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Ok, so I have almost caught up on all the AVA music. Tonight was The Dream Walker. Prepare for brutal honesty. Ha! Nah, it's not that bad.

So, it starts out with the banger, Teenagers and Rituals. Love that one and the line, "light that shit up like the fourth of July". :P

Paralyzed is not bad. Is it just the song title that's similar to The Used's song, or do they sound similar too? (I got The Used vibes later in the album too).

Ok, I've pretty much always loved Wolfpack.

Now then, Tunnels is just ok, Mercenaries, Disease, and maybe even Tremors, I could not wait until the track switched. Not necessarily bad songs, just wasn't my thing.

Kiss with a Spell is kinda growing on me. Oh, did I mention I could notice the NIN influences??

Anomaly is not really a favorite, but I think Tom's voice sounds gorgeous here! The talent he does have is truly showcased here and he could sing me to sleep any night. ;)

And finally, while not my most favorite, definitely the hook I needed to peak my interest in this band, as it was the first AVA song I ever heard. It's just such a fun dance like song! (What other song does this remind me of?? Something, but I also think this was the one that has that similar fun vibe as The Used's new "Lighthouse").

Anyway, so there ya have it! Sorry if there is already a special thread for this album. I forgot to check first. :P

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If we're getting this going again - Finally got some decent headphones after bearing with some shitty earphones that came with my Iphone. I didn't realise how much I've been shutting off a world of sound, I'm hearing so many more layers now.

AVA can be incredible with headphones. Overload is a banger, Kiss & Tell still addictive, love Rubano's backing vocals on that track. Not sure if I've said before- but on reflection, the first two minutes of The Adventure is the only time AVA really achieved what Tom said it would when it first began.  The chord progression is fucking mesmerising and it does give those visions of grandedur/hope etc - shame the bridge stops the song dead

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3 minutes ago, _Bagel said:

If we're getting this going again - Finally got some decent headphones after bearing with some shitty earphones that came with my Iphone. I didn't realise how much I've been shutting off a world of sound, I'm hearing so many more layers now.

AVA can be incredible with headphones. Overload is a banger, Kiss & Tell still addictive, love Rubano's backing vocals on that track. Not sure if I've said before- but on reflection, the first two minutes of The Adventure is the only time AVA really achieved what Tom said it would when it first began.  The chord progression is fucking mesmerising and it does give those visions of grandedur/hope etc - shame the bridge stops the song dead

I've always thought WDNTW was one of the best "sounding" albums I've ever heard.  It just feels so full and atmospheric.  One of the reasons I (maybe unfairly) diss on I-Empire is because the production changed so much and I wanted more of the Whisper sound.  To me I-Empire sounds a lot like Neighborhoods-tinny and flat as cardboard.

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9 minutes ago, JarJarBlinks said:

I've always thought WDNTW was one of the best "sounding" albums I've ever heard.  It just feels so full and atmospheric.  One of the reasons I (maybe unfairly) diss on I-Empire is because the production changed so much and I wanted more of the Whisper sound.  To me I-Empire sounds a lot like Neighborhoods-tinny and flat as cardboard.

Yeah it really does have a hell of a lot going on.  It does feel genuinely 'spacey' and I can't even define what that is. Yeah I'm not entirely sure why they dropped it, because Critter was still around for I-Empire wasn't he? 

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2 minutes ago, _Bagel said:

Yeah it really does have a hell of a lot going on.  It does feel genuinely 'spacey' and I can't even define what that is. Yeah I'm not entirely sure why they dropped it, because Critter was still around for I-Empire wasn't he? 

I actually think it was more of Critter's influence on the albums after Whisper that made them sound worse lol.

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3 hours ago, JarJarBlinks said:

I've always thought WDNTW was one of the best "sounding" albums I've ever heard.  It just feels so full and atmospheric.  One of the reasons I (maybe unfairly) diss on I-Empire is because the production changed so much and I wanted more of the Whisper sound.  To me I-Empire sounds a lot like Neighborhoods-tinny and flat as cardboard.

Lol The frowny face was for the latter comment. I mean, I can respect the fact, but it's sad because I Empire is the one I ordered (think it came just now actually), and both it and Neighborhoods have some great songs on there! 

But I also very much love the first album! :) Do it for Me Now has to be my new most favorite AVA song. :D

Thanks for keeping this topic going, folks! 

So, the irony is, I wasn't like so excited about Tunnels, but guess what my morning earworm of the day is?? Lol Yea, so I'm kinda vibing on that right now. :P 

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My issue with WDNTW is mostly toms vocals and lyrics but musically it wasn't the instrumentation or the production, (hell the synth abuse was quite minimal on this record) it was actually the arrangement choices - songs would have great builds that would just fizzle out like a wet fart. It was like constantly getting turned on and then being dashed with cold water before you could come. That opening track is best example of that, you get all that build and theeeen the verse just trudges in like hot garbage. 

I actually think if the songs were restructured and were completely instrumental, I'd fucking love it. But it's not. 

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6 minutes ago, Kay said:

My issue with WDNTW is mostly toms vocals and lyrics but musically it wasn't the instrumentation or the production, (hell the synth abuse was quite minimal on this record) it was actually the arrangement choices - songs would have great builds that would just fizzle out like a wet fart. It was like constantly getting turned on and then being dashed with cold water before you could come. That opening track is best example of that, you get all that build and theeeen the verse just trudges in like hot garbage. 

I actually think if the songs were restructured and were completely instrumental, I'd fucking love it. But it's not. 

Isn't this a problem with every AVA album though?  It's honestly part of their "style" lol.

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7 minutes ago, Kay said:

My issue with WDNTW is mostly toms vocals and lyrics but musically it wasn't the instrumentation or the production, (hell the synth abuse was quite minimal on this record) it was actually the arrangement choices - songs would have great builds that would just fizzle out like a wet fart. It was like constantly getting turned on and then being dashed with cold water before you could come. That opening track is best example of that, you get all that build and theeeen the verse just trudges in like hot garbage. 

I actually think if the songs were restructured and were completely instrumental, I'd fucking love it. But it's not. 

I disagree with most of this. I thought the album was and, still is, great. The only thing I'd nix is the long stupid intros. I don't care about lyrics, personally, if I was looking for poetic and profound lyrics I wouldn't be listening to anything from the Blink camp anyway. This album is great and Tom still had a good voice for it. The trash that came after was a bummer and AvA should have died with this being a one off, like Box Car.

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20 minutes ago, JarJarBlinks said:

Isn't this a problem with every AVA album though?  It's honestly part of their "style" lol.

Pretty much lol but it's less blatant in their later stuff. 

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8 hours ago, Speedo said:

I disagree with most of this. I thought the album was and, still is, great. The only thing I'd nix is the long stupid intros. I don't care about lyrics, personally, if I was looking for poetic and profound lyrics I wouldn't be listening to anything from the Blink camp anyway. This album is great and Tom still had a good voice for it. The trash that came after was a bummer and AvA should have died with this being a one off, like Box Car.

On the first album-(I can never remember that title) anyway, I agree about the intros. 

As for lyrics, well now maybe I'm thinking more on I-Empire with this, but I believe the lyrics are what most attract me. I mean, while I LOVE some songs and have come to love or like others, this like "space rock" is not really my thing. I mean, I could even say this about a lot of Pink Floyd too, but it's the deeper meaning behind some of the songs that I like.

Heck! I could even say that about Blink! Well, I mean, Enema music I dug right off, but the lyrics sealed the deal (that's pretty typical of my musical interests actually, minus instrumental music). Nowadays, I really liked listening to Chesire Cat, for example, but had I heard it back in the day, I may not have gotten so into it had the lyrics not appealed to me. I wasn't ever really big on punk, t bh. I guess it was the pop aspect that helped here. Irony being that I'm not too into pop music much either, well, not now anyway. Lol

But back to AVA- Tom's voice. What an interesting topic! I think he's just hit or miss in every era. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound, but his performances aren't always great. I think he's been getting lessons now though, so that's promising! I don't mind that his voice has "matured", but teen me did relate better to his more youthful sound. I could sing along! Nowadays, I appreciate the lower range more, but actually prefer the variance, and I think he can still do that, or do it well enough. I'm really looking forward to hearing more current live recordings. I'd like to think he's actually improved as a singer, and am kinda happy to hear he's not drinking or drinking as much. It was most unfortunate that his performance was pretty sloppy, tbh, the one time I actually got to see Blink live in 2001. I had such high expectations. But it wasn't like their main tour, so maybe he just didn't care as much for this one off show. I dunno! Why am I bringing up this depressing shit?! Lol Smh

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That first verse in Valkyrie Missile is like the biggest anti climax ever. First that teaser they posted of the outro of the song, then that build up (that bass riff is fucking great), and then the song pops on and all the momentum just goes away. It feels like the intro should have been part of a different song tbh. I definitely like the production on I-Empire more than WDNTW though

My favorite album of theirs is love part 2 closely followed by part 1.
Oh yeah, if we're talking about build ups and intros of albums, Love part 1 is where they got it right! 

 

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Shameless plug for those who follow this thread, I interviewed AVA's Tour Manager Jeffrey Pereira (he's also tour manager for Jimmy Eat World, and one of Tom's close friends). Some rad insight into AVA land, Part 2 focuses a ton on the last tour as well:

Available on Apple/Spotify/Google/iHeart/etc. Here is YouTube:

 

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It Hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hur....

Spent the morning watching and rewatching bits of this. Goddamn Tom!

Oh, and the band itself obviously kicks ass. I mean, they really are a spectacular live band, but Tom is just so sexy! Idfc if his moves are kinda awkward. Still hott! And his vocals are on point for once too! ;)

Ok, ok. I'm done. I promise!... (for now ;)

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

oh shoot, I almost forgot!!!

Got to have a little chat with Matt Rubano on Twitter the other day! I mean, that was pretty awesome, if you ask me! I'd never spoken to anyone famous on there before.

And naturally, I just HAD to ask him to say hi to Tom! 😜

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