Trollheart

I'm still listening (second time round as I write) but my general impression is the same as yours, RS: decent, okay, listenable but nothing that would make me wonder where this band have been all my life. That might change over a few listens, but given the kind of (Trollheart invents new word) shrugability of it, I sort of doubt it.

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SGR

Man this album is long - I mean like long, long. I guess I kinda see RS’s comparison to Pearl Jam, but this definitely seems to be more aligned with post-grunge (in other words, all the bands that Pearl Jam influenced). It’s that awkward interim between grunge and when it became the cool thing to do to sprinkle rap refrains into alternative rock songs (nu-metal). Something more like this band than Pearl Jam:



That aside, it’s okay. The production job is nice - everything sounds crisp, dynamic and punchy to my ears. Think this one escaped becoming victim to the loudness wars - either that or my ears simply can’t tell the difference anymore (in other words, I’ve been corrupted by modernity).

Once “Strange Days” hit, I definitely saw the Pearl Jam parallels, so I’ll concede that point a bit.

“Load Me Up” is actually a pretty nice tune - very catchy stuff. But most of the rest of the album kind of fades into a blur for me.

This honestly seems to me to be the kind of album that if you grew up with it, and heard it as a teenager, I could see this being a favorite - or at least an album encapsulated with strong nostalgia. Many of the songs hit that sweet spot between anger, angst, sadness and longing that the greatest pivotal “growing up” albums have. I’ve listened to plenty of grunge and alternative rock growing up and I have many albums that are similar to this one that I hold dearly. (Pearl Jam’s first three albums, Dirt, Superunknown, Smashing Pumpkins’ entire discography pre-breakup, SOAD’s entire discography, etc.) I’m by no means a stranger to this kind of music. Unfortunately, much of that music, like this, doesn’t do as much for me as it used to.

I’ve never heard of this band before, but apparently they’re big in Canada and little known elsewhere. Probably overrated in Canada and probably underrated everywhere else - the middle is probably where the truth lies. This album is okay - it’s serviceable alternative rock, with little flash and not many tricks.

The songwriting here is not novel, and neither is the instrumentation. The singer’s voice begins to grate after hour long+ playtime. The songs are too long, the album is too long, and there’s not enough to justify it. For what it is, it’s okay. But I’m left wishing it was a bit more. If the songs were a little better, it’d almost feel like the Canadian version of Urban Hymns - a fairly strong opening that drags and drags on for much too long with nothing at all to truly justify it.

5.5/10

I'm assuming music_collector, that this is an album you hold dearly, I'd be interested to hear your story with it if you're willing to share.

music_collector

Hi everyone.

I did grow up with this album. I would have been 24 when it was released. Matt is three years older than me. That's maybe why I hold it in such high regard. Maybe it's a generational thing.

It's true that the band (and now just Matt, as the band broke up after the follow up album), they were huge in Canada but nowhere else (maybe in the UK, I don't know). This happens to too many bands here. I don't know why that is. I'm not complaining, as it means they tour my neck of the woods more often as a result. Two prime examples would be the Tragically Hip and the Tea Party, though Tea Party is huge in Australia from what I'm told.

Sadly, depending on your point of view, our known exports pale in comparison to all of the bands we produce - Weeknd (I call him "weakened" - call Pat Sajak and buy a vowel!), Drake, Bieber are supposed to represent us.

I don't hear the Pearl Jam comparisons, but that's ok. It's fair to say that a lot of the music in the 90s sounded derivative and blurry.

Matt has most certainly matured over the years. His solo stuff is different than what was done with the full band. He toured often alone, doing mainly acoustic sets.

My favourite track is Jenni's Song. During the time of the band, he wrote what he called manifestos on his web site. They were usually short stories. One of the stories formed the background of this song. I suspect the story has some truth to it. Reading the story, I could relate instantly.

Thanks for listening, and the honesty.

This is fun. There is so much good stuff out there that I haven't heard before!

rubber soul

Don't think Canada has been totally ignored by the rest of the world, MC. Canadian artists that have done quite well in the US include Gordon Lightfoot, the Guess Who (very big here for a while in the 70's), Loverboy, and, of course, Rush.

And I'm sure there are quite a few others that I'm missing that don't sound like, say, Anne Murray

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music_collector

Of course, many "make it big". I didn't mean all of them were. In the 90s especially, many were.

For example, the singer from the Tragically Hip passed in 2017. I believe it was the same disease that took Neil Peart's life. A member of parliament put up a motion to give him a state funeral. It ultimately didn't pass, but the Prime Minister practically gave a eulogy on parliament hill. Aside from a number of U.S. border towns, I suspect most people outside of Canada don't know this band. I think they're great. I might even bring up an album for my next turn!

This is by no means a complaint. I suspect the bands in question are happy and comfortable with their success, even if it's just in Canada.

We're more than just Nickelback! lol

Full disclosure - I happen to like some of their stuff.

Lisnaholic

I haven't listened to the whole album complete, instead, i've listened to the first half twice - and it def sounded better the second time round.
For me, a problem is that I don't particularly like just rock. I like rock that has something else to draw my attention as well; the guitar of Duane Allman, the sinister mood of The Doors, the unexpected ramblings of Sonic Youth. With Matthew Good, rock was all there seemed to be.

"Less Is More" is a kind of Zen koan from the design industry I believe, and I feel that the corollary, "More is Less" applies to a lot of MGB's material. Giant, Hello Time Bomb and Failing Rorschach start out promisingly, but when all band members kick in and play for all they're worth, the individuality of the tracks disappeared under the onslaught of generic hard-driving rock.
I welcomed Strange Days with it's change of pace, but even there the vocalist couldn't resist straining to deliver emotion to the max and left me thinking fondly of the sedate Leonard Cohen, who truly absorbed the aphorism, "Less is More".

So, my apologies, Music Collector; I'm very happy that you have joined the album club, but I shouldn't let that consideration affect my vote, which is 5/10 I'm afraid.

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Trollheart

And Celine ****ing Dion.
Bryan Adams?
Bieber?
Oh yes: Canada has a lot to answer for!

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rubber soul

Spoken from the country that brought us Van Morrison

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Trollheart

And ****ing Jedward!

Though to be fair, when it suits us, we always say "ah no that's Northern Ireland", and in the case of Morrison, so it is. The ****er might as well be English: they can have him!

To be fair, we also brought you Thin Lizzy, U2, Gary Moore, Hosier and Rory Gallagher.
Oh yeah. And Westlife and Boyzone. Point taken.

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Lisnaholic

You guys seem to be a little confused about the merits of Van Morrison. I just checked with Occult Hawk who assures me that Van Morrison is unassailable.

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953