Alexisonfire : Old Crows/Young Cardinals

[Hesher]

Originally Posted by Alfred

I'm voting "Very Good".

On a minor note: one of the drawbacks of this album for me personally is that some of its social commentary goes against what I believe. Bad vibes man.

What kind of social commentary? I'm curious.

Wouldn't mind a PM also.

[crash_override]

Torrenting this **** now... results to follow.

[Alfred]

Originally Posted by Hesher

What kind of social commentary? I'm curious.

Not really social commentary, more anti-religious mockery, eg. The Northern. I don't like to go into detail about it rly.

[CAPTAIN CAVEMAN]

shitty album. not that i expected anything more.

Originally Posted by Alfred

Alexisonfire isn't going to make another Alexisonfire, or even a Watch Out. They're going to continue to make more average punk-based stuff as opposed to the fairly complex and experimental post-hardcore music that they were once known for.

their s/t is something of a guilty pleasure to me, but it is not really experimental.

[Alfred]

Yeah, that's not the right term for it, but compared to what they're doing nowadays with this average chord progression stuff, it was.

I was referring to the fact that they changed the tempo often and focused more on complex instrumentation. Not experimental, but they sure weren't trying to make average music.

[crash_override]

Not bad, not good. Just average.

[keith!]

agree.
average.

better then crisis though.

[FaSho]

Average. It's certainly now Watch Out!, but there were a few things Iliked about it. I think they do well with a polished sound and just need to master it.

[Thrice]

Oh man!

Ive been working so much I have missed the release! I got to pick this beast up quick like. I was only half assed looking forward to it, but I got faith in Alfred saying it is better than Crisis. Man I'm so lame.

[ChiliColdBlood]

Originally Posted by Alfred

Speaking of vocals, I think their vocal arrangement is excellent on this album, George finally is singing!

Finally! I see a ton of people online bitching about George's vocals on the album. Yeah, maybe the change was predicated by him wrecking his voice with all the screaming, but I really like what he's done on this album. A bit shocking at first, but I've given this multiple listens. It works.

I'm the first one to vote "Excellent". I think it's an improvement on Crisis, and Crisis itself was a pretty solid album. To me, my favourite album will always be the first, but these guys were only 18-19 when those songs were written. It's unfair to expect them to keep writing the same kind of post-hardcore stuff they were into back then. They've still got the energy and they've improved their song-writing many times over since those days, IMO.

"The Northern" is the standout track for me, but I think it's quite a consistent album. No stinkers, really. And despite the fact that I've been listening to "Young Cardinals" for weeks now, it keeps growing on me.