spirit if...

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Zoomerang96

ONE love, blood, life
Joined
Jun 22, 2000
Messages
14,298
Location
canada
i think i've come to realise that this is one of my very favourite albums of all time, gang.

no jokes.

i used to think that you forgot it in people was the best bss record, but this one has it beat. it has almost everything beat.

some shit just connects... i mean a song like "frightening lives" is as good as anything they've ever done. but then they've got "when it begins" and "safety bricks" which are also, again, just as good as frightening lives.

ridiculous, guys. kevin drew knows what he's doing, even if he smokes 2 packs a day.

back out on the cock, guys. you backed out on the cock.
 
oh... sorry. yes. 'spirit' if is by kevin drew of broken social scene fame.

i'll try and find some youtube stuff to post.
 
The highs are stratospheric, but the lows...oh, the lows! There should of course be a whole hell of a lot of Kevin Drew, on this, but there's still too much. Way too much. All his best and worst qualities are out there on full display, and in blinding, focused light. At once uplifting, soaring, anthemic, raucous...and juvenile, overconsidered, self-righteous, and overlong. One of the better mixtape-friendly albums of the last few years, this one stands right up there with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Just too much, as a standalone LP. The Canning record didn't have these peaks, but it was a lot easier to listen to and far more cohesive.
 
Highs: "Pressure Kids, Farewell to the," "Lucky Ones" (which still didn't need to be 7 minutes long), "Backed Out on the...," (stunning!!!!!) "Aging Faces/Losing Places" (gorgeous!!!!!) and actually quite a few parts of various 6 or 7 minute songs, none of which ever needed to be so long

Lows: "Frightening Lives" (unbearable, for me; seen them a few times, since this record dropped, and this song KILLS momentum, live...I have seen people leave shows!), "Bodhi Sappy Weekend" (not terrible, just a low), and then various points/decisions in songs which are at times great, at others beyond cringe-inducing: "Fucked Up Kid," "Big Love" ("restraint": ever heard of it, Kev?), "Too Beautiful to Fuck," a song called "Gang Bang Suicide" (which also runs for like 6:30), "When It Begins," and others

BTW: When will Kevin Drew stop pretending to be gay, to gain cred points? Fucking absurd, at this point. We all know you dated Feist, by now, dude! Jesus! It gets disrespectful, after a while.

Anyway, regarding the record, I should clarify that I think it's pretty solid! Probably a 6.7/10, with several songs/moments at/around 8 or 9/10. I just think that too much latter-day KD is a bad thing, too. The record goes on forever (for no reason), meaning that lots of individual songs also overstay their welcomes.

Take something like "Broke Me Up," which is three minutes of a great post-rock/twee song...and then 90 more seconds of really overdone nothing. Just endless recycling and histrionics. And why bother micing him, if he's just going to cough over the end of the track? Brutally overconsidered.

Again: plenty of good songs and moments, but a shocking lack of restraint. The self-titled record (not to mention the OutKast album I very consciously mentioned) suffered from the same thing. Somebody just has to come in and help these guys/this guy decide what stays in the studio. They can't let anything go, and while that sometimes helps, it more often hurts. I don't personally know Ohad Bentrechit, or whatever the fuck his name is, so I don't really care if there's such a great story behind one of his songs that Drew and the other three people in the control room just had to have it on the album. It's silly. And it's surprising, too, that Dave Newfeld, who was shown the door because of these very issues, has gone on to become quite the economical, focused producer! Consult Hey Venus! (a concise gem of a pop record by the Super Furry Animals), The Stars & Suns Sessions (a focused effort by Mexico's fuzzed-out Chikita Violenta) or Hold On Now, Youngster... (a taut twee-pop record by another Welsh band, Los Campesinos!) to witness irony in action.

Since becoming the de facto leader of BSS, Drew's gone a bit...wrong. Or I think so, anyway! His lack of confidence in his singing voice (dating all the way back to KC Accidental's perfect, split-LP) has unfortunately convinced him that the only way to overcome his shortcoming is to over-sing the SHIT out of every song he writes. It grates, after a while, and sadly works opposite his relatively strong songwriting instincts. He's a guy that needs somebody else to help him make choices as to what stays and what goes.

I personally think his voice was fine, if not stellar, in the olden times, but this new, lilting whisper-croon that he does just murders me. See "Gang Bang Suicide," which could've been great, or, you know...nearly every other song on the record.

Sorry to ramble, zoomer. Bear in mind that I don't hate the record. It just frustrates me more than the records I do hate, because I feel like this one could've been so much more! And, like I said...the songs I love, I ADORE!
 
Highs: "Pressure Kids, Farewell to the," "Lucky Ones" (which still didn't need to be 7 minutes long), "Backed Out on the...," (stunning!!!!!) "Aging Faces/Losing Places" (gorgeous!!!!!) and actually quite a few parts of various 6 or 7 minute songs, none of which ever needed to be so long

Lows: "Frightening Lives" (unbearable, for me; seen them a few times, since this record dropped, and this song KILLS momentum, live...I have seen people leave shows!), "Bodhi Sappy Weekend" (not terrible, just a low), and then various points/decisions in songs which are at times great, at others beyond cringe-inducing: "Fucked Up Kid," "Big Love" ("restraint": ever heard of it, Kev?), "Too Beautiful to Fuck," a song called "Gang Bang Suicide" (which also runs for like 6:30), "When It Begins," and others

BTW: When will Kevin Drew stop pretending to be gay, to gain cred points? Fucking absurd, at this point. We all know you dated Feist, by now, dude! Jesus! It gets disrespectful, after a while.

Anyway, regarding the record, I should clarify that I think it's pretty solid! Probably a 6.7/10, with several songs/moments at/around 8 or 9/10. I just think that too much latter-day KD is a bad thing, too. The record goes on forever (for no reason), meaning that lots of individual songs also overstay their welcomes.

Take something like "Broke Me Up," which is three minutes of a great post-rock/twee song...and then 90 more seconds of really overdone nothing. Just endless recycling and histrionics. And why bother micing him, if he's just going to cough over the end of the track? Brutally overconsidered.

Again: plenty of good songs and moments, but a shocking lack of restraint. The self-titled record (not to mention the OutKast album I very consciously mentioned) suffered from the same thing. Somebody just has to come in and help these guys/this guy decide what stays in the studio. They can't let anything go, and while that sometimes helps, it more often hurts. I don't personally know Ohad Bentrechit, or whatever the fuck his name is, so I don't really care if there's such a great story behind one of his songs that Drew and the other three people in the control room just had to have it on the album. It's silly. And it's surprising, too, that Dave Newfeld, who was shown the door because of these very issues, has gone on to become quite the economical, focused producer! Consult Hey Venus! (a concise gem of a pop record by the Super Furry Animals), The Stars & Suns Sessions (a focused effort by Mexico's fuzzed-out Chikita Violenta) or Hold On Now, Youngster... (a taut twee-pop record by another Welsh band, Los Campesinos!) to witness irony in action.

Since becoming the de facto leader of BSS, Drew's gone a bit...wrong. Or I think so, anyway! His lack of confidence in his singing voice (dating all the way back to KC Accidental's perfect, split-LP) has unfortunately convinced him that the only way to overcome his shortcoming is to over-sing the SHIT out of every song he writes. It grates, after a while, and sadly works opposite his relatively strong songwriting instincts. He's a guy that needs somebody else to help him make choices as to what stays and what goes.

I personally think his voice was fine, if not stellar, in the olden times, but this new, lilting whisper-croon that he does just murders me. See "Gang Bang Suicide," which could've been great, or, you know...nearly every other song on the record.

Sorry to ramble, zoomer. Bear in mind that I don't hate the record. It just frustrates me more than the records I do hate, because I feel like this one could've been so much more! And, like I said...the songs I love, I ADORE!

alright fair enough.

i've been a fan since i saw the stars and sons video in 2003, and have followed them in most of their carnations ever since. i find this album to rule, and the fact that you think frightening lives sucks while i think is a highlight just goes to show that we're not even close to being on the same page.

wow. this must be how it feels like to be on the other side of the u2 fence. you sound like me, and i'm... u2girl. :wink:
 
I fall somewhere between you two. I really, really love the record but it does indeed have its flaws. Unlike Shouter, I don't think those flaws are "Tbtf" or "Fucked Up Kid," the latter being one of my favorite BSS songs ever. I was especially impressed with some of the songs live. "Pressure Kids," for instance, was blistering. I'd like "Safety Bricks" a lot more if I didn't think it was an inferior version of "Past in Present," my favorite track on The Reminder.

Anyway, I think "Chameleon" off the Canning record is the best of the BSS Presents stuff so far.
 
I like it, but not nearly as much as any of the official BSS albums. I even prefer other side projects like Apostle of Hustle vastly to the BSS Presents albums. Safety Bricks and Lucky Ones are great tracks though. The rest is kinda just there for me. Not terrible, not great. I probably wouldn't even find it enjoyable if I wasn't already a BSS fan.
 
I like it, but not nearly as much as any of the official BSS albums. I even prefer other side projects like Apostle of Hustle vastly to the BSS Presents albums. Safety Bricks and Lucky Ones are great tracks though. The rest is kinda just there for me. Not terrible, not great. I probably wouldn't even find it enjoyable if I wasn't already a BSS fan.

Wonder if they'll ever do a BSS Presents Andrew Whiteman album?
Folkloric Feel is one of my favourites. I also prefer it much more than the other BSS Presents albums.
I find Spirit If... is just a little bit too long. I'd prefer if they cut out 2 or 3 songs from it....I mean its BSS, I'm sure they can save some songs for future albums.
 
Summerandfall2007135.jpg


Kevin Drew randomly walking through my neighborhood the day of a show. Yes, I just happened to have my camera (me = lame). He disappeared before I could prove to my "roommate" that he was walking around.


I love a lot of the songs on Spirit if and feel it truly feels like BSS. A lot more than the Canning album. And seeing others from the BSS family perform the Spirit songs without Drew helps (seeing Feist do "Pressure Kids" in concert was pretty cool, even if I had some shitty college kid in front of me say "who the fuck is Kevin Drew?")


Anyway, I think "Chameleon" off the Canning record is the best of the BSS Presents stuff so far.

I have had a tough time getting into the Canning record, despite Chameleon.

I like it, but not nearly as much as any of the official BSS albums. I even prefer other side projects like Apostle of Hustle vastly to the BSS Presents albums. Safety Bricks and Lucky Ones are great tracks though. The rest is kinda just there for me. Not terrible, not great. I probably wouldn't even find it enjoyable if I wasn't already a BSS fan.

Apostle of Hustle :drool:
 
I love a lot of the songs on Spirit if and feel it truly feels like BSS. A lot more than the Canning album. And seeing others from the BSS family perform the Spirit songs without Drew helps (seeing Feist do "Pressure Kids" in concert was pretty cool, even if I had some shitty college kid in front of me say "who the fuck is Kevin Drew?")

"Pressure Kids?" Really? She soundchecked "Fucked Up Kid" when I saw her. I wish she had played it. When she was asking for requests I shouted it out from the third row, only for it to be drowned out by cries of "1234!"


I have had a tough time getting into the Canning record, despite Chameleon.

I wasn't crazy about it, but it's blossoming. "Churches Under the Stairs" is a nice song. I really like "Snowballs and Icicles." I recently got more into "Love is New" after seeing it performed live. But fuck, man. "Chameleon." That's a slice of heaven.
 
My favourite Canning track is definitely Possible Grenade. I love the vocal work and the atmosphere on it. Just sounds really personal and like he's pouring every emotion into the song, but not in a cheesey or Stars-like way.
 
i used to really like stars, saw them in concert... at least once. i can't remember for sure.

anyway, is it just me or are they really...REALLY emo? the music is lovely and all... but some of the stuff is just... wow.
 
Yeah, Stars grates pretty hard, after a while. Always great for a few baller singles, though, from each album. Campbell annoys the piss out of me, as a performer/personality.
 
Always great for a few baller singles, though, from each album. Campbell annoys the piss out of me, as a performer/personality.

Completely agree with this. That's one reason I like Heart more than any of their other albums. It's more restrained. The histrionics by Torquil are getting to the point of self-parody, one reason I didn't care for In Our Bedroom After the War.

Still, it's undeniable how great some of their songs are.
 
Back
Top Bottom