Somethingness Volumes 1 and 2

[DG]

Higher quality .mp3 and .flac now available.

[ivewaited]

Okay finally got it downloaded onto the computer. I think this release is absolutely phenomenal!! Everyone sounds really inspired and I'm loving raine's falsetto all over the place.

I got to see them play Head Down live and it was VERY heavy and energetic along with Drop Me In The Water. They both lost a little in translation on recording but still crazily awesome. I also saw them play ballad. Very pretty song. I like the recorded version better. I think it would fit it on happiness easily.

Missing pieces and let me live again are my favorites off of this release. Missing pieces-- I like the atmospheric vibe along with steve's guitar work. The lyrics resonate with me a lot too.
Let me live again is my "are you sad" circa 2018. Full of feeling and thought and turns out banging. Very emotional track.

Last train is in the same boat as falling into place for me. Just OK. Maybe it's a grower.

I already want more.

[johnpeterson]

my fellow canadians will get this - the intro of "Let Me Live Again" sounds just like the intro to Fred Penners Place.

[PaperMoon]

YASSSSS It's available on Apple Music! I was having a hell of a time trying to get the downloaded mp3's on my phone. Whew!

[PaperMoon]

my fellow canadians will get this - the intro of "Let Me Live Again" sounds just like the intro to Fred Penners Place.

It's IDENTICAL!! Let's hope Mr.Penner doesn't sue! lol

[OLPManiac]

For now i listened only the first download (and not in the high res quality then) but also to me "Let Me Live Again" seems soooooooooo amazing...as for the lyrics, happy to see that this time i don't need to wait the Matt that updates the "songs" section (by the way really really thanks for your work is really appreciated) on the official youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPj79N ... Y0SCwLFz3w the guys uploaded every song with lyrics in description...i can sing along
First taste is really good however...finally Raine's falsetto!

[Syncopy]

After a few listens, the most improved song for me is Missing Pieces. I’ve gone from liking it to loving it. I love its stop start unconventional structure, especially when around 1:15 instead of building up, it builds down into Raine mumbling. Took me a few listens to configure myself into its structure but now that’s what I like about it.

In fact, if I was to knock Somethingness now it would be that it seems to be stuck between old and new. I want more of this different style a la Missing Pieces, Let Me Live Again & Last Train. Not that I’m not enjoying it all, rather my experience is changing the more I listen.

[titanMAX]

That part in Missing Pieces you're talking about sounds a little odd with headphones to me still. On my speakers it's super dope like you said. Idk why that is for me.

[Tinman]

Been racking my brain to figure out what Raine is saying in the falsetto part in missing piece's about 1:16 in anyone figure it out?

Not sure. I hear something about "my longing" or "my loneliness"... something of "you".

The hi-rez files didn't make it any clearer.

The first word sounds like it starts with an "H", but i think it's "my" or "I" with a breathiness too it.

[OLPManiac]

In official lyrics there is "I will always, always love you"

[johnpeterson]

my fellow canadians will get this - the intro of "Let Me Live Again" sounds just like the intro to Fred Penners Place.

It's IDENTICAL!! Let's hope Mr.Penner doesn't sue! lol

to the non-canadians out there, here is what the intro sounds like... it's even at the same key as Let Me Live Again!

[OLPManiac]

I'm totally in love with "Let Me Live Again"...the outtro is outstanding and i need to tell that finally besides the falsetto also lyrics are amazing...really really happy for this album...

[DG]

After listening to this a bunch, I can comfortably say this is the album I've been waiting for since 2008. I love everything on this album, even if I'm not the biggest fan of Falling into Place, it still works with the album as a whole.

I loved songs on the last couple albums, but not the albums in their entirety.

Missing Piece is the biggest surprise for me. It's such a great song. Head Down is phenomenal, which I knew it would be after seeing it in concert.

I'm very happy with the direction they're taking OLP, it's a healthy mix of old and new. And Raine's taking some vocal risks and shows some energy again in the studio.

It was a long time to wait but definitely worth it.

[carleiu]

I'm really digging Somethingness as well. In addition to some of the new directions on the album, there is quite a bit of variety of musical style. Folksy, a couple of good rockers, some funky beats, a little synth in a couple of songs like "Head Down" (a very pleasant surprise because it's something that I quite enjoy out of the New Pornographers who I'm sure the Canadian posters here are familiar with, but I never expected this from OLP), and dare I say that Steve seems to have written a couple of guitar parts that are very Mike Turner-esque, such as in "Let Me Live Again." Perhaps that's part of why we're all hearing some old-style OLP in some of these songs.

I really like how they're branching out. Hopefully they keep it up for another 20+ years! I'd love to see them do another full album format, though. Or an album dedicated to more of a throwback sound for them. I remember reading some time ago about how they felt that they maxed out their use of the musical format they were using in the Naveed-Spiritual Machines era, which led to their change in sound. Now that the past two albums have seen them truly exploring some different sounds, it would be really cool to hear them do a little post-grunge sounding new music just for nostalgia's sake. Actually, I think it'd be cool for several bands that are still around to do a new album with their old sound (i.e. Wilco, Pearl Jam, Filter, Incubus, Lit, Spacehog, etc.) Maybe that's a sign of how old us 80s-90s babies are getting

[johnpeterson]

yes there were no outright "awful" songs on the album which is nice, but a couple of middle of the roaders.... it mostly surpasses curve and burn burn for me, but tunes like heavyweight, find our way, and escape artist are better than some of somethingness's offerings.

"let me live again" definitely sounds like it could've come right from Happiness or Clumsy (except the lyrics), and I'm so glad raine decided to go old school for that one...I found myself wishing in the outtro that he'd maintain that high level falsetto register for the entire album, it would really raise all of the songs to a higher level...I can't stand when he gets into that spoken word style that we saw some of here.

[johnpeterson]

ill just add that I went back and listened to those previous tunes I mentioned (find our way, escape artist, heavyweight)....and other than with heavyweight i realized that it's Steve who carried the songs and made them great to me....raine's vocals we're frankly pretty terrible (except heavyweight), especially in escape artist where Steve's guitar work is wonderful but raine sounds brutal.

so I guess after reflection it seems that Raine is in better form, and Steve is more subdued, in Somethingness. as someone else mentioned some bits even sound like he's emulating Mike's style.

[Tinman]

so I guess after reflection it seems that Raine is in better form

I haven't listened to the album in whole yet (just listened to the songs that were not part of somethingness part 1 since the release of the complete album), so I'm waiting until I can sit down and listen to it in it's entirety before placing judgement.

The one thing I know for sure is that this is one of raine's most technical vocal pieces in 10 years with OLP. He sounds great, and I can tell there's more emotion, effort, and a higher quality of execution than we've seen in a long time. This is mostly what I've been missing from the band since gravity. I can tolerate the band's shifts in genre from 90's post rock. It was Raine's lack of vocal execution i've been missing the most, so this is a great turn around.

It's odd, over the years I felt like he was still pretty spot on for his solo albums, but then wouldn't bring his full range of vocal tones to anything OLP.

[Flynner]

I felt the exact same way about Raine, he would go all out on his solo stuff (especially on bury me with a gun) but was held back with OLP stuff, great too see him him back to his old style-ish with OLP again.

[myownsatellite]

Based on their past few albums I was a little apprehensive about this one. I wasn't sure I'd like the direction they were going, and when it took an extra four months (was due out on my birthday) to come out that made me worry.

You guys. I haven't been able to digest the album as a whole yet, but I've listened a couple of times and wow. It's not their best work, but what a great album! I am enjoying getting to know these songs. Looking forward to the day I can put it on in the car (when my toddler stops requesting "MOMMY MOANA MUSIC NOW") and go for a nice long drive with it.

[Syncopy]

"let me live again" definitely sounds like it could've come right from Happiness or Clumsy (except the lyrics), and I'm so glad raine decided to go old school for that one...

I’ve been thinking the same thing the past week. With older production values it could have gone on either of those two albums.

And I agree with other comments re: Raine’s voice. It’s also the album which highlights how versatile his voice is too. It’s possible why Ballad of a Poet is my favourite track. Relisten to it just listening to Raine. His voice so subtly builds up and raises as the song progresses.