Wilderness @ Kset - March 15, 2006

Robin Booth said:Overheating?...🙂

Or overproduced. Whatever you want to call it. Take "Pretty Girls Make Graves," for example. The first time I heard it, I was blown away. But eventually, I realized that not a single melody actually stuck in my head. The recording is flawless—top-tier production—but my one gripe is that while the guitars sound incredible and the drum doubles are perfectly placed, I can't shake the feeling they spent more time on the polish than on the songwriting itself. The songs end up being... boring, I guess. It’s the same thing with Anahata. And with argument, which isn't bad, but again, the production outshines the actual songwriting...

Robin Booth said:Man, things went absolutely sideways at The Fillmore... sorry about that...🙂

I don't know, I was bored. Honestly, I don't really have an opinion on that concert... What I actually meant to tell you with my other post is that you don't need to write five separate posts; you can just quote parts section by section... 🙂 😘

David Sullivan4 said:either way, you call it overproduced. whatever works for you.

I totally get where you're coming from, but I don't see how we can even talk about it being "overproduced" here.😕
In my book, the production and sound are basically identical to what we heard on 4 Great points, so is that one overproduced too?😬
To be fair, Anatomy of Sharks sounds a bit rawer... but then again, maybe they aren't, maybe their stuff was just hitting harder back then.

David Sullivan4 said:I don't know, I was bored. Honestly, I don't really have an opinion on that show at all.

Well, maybe if you spent more time watching the CONCERT and less time hanging out at the bar, you'd actually have an opinion!🙂😈 😘

That show absolutely wrecked me... I even picked up a broken drumstick afterward, still got it sitting on my shelf at home.
June of 44 always felt a little too mellow for me, even though they could definitely hit hard when they wanted to. Personally, I’ve always been more about that deep rhythm in post/math rock than just the shredding. But man, they absolutely crushed it at The Fillmore, seriously impressive. 😁

btw I rarely ever played Damaged Goods. Most of the time I was spinning Ether in the lounge. Just for the record.

Adam Moore said:Personally, I’ve always found June of 44 to be kind of a snooze-fest.

Man, you really want me to hate you, don't you?😈

Robin Booth said:things were just a bit more intense back then.

A little worse, a little better...😎

Yeah, I hate it!!!! :P
I thought the Tropics stuff was great, but I wasn't really paying close attention to the rest.

David Sullivan4 said:Look, take their latest track, "pretty girls make graves," for example. The first time I heard it, I was honestly floored—just totally blown away. But then, looking back... I realized none of their songs actually stuck in my head. That PGMG track? It’s got such a top-tier production, seriously. My one gripe—if you can even call it that—is just how much effort went into the polish. Like, the guitars sound incredible, and the way they layered those drum tracks is just... chef's kiss. But I can't help feeling like they spent way more time obsessing over the studio production than actually writing the songs themselves, which... I don't know... felt kind of boring in the end.

🙂

I wasn't exactly blown away either, though I'll admit nothing really stuck in my brain after listening. And man, just imagine if there were as many guitarists as there were on those first two albums... 😢

David Sullivan4 said:I walk away feeling like they spent way more time on the top-tier production than actually writing the songs. They’re just... I don't know... dull. It's the same issue I have with Anahata. Even with argument—it isn't bad, but again, the production carries it more than the songwriting itself...

Men, that was the exact same deal with Lizard's "Blue," but honestly, "Argument" is perfection in every sense...

To me, argument is easily Fugazi's best album. Maybe that's heresy, but I mean it.

I'd put them in my top tier too—though I guess I don't worship Fugazi quite as much as the indie rock rules seem to demand.

Adam Moore said:I honestly think Argument is the best Fugazi album. Okay, maybe that's total heresy, but that's just how I feel.

I wouldn't call it heresy at all! To me, Argument is such a beautiful record.😍>

The Jeff Parker Trio was absolutely trippy... I can't stand all that aimless noodling, honestly. But there were a few killer moments in there, and chad Taylor is hands down the best drummer I've ever had the privilege of seeing live... pure genius, period!

Imagine Zak Houdek just chilling on the beach.
Then Greenpeace shows up and tosses him right back into the ocean.

How does a politician like Joe Biden take off a condom?
Don't be ridiculous.

Offtopic. Move over!

Robin Booth, Anahata is just a lifeless, boring record. I liked the cover art and the color photos, sure. I’m all for evolution, but they really missed the mark here. Then again, don't quote me on that—I've never been a huge fan of June of 44 or that whole math rock / post Slint school vibe. I'm not a purist.

Oh, and "Sharks & Sailors" unfortunately wraps up with Seemingly Endless Steamer, and honestly, the title is the only good thing about that track. The singer's emo delivery is so over-the-top it actually makes me cringe every single time.

It's one of my favorites too. Though I don't worship Fugazi quite as much as the "cool indie guy" rules dictate.

I mean, when father MacKaye starts shredding metal riffs on argument.
If you don't respect Fugazi, you're going straight to hell. Amen.

Just let Zak Houdek lounge on the beach.
Give him to Greenpeace and toss him back into the ocean.

😂

There go my PC points.

Douglas Taylor4 said:If you don't worship Fugazi, you're headed straight to hell. Amen.

Well, gentlepuma20 is coming from the underworld anyway, so I suppose that works out just fine.

Nicholas King62 said:gentlepuma20 comes straight from hell, so whatever.

gentlepuma20 is actually the resident DJ there.

Whoa, this totally veered off into off-topic territory... should I just lock the thread? I really don't want people bringing up names like Zak Houdek in here... :P

Not going to happen. There’s a predictable pattern to how concert threads play out: first comes the hype and anticipation, then the inevitable post-show reviews, and finally just endless, mindless chatter. 🙂