#5

Yeah, really depends on the band - your example of The National vs LCD is pretty spot on.

I went through a period of trying to avoid all singles, and just enjoy albums as a whole, but it’s just a bit exhausting really.

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#6

I was exactly this way too. I get excited for the lead single obviously (that’s what it’s for) but the new Arcade Fire had 4 singles released in advance? That’s just too much and will make the album feel like it’s not fresh or new.

So 1 single for sure, maybe 2, no more though.

#7

Usually give them a cursory listen and then patiently wait for the album. If the song’s huge I often end up rinsing it though which really makes it subsequently stick out in the album. Have listened to the most recent Ariel Pink single about 50 odd times.

New Avey Tare came out without a single which was a really refreshing approach.

#8

Same as this. Listen once or twice then w8 m8

#9

Don’t quite get how this is a question of patience. I listen to stuff as it comes out, because … you know … it’s out.

#10

This is actually misleading. I’ll routinely listen to stuff before it comes out. Not because I’m impatient, mind.

#11

I mean I was mostly kidding but if any album has 4 singles released, that’s a third of the album which you’ll already know by the time it gets released. For me and at least some other people, that takes away from the appeal of the first listen through. So best to wait until it’s out and appreciate it all together (potentially).

#12

I usually listen to the singles a couple of times but not too much so they’ll be fresh in my head when the album comes out

#13

Four pre-album singles is excessive, but credit to AF for helping us to gradually prepare for what a disaster Everything Now is. Listening to the entire thing fresh might have driven a few more of their fans down the bathtub suicide route.

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#14

I definitely wait for the album every time. Hearing the single ahead of time ends up ruining the song and the flow of the album (and this effect is multiplied when the single happens to be the first song on the album). Maybe the best way to explain it is that if I hear it first, I can’t ever fully hear it in the context of the album as a whole, and it ends up feeling like an interruption? Or maybe I’m just nuts - I don’t even like knowing which song has been released as the single.

#15

I only did this with Radiohead’s last album. I didn’t like Burn the Witch at first but in context it sounds much better to me as an opening track for the rest of the album. Daydreaming I never liked, I have no idea why that was a single (or even in the album). I guess it was a good teaser for what the album was like, rather than a good song.

Generally I don’t do this. However hearing Paranoid Android for the first time just before OK Computer came out must have been bloody exciting for then-Radiohead fans.

#16

I try not to listen to all the new singles before the album but generally fail miserably because I get excited by new stuff from bands I like.

Problem I often find is that when I listen to the album my favourite tracks are generally the ones I’ve already heard - could be because they are singles and chosen because they are the ‘strongest’ tracks, but also just familiarity…idk

#17

While I’d liked them up to then, I remember seeing the video for that on MTV2 after school one day and rushing to HMV to buy it right away. this was swiftly followed by buying any other music by them i could find. a trait that’s never stopped.

#18

I tend to listen to the first single out of interest, especially if it’s the first thing in a while. after that, if i like the band a lot I’ll listen to any further pre-album singles once or twice, but tend to not want to tire them out before the album.

#19

I’ve noticed this happening a lot recently. Nothing wrong with putting out a couple of traditional “single” tracks to get interest and a few weeks apart too, but I don’t like it when a band stick out some of the filler tracks in quick succession. Sometimes you’ve heard half the album before you even play it.

#20

whereas I get into albums a lot more if there are a few high points sprinkled throughout, be they songs I’m already familiar with, or catchier/poppier songs in amongst less “accessible” material.

I appreciate the album as an aesthetic whole (of sorts), but not as a linear one. Promotional tracks aren’t spoilers for me; they just take on a new/different significance in the context of the album.

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#21

Yeah, this is probably the only exception to what I was rambling about above your post. I wish I could go back and be caught off guard like that again.

#22

think with most sort of mid-tier bands i often listen to the first single that comes out when the album is announced if i’ve liked previous stuff. i often won’t listen to the other singles, not because i want to enjoy the album more ‘purely’ later on or anything but just cos i can’t really be arsed. eg. new Liars. like them, like the first single, can’t be bothered with the others yet - may get round to them before the album but probably won’t. as above, bands i’m more excited about will have their singles lapped to more eagerly.

#23

i’m not that bothered about bands releasing a lot of singles before an album now - these days there’s not really much point putting a single out after the album so you might as well unload them all before.

ideally though i think one single released alongside the album announcement and then another taster closer to release date is probably ideal.

i do find it a bit lazy how few bands bother with separate artwork for singles now though. might sound unreasonable asking them to spend more money on extra artwork but i’d be happy with even slight variations, even just something knocked up in MS Paint rather than scrolling to ‘Singles’ on Spotify and finding 3 or 4 individual tracks all with the album cover.

still miss B-sides a bit too.

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#24

Just think how many great songs would be lost to the world if all the b-sides suddenly disappeared