I've had Manchester Orchestra's newest release for a couple weeks now, but have been hesitant to post my thoughts on it. As I made quite obvious in this post, I absolutely love I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child. However, after a couple listens to Mean Everything To Nothing, I could only muster a similar response that I had to the recent film The Watchmen: I honestly don't know whether I like it or not.
Now spending more time with it, I think I have an answer. It is very, very good. The major thing that threw me off on METN is that Andy Hull and Co. have abandoned a lot of elements from their debut. Gone are the soft wails and twinkling chords, replaced by fuzzed out guitars and harsh growls. Gone is the middle-of-the-night morose mood, replaced by a summer southern swag. Gone are the Brand New comparisons, replaced by critics weighing them against The Smashing Pumpkins. Now that I have accepted all these major changes, I have learned that Manchester Orchestra will always be one of those bands that keeps on changing right when you think you have them all figured out, and that's just how they like it.
Don't fret. Hull's lyrics are still in top form, as is the great instrumentation. It's just different. If you can keep an open mind, you'll slowly begin to fall for this disc too. Give it a chance, ok?
BUY
Shake It Out - Manchester Orchestra
Pride - Manchester Orchestra
"Whatever, whatever, I can't speak...I sing!"
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