I've given the album a few more listens now, and I feel the sudden urge to tell you all what I feel. Overall, I think it's a nice album. Certainly not a bad one, hell no. First, the stuff I liked: 1. Lauren Mayberry: In my previous comment I spoke of Purity Ring and what-not. I think I missed the point. Lauren Mayberry has such a clean, bright voice. It really cuts through whatever else is happening, puts all of that in the background and stands bang in the middle of the stage. 2. The first three tracks: The Mother We Share, We Sink, and Gun are really catchy tracks. I caught myself dancing in my seat at work, listening to Gun, bobbing my head and smiling like a fool. These are the three stand-out tracks, in my opinion, and they would stand out in most albums. 3. The bonus track: Not listed in the tracklist, I know, but The Strong Hand is a very simple, catchy song that proves that simple isn't a problem when the music is great. Now I'll get into the stuff I didn't like: 1. The middle portion of the album: After the upbeat catchiness of the first three tracks, I felt easily distracted during the middle portion every time I heard the album in full. That said, once Night Sky hit, I was interested again. 2. The slower stuff: Stand-out examples of what I'm talking about are Tether and You Caught the Light. These guys are really in the zone when they do the faster stuff, but when they slow it down, I seem to lose interest. Maybe it's just me, though. Overall, it's a nice album. Will I revisit again? In parts, sure. There are five or six really solid songs on this album that I'd really enjoy any time. But on the whole, the album is a little patchy. I will be looking out for these guys, though. I'm sure I'll want to get my hands on their second album when it comes out. Shoutout to eightbitsamurai for starting this with a very interesting album.
Thanks for the shoutout! I definitely agree with point 2 in both your pros and cons. The beginning stuff is fantastic, but the slow stuff I skip over. Luckily by the time the slow stuff comes on, I'm usually zoned out on my work. But I probably wouldn't listen to those tracks independently.