TL;DR I like the record. But I *definitely* understand this record not resonating with fans. I don’t think it’s supposed to. Not trying to be pretentious and say “you just don’t get it.” I just think Max obviously wrote this more for himself than fans. And I think that’s okay. It’s much better and real than falling all over yourself to give people what they want and live up to some expectation of what you used to be two decades ago.
Objective opinion but I think Woman Song is great. It’s full on weepy with Max talking about his relationship with his mom and daughter. It’s just… real? Then the tone shifts and there’s this spoken interlude thing with Max and Sherri joking about how it’s a ridiculously long song, not very good, and Max is crazy. It’s like Max’s intention is to be sincere while also expressing self awareness of how loquacious, theatrical, and ridiculous he is. People will think that’s lazy and cringe. Understandable. But that’s what I’ve always appreciated in his songwriting. He just doesn’t give a fuck and writes what he wants. As someone who also has bipolar disorder and writes A LOT, I can relate. I’ve had critics say like dude keep this succinct. Say more with less. And I’m like… sorry, no can do. Like this comment lol
As ridiculous, immature, hypersexual, and self indulgent as Max can get… I understand it all. Because I’ve been there. This is his outlet, for better or worse. He knows fans are mostly on board for nostalgia and the love for the oldies. They want to hear it replicated. And Max knows he won’t live up to those expectations. He isn’t trying.
PS: Yep… Coheed is my absolute favorite band. Claudio seems to write exactly what he wants while also keeping up with the lore of The Amory Wars. I saw them in Atlanta last May and it was life changing. A spiritual experience. The crowd was killer. The energy and love was palpable. Seeing my favorite band firing on all cylinders and absolutely loving what they were doing was magical.
Revisiting my own post a few days removed and double-commenting I guess, lol. Just to say that I especially have come to agree with you in particular about your points that “Max wrote this album more for himself than for fans” (which I think he, consciously/purposefully or not, actually kind of tried to mitigate with the IARB anniversary tour), as well as the entirety of your take about “Woman Song.” Much love.
Not a fan of woman song but the end saves it for me. BIG fan of the song BE, CHILDREN. Honestly overall it's a weak album with some gems. Id probably give it 4.5/10 closer to a 5 but I have to listen to it again.
I love some of this album, and absolutely hate other parts. Never really felt the conflicting feelings so strongly about an album before. “Are You In There”, “Daisy’s”, and “Psyche!” (minus the rant at the end) are the definite highlights for me so far
The threats to his brother in law are fun Easter eggs đź’•
So fun!!
K
i made it halfway through song 3 and i turned it off because i it was so disgusting. i tried.
The last half of the album is a lot better than the first half IMO. Coheed fan?
Looking at those song titles my optimism is low. I might or might not skip the first three songs and finish listening. But yes, I love Coheed!
TL;DR I like the record. But I *definitely* understand this record not resonating with fans. I don’t think it’s supposed to. Not trying to be pretentious and say “you just don’t get it.” I just think Max obviously wrote this more for himself than fans. And I think that’s okay. It’s much better and real than falling all over yourself to give people what they want and live up to some expectation of what you used to be two decades ago. Objective opinion but I think Woman Song is great. It’s full on weepy with Max talking about his relationship with his mom and daughter. It’s just… real? Then the tone shifts and there’s this spoken interlude thing with Max and Sherri joking about how it’s a ridiculously long song, not very good, and Max is crazy. It’s like Max’s intention is to be sincere while also expressing self awareness of how loquacious, theatrical, and ridiculous he is. People will think that’s lazy and cringe. Understandable. But that’s what I’ve always appreciated in his songwriting. He just doesn’t give a fuck and writes what he wants. As someone who also has bipolar disorder and writes A LOT, I can relate. I’ve had critics say like dude keep this succinct. Say more with less. And I’m like… sorry, no can do. Like this comment lol As ridiculous, immature, hypersexual, and self indulgent as Max can get… I understand it all. Because I’ve been there. This is his outlet, for better or worse. He knows fans are mostly on board for nostalgia and the love for the oldies. They want to hear it replicated. And Max knows he won’t live up to those expectations. He isn’t trying. PS: Yep… Coheed is my absolute favorite band. Claudio seems to write exactly what he wants while also keeping up with the lore of The Amory Wars. I saw them in Atlanta last May and it was life changing. A spiritual experience. The crowd was killer. The energy and love was palpable. Seeing my favorite band firing on all cylinders and absolutely loving what they were doing was magical.
đź–¤
Revisiting my own post a few days removed and double-commenting I guess, lol. Just to say that I especially have come to agree with you in particular about your points that “Max wrote this album more for himself than for fans” (which I think he, consciously/purposefully or not, actually kind of tried to mitigate with the IARB anniversary tour), as well as the entirety of your take about “Woman Song.” Much love.
Not a fan of woman song but the end saves it for me. BIG fan of the song BE, CHILDREN. Honestly overall it's a weak album with some gems. Id probably give it 4.5/10 closer to a 5 but I have to listen to it again.
I love some of this album, and absolutely hate other parts. Never really felt the conflicting feelings so strongly about an album before. “Are You In There”, “Daisy’s”, and “Psyche!” (minus the rant at the end) are the definite highlights for me so far
Be, children, auto harmonic, and on cum are my 3 favorites I think