Burn Burn, thoughts?

ivewaited · Post by **ivewaited** » 7/20/2009, 11:13 pm

is anyone recording any of these upcoming shows?! i'd love to hear the songs live on a recorder.

RileyLewis · Post by **RileyLewis** » 7/21/2009, 12:30 am

Just thought I'd pipe in from my vacation about Escape Artist's chorus. I'm pretty sure it's:

You're the ghost.

And empty are these pills.

You're the ghost.

There's no turning back, there's no turning back.

Also, my general impression of this record after listening to it for a week is that it's not as great as I first thought it was. I thought originally 8/10, now maybe 7/10. It's good. But it has barely any energy outside of some good Steve work. I don't care why Raine doesn't use his falsetto anymore, and I'm tired of talking about it. But he simply lacks any emotion in his normal voice these days as well. It's also like they pick a guitar lick and just repeat it the whole song, and then add a standard verse over it. There is no originality to the structure, just the standard stuff. The choruses are catchy still, but other than that they are lacking. Compare even One Man Army's versus to any song on this record. The vocals used to control the melody and feel, now they are just thrown on, it feels like.

I bought Billy Talent's new CD at the same time as I started really listening to Burn Burn, and wow, what a difference. Sure they are going more mainstream, but even so, there is so much more energy.

It's strange, but I don't even really feel the urge to listen to Burn, Burn that much. I'll see them live because they always kick ass live. But they just won't kick ass in the studio. They lose 90% of the energy. I want the energy from Naveed back. This CD is not a return to that energy, regardless of what they say in interviews. Sure they may feel liberated, and good for them. But if they just released a live recording of the songs from that Lockport show or any other one, it would be better quality, it in my opinion.

This CD is like HIPT to me. I really liked it at first, but I think that was just because I was so OLP starved. Now that I've listened a while, it's more of the same old: lifeless. Would it kill them to play in the studio like they do on tour?

Time for bed.

Heavy Alibi · Post by **Heavy Alibi** » 7/21/2009, 12:38 am

RileyLewis wrote:Just thought I'd pipe in from my vacation about Escape Artist's chorus. I'm pretty sure it's:

You're the ghost.

And empty are these pills.

You're the ghost.

There's no turning back, there's no turning back.

Also, my general impression of this record after listening to it for a week is that it's not as great as I first thought it was. I thought originally 8/10, now maybe 7/10. It's good. But it has barely any energy outside of some good Steve work. I don't care why Raine doesn't use his falsetto anymore, and I'm tired of talking about it. But he simply lacks any emotion in his normal voice these days as well. It's also like they pick a guitar lick and just repeat it the whole song, and then add a standard verse over it. There is no originality to the structure, just the standard stuff. The choruses are catchy still, but other than that they are lacking. Compare even One Man Army's versus to any song on this record. The vocals used to control the melody and feel, now they are just thrown on, it feels like.

I bought Billy Talent's new CD at the same time as I started really listening to Burn Burn, and wow, what a difference. Sure they are going more mainstream, but even so, there is so much more energy.

It's strange, but I don't even really feel the urge to listen to Burn, Burn that much. I'll see them live because they always kick ass live. But they just won't kick ass in the studio. They lose 90% of the energy. I want the energy from Naveed back. This CD is not a return to that energy, regardless of what they say in interviews. Sure they may feel liberated, and good for them. But if they just released a live recording of the songs from that Lockport show or any other one, it would be better quality, it in my opinion.

This CD is like HIPT to me. I really liked it at first, but I think that was just because I was so OLP starved. Now that I've listened a while, it's more of the same old: lifeless. Would it kill them to play in the studio like they do on tour?

Time for bed.

Good review. I won't elaborate just now as I'm too tired and unwilling, but I share some of your feelings; the energy just isn't there and the vocals don't drive the songs anymore like they always used to, I dunno. Still my 5th favorite OLP album, though. Probably because of Steve's amazing guitar work.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named · Post by **He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named** » 7/21/2009, 11:45 am

So I'm a longtime OLP fan that really expanded my musical tastes in the last five or so years, and of course I had to listen to the new album anyway. I haven't read any of the reviews or general impressions here, so these are pretty unaffected by anything but my own ears.

I'm not going to go in deep, but I will say that Burn, Burn does have some stuff on it that I think is a really nice step forward for the band, namely Escape Artist, Refuge, Paper Moon, and Signs of Life. Monkey Brains is decent too. It's unique for OLP, but different from a lot of the stuff you'll hear on typical alt radio.

But half of this album is utterly forgettable, and probably belongs with the Gravity fray. Dreamland is OK but generic, and with Never Get Over You and The End Is... (not nearly as good as the similarly titled Smashing Pumpkins song) the trio are inoffensive, top-40 fodder, White Flags is atrocious and All You Did is legitimately the worst song I've ever heard from the band. It literally hurts my ears.

I mean, it has more strong tracks than the last two albums, but the bad songs are just as bad, and in one or two cases worse, than the worst they've ever produced. It's really uneven.

m2 · Post by m2 » 7/21/2009, 11:52 am

I agree, it's a "meh" album but still has some amazing traits. Favorites are Monkey Brains, NGOY, Escape Artist and Refuge, AYDWSML is terrible and the rest still are pretty awesome. Still beats Gravity and HIPT. now im looking forward to another Raine solo cd!

Post by **saman** » 7/21/2009, 2:59 pm

so i'm through my first listen, and it was good times. monkey brains is amazing, with that "world is a subway"-ish break in it, and i love escape artist, refuge, signs of life, and paper moon. and holy hell is the right stuff ever catchy. also, i don't really know why everyone's complaining about all you did so much. it's not their best song, but i don't think it's as bad as everyone's making it out to be.

on the other hand, dreamland is probably my least favourite, being the most gravity-ish and the most forgettable, and the vocals on white flags are really awkward in some parts, especially the chorus. white flags, i'm willing to give another chance, but i wouldn't mind if i never hear dreamland again.

Long Jonny · Post by **Long Jonny** » 7/21/2009, 3:48 pm

RileyLewis wrote:Just thought I'd pipe in from my vacation about Escape Artist's chorus. I'm pretty sure it's:

You're the ghost.

And empty are these pills.

You're the ghost.

There's no turning back, there's no turning back.

So the booklet now confirms that it is the following:

You're the ghost,
And empty are these hands.
You're the ghost,
There's no turning back, no turning back.

Long Jonny · Post by **Long Jonny** » 7/21/2009, 3:52 pm

the studio footage was pretty neat - really liked the way it was filmed. the video for TRS is just awesome!!!

i had to go to three hmv's before i could find the deluxe edition. luckily the hmv at dundas and yonge had it.

robcore · Post by **robcore** » 7/21/2009, 7:24 pm

Unimpressed. The majority of songs have similar chord progressions, and it feels as though it's less an album than a bunch of would be singles thrown carelessly together. Raine's voice might still hold originality, but in a direction that has left me behind. Steve's style is repetitive and squealy, and barely passes as impressive song-writing. Jeremy is, once again, defying the years of Jazz training he has, and playing the same old yawn-worthy drum beats. As far as I can tell, Duncan was one of the only members to thrown in some original impressive material.

Don't even get me started on the lyrics.

m2 · Post by m2 » 7/21/2009, 7:30 pm

ow, harsh robcore!

Heavy Alibi · Post by **Heavy Alibi** » 7/21/2009, 7:32 pm

robcore wrote:Unimpressed. The majority of songs have similar chord progressions, and it feels as though it's less an album than a bunch of would be singles thrown carelessly together. Raine's voice might still hold originality, but in a direction that has left me behind. Steve's style is repetitive and squealy, and barely passes as impressive song-writing. Jeremy is, once again, defying the years of Jazz training he has, and playing the same old yawn-worthy drum beats. As far as I can tell, Duncan was one of the only members to thrown in some original impressive material.

Don't even get me started on the lyrics.

I've come to terms with its faults, but it is certainly their best work since the Turner days of Spiritual Machines. Hopefully this album is their stepping stone back into creative, groundbreaking music in the future. They just need to get over this whole "poppy mainstream songs need to be singles" crap. That started with "Life" in 2001, but at least that song was still creative and beautiful. I think I remember an interview where Raine talked about how "Life" was how he found a way to put a direct message in a song... I think it just snowballed from there.

m2 · Post by m2 » 7/21/2009, 7:35 pm

that snowball needs to BURN BURN!

Codes · Post by **Codes** » 7/21/2009, 8:04 pm

As someone who completely hated the last two cds, even I can see the positives much much much outway the negatives associated with this cd. The cd posseses some material which is some of their best work in years, so that alone makes me proud to be a fan of the band.

Post by **xjsb125** » 7/21/2009, 8:25 pm

I think this album was a very solid effort. Their total approach to recording this was the absolute best way to go. The comments that this is the album Healthy should have been are right on. The songs don't seem to be over-thought, and have just enough polish on them. I like the arrangements of the instruments on the songs. Everything is right where it belongs.

I love Monkey Brains. I loved it at NYE, and it's such a fun song to listen to. I think of it as the song that World On A String should have been. Compare them and hear for yourself. Unlike Sammy, I really like Dreamland. The second verse is weak, but I like the music, and the rest of the song. Escape Artist is probably my favorite song of the album. This should have been the title of the album, since so many songs fit that theme.

White Flags is weak. I didn't like it as much as the live versions I'd heard. Signs of Life is the weakest song on the whole album. It's awkward and hard to listen to. I think it should have been dropped in favor of The Right Stuff.

Time Bomb didn't belong on the album. Wasn't a fan of it at NYE, don't enjoy it that much now. The Right Stuff...damn their cheesy chorus, they hooked me with how catchy this song is.

I liked the studio footage, even if it was shot on with dinky cameras. Someday, the hub cameras will put this to shame. They selected the models for The Right Stuff based on how their asses looked in tight black panties. Good call, Teqtonik, good call!

Overall, a very solid album. It's not lyrically competitive with the first four albums, but it's a very good progression from Gravity. I enjoyed Raine's production, and most of all, I really enjoyed the music. Great arrangement. I'll give it a B on the grading scale.

Heavy Alibi · Post by **Heavy Alibi** » 7/21/2009, 8:29 pm

xjsb125 wrote:I think this album was a very solid effort. Their total approach to recording this was the absolute best way to go. The comments that this is the album Healthy should have been are right on. The songs don't seem to be over-thought, and have just enough polish on them. I like the arrangements of the instruments on the songs. Everything is right where it belongs.

I love Monkey Brains. I loved it at NYE, and it's such a fun song to listen to. I think of it as the song that World On A String should have been. Compare them and hear for yourself. Unlike Sammy, I really like Dreamland. The second verse is weak, but I like the music, and the rest of the song. Escape Artist is probably my favorite song of the album. This should have been the title of the album, since so many songs fit that theme.

White Flags is weak. I didn't like it as much as the live versions I'd heard. Signs of Life is the weakest song on the whole album. It's awkward and hard to listen to. I think it should have been dropped in favor of The Right Stuff.

Time Bomb didn't belong on the album. Wasn't a fan of it at NYE, don't enjoy it that much now. The Right Stuff...damn their cheesy chorus, they hooked me with how catchy this song is.

I liked the studio footage, even if it was shot on with dinky cameras. Someday, the hub cameras will put this to shame. They selected the models for The Right Stuff based on how their asses looked in tight black panties. Good call, Teqtonik, good call!

Overall, a very solid album. It's not lyrically competitive with the first four albums, but it's a very good progression from Gravity. I enjoyed Raine's production, and most of all, I really enjoyed the music. Great arrangement. I'll give it a B on the grading scale.

Great read, Matty... so is BB ahead of Gravity and HIPT on your list or you aren't sure yet?

And about the video for The Right Stuff... can you post this anywhere? I'll give you a copy of my online receipt for the deluxe CD from Amazon if necessary! :nod:

m2 · Post by m2 » 7/21/2009, 8:36 pm

me too!

Post by **xjsb125** » 7/21/2009, 8:36 pm

Normally, on the hub, we wait for two weeks before sharing new OLP albums. I'll have the .vob version available then for anyone to download. Until then, I won't be posting it anywhere. I'm sure if you're patient it will pop up sooner or later. Sorry!

Not sure where Burn Burn ranks for me just yet. I know it's above Healthy for me.

Heavy Alibi · Post by **Heavy Alibi** » 7/21/2009, 8:37 pm

xjsb125 wrote:Normally, on the hub, we wait for two weeks before sharing new OLP albums. I'll have the .vob version available then for anyone to download. Until then, I won't be posting it anywhere. I'm sure if you're patient it will pop up sooner or later. Sorry!

Not sure where Burn Burn ranks for me just yet. I know it's above Healthy for me.

okay... how about a screenshot of the bikini ladies then :mrgreen:

m2 · Post by m2 » 7/21/2009, 8:40 pm

bikinis? and OLP? Holy crap, that's insane!

Waiting to Exist · Post by **Waiting to Exist** » 7/21/2009, 10:39 pm

I liked Gravity more.

Which isn't so terrible a statement, because I don't despise Gravity. Anyway, on first five listens or so, this beats Healthy, but not Gravity. Most of the songs have great moments--AYD's bridge, Dreamland's prechorus ("I wanna feel it agaaaaiiiin), Never Get Over You's prechorus ("I burn, burn burn BUUUURN" man I love that bit)--but besides those moments, I feel like a lot of the songs are mediocre. Fine tunes, I'll be queuing the CD up in my car often enough, but nothing that, for example, I'll skip to when I know that I only have four minutes to listen.

Exceptions to this are Escape Artist, which I really do adore. Just about everything in that song is perfect. I know it's not about Mike, but Raine has always been the, "Let the listener decide the meaning" type of guy, so fuck that, it's about Mike. Makes it that much more beautiful. End Is Where We Begin is disappointing compared to the 30-second clip we got--it just never really goes anywhere from those amazing first few seconds we got, at least not for me--but on the whole a fine song. I share most of the board's opinion on Monkey Brains, good rock, nice to hear OLP with the energy again. Paper Moon, again, very cool. I liked Signs of Life a good amount, but I was a huge fan of Raine's solo stuff, so maybe that makes sense.

Let's see, what else... Refuge. I don't really get the band's love for this song. I enjoyed the lyric about the human condition (can't recall the exact line now) but on the whole... eh. Listenable, not horrifying by any means. But eh. Same with Never Get Over You, a listenable song but--great moment above excepted--nothing spectacular for me. White Flags... I dunno. I mean, I love the energy and message, but the music itself is just so... dull. Nothing unique about it for me.

I think the album art really shines, though. For one, LYRICS. I was genuinely fucking pissed when HIPT didn't have a lyrics booklet. What a lame thing not to put in there. But I loved that not only were the lyrics there again, but they were HANDWRITTEN! My God. I feel like a lot of this album (Monkey Brains, both song and title; handwritten lyrics; olp.net) was done with the fans in mind, and I definitely appreciate the effort they put in to appease us. The music doesn't quite get there, but as I told Random Sarah, OLP is two different bands to me now: OLP, who are easily a top-three band for me; and new OLP, who make enjoyable music and whose concerts I'll totally see (but mainly for their covers of that other OLP's stuff).

So now I go away, and I bid you all goodnight.