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Music Club Week 8


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MUSIC CLUB - WEEK 8 

The Lawrence Arms - "Metropole"

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This weeks choice is brought to you by @Kvothe

Quote

I just stumbled on The Lawrence Arms a few weeks ago. They fit that grimey, dark, and brutally honest mold for punk bands. I notice quite a few similarities to earlier Alkaline Trio - both in how raw their early stuff was, and lyrically with heavy references to drinking too much and being an overall mess. The bassist in this band can also shred - this album isn't the best example of his prowess based on the production style, but it's still stands out. Side tangent, but he's also buddies with Matt Skiba and was a fan of Bored to Death when it was released. 
 
This album Metropole starts off pretty weak, but picks up steam at the fourth track, 'Seventeeners (17th and 37th) and onwards, hitting its peak at 'The YMCA Down the Street From the Clinic.' My dad was having open heart surgery a couple weeks ago and that song was oddly comforting during that time. In the context of their discography, this albums seems like their Enema in terms of upping the polished production of their sound. One of the singers' voice can be a bit jarring at times, but it works overall with the tone of the album. One of the album's greatest strengths to me is that it seems depressing and cynical a lot of the time, but the more you pick up on the lyrics, the more hope and beauty you hear in the songs. It's by no means a perfect album and probably is a grower, but the band isn't exactly lighting the world on fire, so I thought it would be a good pitch for this.

Ya'll have one week to give it a spin and leave a review, if you're stuck on how to review it here's some basic ideas - 

Love It Or Hate It, What Do You Love, What Do You Hate?

Stand Out Tracks

Would You Recommend It?

What Does It Sound Similar To?

Would You Listen To It Again?

Notable Sounds / Lyrics

In the spoiler is the links to the album

Spoiler

 

current running tab of weeks so far, no idea who to have next so if anyone would like to volunteer, holla at me! 

Week # -

#1 - @boxelder Charly Bliss - "Guppy"

#2 - @Elisa Culture Abuse - "Bay Dream"

#3 - @Ghost Luisa Sobral - "The Cherry On My Cake"

#4 - @Patient #48273  Arkells - "Michigan Left"

#5 - @Nasa Ty Segall - "Manipulator"

#6 - @Kay Frank Turner - "Love Ire & Song"

#7 - @_Kyle_ The Mountain Goats - "The Sunset Tree" 

#8 - @Kvothe The Lawrence Arms - "Metropole" 

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I think the best tracks from this album fall from track 4 to 9. Beautiful Things @ 10:25 is probably the closest to Blink's production. 

Overall one of the better punk albums I've heard recently. Definitely was a grower for me, though. I'd start with The YMCA Down the Street From the Clinic @21:17 for the best overall track IMO. The album's biggest appeal to me were the lyrics. 

 

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This is another album I know because I love the Larry Arms.
I haven't listened to Metropole that much after the year it came out and I'm just realising it's been 4 years already! 
One of the things I like the most about the band - other than the melancholy but always uplifting lyrics - is the duet singing style, which is usually on fire. On this album they sort of slowed things down but for being an album released 8 years after their last one, it's a pretty good one.
On their past works, Chris used to anchor the band's slower songs, and though he does his fair share of that here too, I appreciate how Brendan has moved at it because I love both his raspy voice and his slower rumble.
 
I usually go back to The Greatest Story Ever Told, Apathy and Exhaustion and Hey Calcutta when I want to listen to them but Metropole is very solid. I'm glad you picked them, Casey! They're a great band!

Fave tracks: Seventeener, Acheron River, Beautiful Things, Chilean District, October Blood and YMCA.
Vote: 7/10

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6 hours ago, Elisa said:

This is another album I know because I love the Larry Arms.
I haven't listened to Metropole that much after the year it came out and I'm just realising it's been 4 years already! 
One of the things I like the most about the band - other than the melancholy but always uplifting lyrics - is the duet singing style, which is usually on fire. On this album they sort of slowed things down but for being an album released 8 years after their last one, it's a pretty good one.
On their past works, Chris used to anchor the band's slower songs, and though he does his fair share of that here too, I appreciate how Brendan has moved at it because I love both his raspy voice and his slower rumble.
 
I usually go back to The Greatest Story Ever Told, Apathy and Exhaustion and Hey Calcutta when I want to listen to them but Metropole is very solid. I'm glad you picked them, Casey! They're a great band!

Fave tracks: Seventeener, Acheron River, Beautiful Things, Chilean District, October Blood and YMCA.
Vote: 7/10

Agreed on the duet singing for a lot of their songs, it works really well.

I mainly picked Metropole because it's the easiest album of theirs to digest; it probably has the most polish, which seemed appropriate given this is a Blink forum and people are more inclined to enjoy pop-punk rather than more raw punk.

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Having listened to this album shitfaced on multiple occasions, the main appeal is how the lyrics can be summarized as hitting an all time low (when drunk), realizing you’ve hit rock bottom, but also that you can’t sink any lower and grabbing life by the horns and not giving a shit. 

I honestly think that that message is so important for people our age. It’s so difficult with student debt and rising real estate prices that life seems impossible and meaningless. This album kicks you in the ass and says life’s meaninglessness means you shouldn’t given a fuck and just do what you want. It’s a simple message that many artists try to convey, but this album does it in a subversive way that really hit home for me.

 

tl;dr life is too hard for our generation, you should stop taking life too seriously and fucking wing it and be genuine; this album shows that in subtle ways.

 

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