I got SANTI about 3 days ago, and like most TAI...fans, I didn’t really like it on first listen. I”ve given it a decent amount of turns by not though, so I’m going to put down my opinions as I give it another go, for posterity.
I’m torn about the production. In some places I think its great, but sometimes I feel like it overpowers the music and/or waters it down. In general I really respect Butch, I think he’s amazing and I’ve loved the production he’s done before (see: his own albums/
Forget What You Know), but I just feel like some of this album is not as good as it should be.
Lyrically, I don’t find this album as intriguing as I expected from Beckett (Wentz told us you were a writer!), though I do think his vocal performance is spot on.
I think I like Chislett, I feel the guitars are really excellent on this CD.
I really do like it as a whole, maybe I’ll get into it more, with more listens, but I don’t think I’ll ever love it the way I did
Almost Here. Their style has definitely changed (I want to say the rock is “bigger,” if anyone else gets what I mean), and there’s nothing wrong with a band evolving, their older style just appeals to me more. Lots of people have been saying this is a more mature sound, and really, I’m just a kid.
I think the mood of
Almost Here reverberated with me more because when they wrote that they were still trying to break out, not quite sure about whether they were going to, and I’m at that point as well: transitioning. This album is more “sophomore,” maybe even a little jaded, and I’m just not there yet.
And I liked “Fever” so much.