a breakdown on the meaning of each song.
Went to their lunchtime gig in Sheffield today. I thought it might be a bit low-key, but it was absolutely spot-on. They went full throttle and it was utter, utter joyous mayhem. They even got a jaded old sod like me out of mosh pit retirement. Punk’s not dead!
Not getting on with the whole thing (some of the choruses sound a bit like a landfill indie band who’s name I’ve forgotten …) but Samaritans is a total belter if nothing else.
I was trawling through the thread just to make sure I wasn’t the only one.
Can’t get on with it…had the same issue with Brutalism last year. I’ll just have to accept they’re not a band for me. I realise @jordan_229 has already addressed some comments made about the lyrics…personally I think the issues they talk about have been covered with more subtlety, across all media forms, so i don’t agree. That said…subtlety doesn’t make the lyrics any “better”, it’s just personal taste.
Generally though, I’m just not grabbed by the music. It sounds less angry and more just generically “heavy”. My loss, I guess.
I’m a bit on the fence and I can see where both sides are coming from. I do enjoy the record but agree the lyrics are quite simple and lack subtlety, though the subject matter often elevates it. It does sound less raw/angry and softer round the edges, but I do think they have developed their songwriting at the same time. Swings and roundabouts for me. I don’t think I’ll ever really love them, more that I just enjoy them a fair bit, but not as much as I should given my tastes.