New Album in 2012 - "Curve" April 3rd

[OLPManiac]

Raine's tweet "@shloof thx. things are comin together. having a listening party @ the OLP space Mar 23. please join us!" then besides the 27th on munlimited.com we will have another listening party on OLP.com? Trusty what you can tell to us?

[MindsOnLoan]

Raine's tweet "@shloof thx. things are comin together. having a listening party @ the OLP space Mar 23. please join us!" then besides the 27th on munlimited.com we will have another listening party on OLP.com? Trusty what you can tell to us?

Nah, they're probably having people over to Raine's studio to listen or something.

[OLPManiac]

Damn probably you're right! I was too excited when i read this!

[faninor]

So far Allowance isn't doing it for me as much as the other clips.

I think Raine's aware that recording falsetto harmonies is a different beast than having falsetto/Raine-isms in the main vocals. The "classic" OLP sound features both types and more recently there hasn't been a lot of either. I'm happy to hear that the new material's backing vocals are more varied.

[senseofurgency]

this place would be nothing without a bit of negativity .

as for the clips so far-
fire in the hen house- was never a big fan of "the wolf" at all. clip seems pretty different, the more i listen to it the more i'm really digging it.
find our way- this reminds me of a more interesting bring back the sun.
allowance- only heard it a couple of times but pretty different from what olp has done prior. and i, for one, really enjoy raines voice in the verse with the deeper tones mixing with seperate vocal falsetto track.

i have a feeling this album will be one of those that might be disliked by a few on first listen but like all albums that last the test of time it'll be a grower. well thats what i'm basing these 30 second clips and clips on youtube by, obviously on the other hand, it could be utter shit in the short and long run:).

as for raines voice, i can still hear progression in his voice from burn burn and he definitely sounds more invested in the lyrics. there are a few notes here and there that i think would've been done better 10 years ago but overall i like what i'm hearing.

[DG]

Fran Drescher? Really? Have you listened to the backup vocals to any song on Spiritual Machines? They sound prominent, but almost identical.

Allowance is a lot different than what I was expecting, not gonna judge it overall yet, but I can't compare his vocals to Burn Burn. In Burn Burn, he sounds generally bored the whole time. While his voice is lower like in BB, it sounds like he's pushing a lot more into it.

I think some of you are confusing "bored singing" with "lower octave".

[Heavy Alibi]

Actually DG, I've gone and relistened to Burn Burn in its entirety and I think we are all overstating that "bored singing" critique of Raine's vocals. It has the same lower octave and seemingly nasal/sinus-affected quality as Curve's clips have, but it's no more bored or lacking energy than Curve's stuff.

[todddowney]

[quote="DG"]Fran Drescher? Really? Have you listened to the backup vocals to any song on Spiritual Machines? They sound prominent, but almost identical.

[RileyLewis]

Fran Drescher? Really? Have you listened to the backup vocals to any song on Spiritual Machines? They sound prominent, but almost identical.

Allowance is a lot different than what I was expecting, not gonna judge it overall yet, but I can't compare his vocals to Burn Burn. In Burn Burn, he sounds generally bored the whole time. While his voice is lower like in BB, it sounds like he's pushing a lot more into it.

I think some of you are confusing "bored singing" with "lower octave".

Fair enough. But even if it's just the lower sound, I'm still not a fan of it (just the voice part, not the whole songs/sound). I do understand that people change and he also has a right to do what he wants. But his traditional sound is what people grew up/used to and made them famous. It would be like Steve switching to an accordion and Duncan to an oboe. Sure it's the same guys behind it, but it's not the same sound so I think it's fair to criticize.

I'm keeping an open mind on the CD as it seems they are trying to come up with something different. But I also won't set my hopes too high. I think I've come to accept that there won't be anything as good as Naveed or SM or whatever, again.

[Heavy Alibi]

In that interview last night Raine said he was "bringing back that falsetto" from the Superman's Dead era, so I think there's still much hope for more use of it in Curve. Remember, Trusty has said that these clips have been carefully prepared, probably so as not to show the best parts of the songs. Raine falsettoed-up Heavyweight and they all thought it was good enough to be the lead single, so not all hope is lost.

[senseofurgency]

i understand that a lot of you don't enjoy raines change in voice much and you're obviously entitled to have a difference of opinion but sometimes i think you guys forget to have a look at what else is happening in these clips. some of this stuff is on a different level from most things the guys have done since spiritual machines.

[Jskot311]

Raine's voice was always the main thing that made this band so unique. Go back and listen to "Blister" and in your head fill in his voice with Burn Burn style monotone verse and chorus. It would be a decent song, yet his falsetto makes that song amazing. Bring it back man...

[DG]

Lower octave doesn't equal no falsetto. We've already heard it, we've been told there is some on the record.

His old singing style wasn't falsetto, but countertenor, falsetto was just an attribute to it, so I don't see how it would change the song; Especially since we've heard him sing two full old records at a lower octave.

[RileyLewis]

A better example is Right Behind You. No falsetto in that one, but just compare that 'regular' voice to the current style. World of difference. I get the impression Raine is throwing in a bit of falsetto here and then to placate fans, but I don't think he understands why people are asking for it, or the type of sound people miss.

As I said before I'm not going to judge the whole album from a few clips, but so far they haven't impressed me that much. Musically I think Allowance sounds nice, but so far on all three Raine's voice has been not as good as I had hoped. As far as keeping up hope because of what Trusty or Raine has said, I also know that many things were said about Burn Burn, and I think as time goes on people see it more as a mediocre album, not really as a return to their old style as they seemed to indicate prior to its release. Still some good tracks, but only 1 or 2 great songs, compared to early records where 75% could easlily be described as great.

[senseofurgency]

A better example is Right Behind You. No falsetto in that one, but just compare that 'regular' voice to the current style. World of difference. I get the impression Raine is throwing in a bit of falsetto here and then to placate fans, but I don't think he understands why people are asking for it, or the type of sound people miss.

As I said before I'm not going to judge the whole album from a few clips, but so far they haven't impressed me that much. Musically I think Allowance sounds nice, but so far on all three Raine's voice has been not as good as I had hoped. As far as keeping up hope because of what Trusty or Raine has said, I also know that many things were said about Burn Burn, and I think as time goes on people see it more as a mediocre album, not really as a return to their old style as they seemed to indicate prior to its release. Still some good tracks, but only 1 or 2 great songs, compared to early records where 75% could easlily be described as great.

i don't think burn burn was ever said to be a return to their 'old style', it was more a return to the way they made music and the feeling behind it.. well thats what i got from those quotes.

also, the idea of raine trying to appease anyone with his falsetto is ridiculous as is the idea of him caring what people 'want' him to do. i don't think raine is capable of singing as high and as strong as he used to with his regular voice, especially on a nightly basis when touring. i noticed during the clumsy/spiritual machines tour, from youtube clips, that his voice seemed pretty strong at the start and then became weaker as the tour went on. age and the wear and tear of all the touring he's done is probably catching up with him and what would be the point hitting notes on the album that he can't hit during a gig?

[todddowney]

^I agree

[Heavy Alibi]

also, the idea of raine trying to appease anyone with his falsetto is ridiculous as is the idea of him caring what people 'want' him to do. i don't think raine is capable of singing as high and as strong as he used to with his regular voice, especially on a nightly basis when touring. i noticed during the clumsy/spiritual machines tour, from youtube clips, that his voice seemed pretty strong at the start and then became weaker as the tour went on. age and the wear and tear of all the touring he's done is probably catching up with him and what would be the point hitting notes on the album that he can't hit during a gig?

If you read through some of Raine's tweets, he replied to a lot of people that were asking for the "falsetto back", and he kept insisting that it was coming back. A falsetto has come back, but not the style of vocals he used before Gravity which is what I'm sure all the fans meant. Right Behind You is a good example of how his previous singing style wasn't really "falsetto", it was a sort of countertenor whine-type singing. But a soothing graceful pitch-perfect whine, not a grating one. Maybe he thinks it's too immature and that's why he won't go back to it, or maybe he just doesn't understand what people are referring to. I agree that songs like Blister and Right Behind You would probably have been mediocre if not for his vocal style. It can't be that he "is incapable" of singing like that, it's not difficult or stressing at all, it's just a different pitch and vocalization. Look to Billy Corgan for the best comparable example.

[OLPManiac]

Guys i read on the General News thread this "He says he's back to his old days when questioned whether he could still sing like the past. Admits he hasn't been able to." that Raine told on the interview on the radio yesterday...then i think that now Raine isn't able to sing in the coutertenor or whatever it is...i'm not a musician then i don't understand much! I want only to report this!

[Tinman]

Guys i read on the General News thread this "He says he's back to his old days when questioned whether he could still sing like the past. Admits he hasn't been able to." that Raine told on the interview on the radio yesterday...then i think that now Raine isn't able to sing in the coutertenor or whatever it is...i'm not a musician then i don't understand much! I want only to report this!

I don't understand the quote.... Did raine say he could song like he used to, or that he can't?

I assume age has taken it's toll. He can still sing, but I remember seeing a side by side comparison of automatic flowers at the time of its release and on a more recent tour. He can still sing the songs, just not like he used to. I think that curve likely was him learning to be comfortable with himself again. I don't think we can expect anything like some of the old live clips from the 90's (thinking about the old tear drop covers here), but what I do think we can expect is him progressively becoming more complexed and comfortable with where he is, and essentially continually moving away from the burn burn sound as he really rediscovers himself...

The "gravely/low" vocals sound more natural to me then forced. I think that's just how he is now. Biology just works like that. Listen to tom waits first and last albums for example. yeah, some of it is style, but some of it is life.

Just my theory. I expect a lot more on this album, but not sm/happiness level. Raine is free to prove me wrong. I'll even eat a copy of HIPT if he does.

[Heavy Alibi]

Backup vocals from Mike in this clip of "Right Behind You" live sound very similar to the backups in "Allowance":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWHXsx050QA&t=3m08s

I think they had the right idea there, only doing those vocals for certain blips, on again off again. Should have done that for "Allowance".