Evil Urges discussion........

[getinthevan]

I actually think Jim's vocals on this album are quite different.  I ran into a friend of mine yesterday who said he thought it sounded like Jim had just quit trying, but I disagree, I think it's his strongest vocals yet.

[allode]

I actually think Jim's vocals on this album are quite different.  I ran into a friend of mine yesterday who said he thought it sounded like Jim had just quit trying, but I disagree, I think it's his strongest vocals yet.

tell your friend to get on these forums so I won't be so alone.

[getinthevan]

I actually think Jim's vocals on this album are quite different.  I ran into a friend of mine yesterday who said he thought it sounded like Jim had just quit trying, but I disagree, I think it's his strongest vocals yet.

tell your friend to get on these forums so I won't be so alone.

I doubt he would even if I urged him to, sorry.  

[getinthevan]

I'd much rather we talked critically about the album than just throwing shit at each other like a bunch of monkeys at a zoo.  That being said, here's my two cents:

Based on what Jim was saying in interviews, I had no idea what to expect.  He talked of gospel, soul, and funk influences and wanting to make a funk record or a gospel record.  I remember when SXSW rolled around and we finally got to hear some new material. I thought some of the songs were great and some of the songs were ok, maybe even bad, but I thought they all fit into the set with older material.  

Once I heard the album, I was really torn.  I thought half of it was some of their best work and I hated the other half of it.  It took weeks (yes, I downloaded the leak) of listening to it for more of the songs to grow on me.  It's a very different album and I totally understand why people wouldn't like it.  To me it feels like the next step after Z.  While it doesn't evoke the same feelings that I get when I listen to At Dawn (but neither do any of their other albums), I still think it's a great album.  We have to keep in mind that this isn't the same band that made At Dawn or even It Still Moves.  It'd be boring if they just kept doing the same thing over and over again and we'd just be complaining about that instead.  

[orbison]

i think, after a few more listens and time to digest this album, it's strong. but a couple of tracks are just not for me...it has nothing to do with "not getting it" or the record being too experimental (i listen to Can) ... my point earlier is that i think some people - in their fandom of a band - lack that capacity to be critical of something they feel a connection too. MMJ are one of my favorite bands - it has been a thrill to watch them progress since the days where they were opening for GBV - and i'm not in love with every track on EU, and that's ok.

[knotstilloose]

seems the debate is on... Well chalk me up as happy!  In fact, after a few days with the entire album I'm blown away.  I loved it at first but it's even grown from there.  I've had it for 2 days and have had 11 different favorite songs ;)  Right now the winners are touch me 2 and smoking from shooting...

[dragonboy]

i think, after a few more listens and time to digest this album, it's strong. but a couple of tracks are just not for me...it has nothing to do with "not getting it" or the record being too experimental (i listen to Can) ... my point earlier is that i think some people - in their fandom of a band - lack that capacity to be critical of something they feel a connection too. MMJ are one of my favorite bands - it has been a thrill to watch them progress since the days where they were opening for GBV - and i'm not in love with every track on EU, and that's ok.

Good post Orbison, I couldn't have put it better myself. I've had the album for 4 days now & feel very much the same way.

[orbison]

thanks dragon, nice elbow sig!

[dragonboy]

thanks dragon, nice elbow sig!

Well spotted Sir! More people should listen to Elbow - FACT!!!  ;)

[Bam_Bam]

One of the big issues i have with this album is the sound/production. i think john leckie did a much much better job of creating an interesting sound on Z than what was created on EU. the drums don't sound as big to me as they did on Z. and i don't really like what bo does on some of the tracks. it gets a little boring to me.

The album as a whole is above the latest from Modest Mouse, The Shins and Band of Horses but at this point in my life it doesn't reach me......it has alot to do with the lyrics. That's not to say that i think they are bad or anything but they don't really relate to me right now. I understand them well enough and I think Jim James was trying to convey a sense of togetherness and humanity on this album. He really got political on this album and that's what puts me off.

That being said I don't mean to sound like an asshole and I hope it didn't come off like that. I think this album is a really good album and i respect Jim  for putting himself out there as much as he does on this album. I think when we look back on this album in 20 years it will be seen as hugely important and it does capture the thoughts and feelings of a majority of a generation. I'm just too cynical right now to buy into it.

[magbt]

I'm new to the forum, but here is my take on Evil Urges.  It isn't as good as Z-- but did we really expect it to be?  Z is one of the best albums I have heard in recent memory.  To me, EU is a very good album.  A lot of the songs are among their very best, and a few are kind of light and lack staying power.  Here are my thoughts:

EU, "Touch Me 1," and HS are a badass opening trio.  I hear a lot of Prince and Flaming Lips in there and I like it.  This is where I was hoping the band would go.  "Amazed" and "Thank You" are pretty good but a little light.  I enjoy listening to them, but it would be nice if they rocked a little harder or had something more distinct about them.  The strings in Thank You are really good though. "Two halves" is a perfect straight forward pop gem.  "Sec walkin"  has an incredble soul, country vibe and the simplicity of it works really well.  I love Librarian too.  The stripped down, slowed down feel is great.  "Look at You" is nice but a little unnecessary.  Its nothing fresh and just seems a little weak.  AP and "Remnants" are both good but a little redundant back to back.  I think I like remnants a little better.  The guitar riff in AP is a little monotonous.  The Last two tracks are knock outs.  SMS and "Touch Me 2" work great together and are masterpieces in melody.  Jim's voice is great in them to.  An epic closer to the album.  

[Goat Boy]

Well I downloaded the album when it leaked (my copy arrived monday) so I've had enough time to digest it properly.  There's a couple of congs that do little for me.  The production bothers me a bit as well on certain tracks - Remnants for example sounds very 'dry'.  However I dig the title track - MMJ meets Curtis - and the soft bellbottom rock of Sec' Walkin' and Thank You Too floats my boat as well though I can see why some would have problems with them.  

This feels like a transitional album to me as others have noted.  It doesn't quite hang together like previous records and deffo not as smoothly as Z and consequently the album works better if you focus on individual tracks.  However just as the album seems to get going it stumbles a bit.  Two Halves and the clunky Aluminum Park (should never have been sequenced next to Remnants) are the main offendors for me.  

I could write a lot more and may come back to this when I get some time at work.

[allode]

Now I'm just glad people are actually talking about the album! Thanks guys.

Bam_Bam mentioned the new albums from Modest Mouse, The Shins and Band of Horses. All of these groups (plus MMJ but minus The Shins) let me down with their new albums.
The Shins new album was a great evolution from their last two. They all took equal and fantastic steps forward. I wish MMJ could have made steps like that. They did it with It Still Moves to Z but they got ahead of themselves with Evil Urges.
I loved the new sound on BoH's album but I didn't enjoy the lyrics as much as Everything All The Time and I thought "Is There a Ghost" was a waist of time. I draw a lot of parallels between Cease to Begin and Evil Urges. The lyrics aren't as good and there are some wasted tracks.
And Modest Mouse's new album was very weird for me. It was a different sound in parts but totally forgettable. And that is just like EU's middle. Those songs carry a little of the old MMJ sound but they are different, and they are also very forgettable.

[C-Bear]

After the initial shock of the high voice, and strange music composition. (Highly suspicious)
I am in love with this album, I find it funny & catchy.
Its a totally different album. Just like Z was a different side of them, I think live it will translate to a great sound. It takes a few listens before your humming them @ work.

[marino13]

I have little doubt that I will like this album more in a few weeks.  Unfortunately, other than us diehards, who is really going to have the patience to repeatedly listen to an album that is doing little for them.  They might give it a few listens at the most.  

I just hope there is not a backlash.  There has been so much hype for these guys the last two months.  I'm wondering if there will be a negative backlash when people pick this up and say WTF?

[knotstilloose]

man this album in nutz!  i read how a lot of it was inspired by being in nyc, and that it gave them a sense of urgency.  I don't know if I feel the urgency, but the album is all over the place, sorta like the great nyc.  It's like a million different elements that somehow mold together to make something huge, and great.  i never thought id say this, but it might be my favorite album of theirs...

[orbison]

knot where did you read about it?

[cmccubbin25]

knot where did you read about it?

check out the thread about the feature article in BLURT magazine...they discuss in that interview.

[Erik26]

This is my first day on the forum, according to what I have read that means some people may not think my opinion is valid. Well get bent as this is a discusion about music, which is art, which is all a personal opinion. Having said that in my opinion Evil Urges is a natural progression of a band and a songwriter. Listen to the catalog from '99 on as i did non-stop in the weeks leading up to the release and you can see this. James even talks about the band's direction in an interview "People looked at Radiohead when they started and were like, Oh a Brit-pop rock band. Now they are just f'n awesome, awesome weirdos. You can't put a label on them and that's what I hope has been happening with us. Whether you love us or hate us. we're not just one type of band"
To me it is more suprising that "fans" are so shocked by the album When you proabably should have seen it coming. I think EU is just f'n amazing. The two songs that stand out from the norm songs; EU, Highly Suspicious, are incredible. To me James really showcases his vocal abillities and the bands talent of stretching themselves out as far as they can. I can't wait to see them for the first time this year at Pemberton Festival. Rock on boys.

[cmccubbin25]

Well I downloaded the album when it leaked (my copy arrived monday) so I've had enough time to digest it properly.  There's a couple of congs that do little for me.  The production bothers me a bit as well on certain tracks - Remnants for example sounds very 'dry'.  However I dig the title track - MMJ meets Curtis - and the soft bellbottom rock of Sec' Walkin' and Thank You Too floats my boat as well though I can see why some would have problems with them.  

This feels like a transitional album to me as others have noted.  It doesn't quite hang together like previous records and deffo not as smoothly as Z and consequently the album works better if you focus on individual tracks.  However just as the album seems to get going it stumbles a bit.  Two Halves and the clunky Aluminum Park (should never have been sequenced next to Remnants) are the main offendors for me.  

I could write a lot more and may come back to this when I get some time at work.

MMJ meets Curtis?

What are you trying to say?