The album has been downloaded over 33k times on Bandcamp, where the comments left by fans feel like testimonials. This is evident through several changes made to the lyrics in this version and Will directly stating this in an interview about the album on his Tumblr. edit: i think its worth noting that i have to sit directly in front of my record player between the speakers ( i have a spirit of st louis ) for the record to sound decent. This, Will says, is the most vital difference between the old and the new: he no longer sees his own story as a tragedy. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Jalen perform live knows that he is one of the most captivating performers on today's soul scene.

It was never a finished work,” Will says, “and it wasn’t until last year that I figured out how to finish it.He had initially considered a re-release, but after meeting with independent label Matador Records in 2015, Toledo decided to revisit the material in full, following the release of Teens of Style and Teens of Denial. I don’t think it’s fair to say that this album or this band is what kept me alive, but they definitely played a major part in it. Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.

it still has a handful of pops, but it's full-sounding and the discs themselves are decently flat (as well as super heavy). The album received a "Best New Music" certification from Pitchfork, with Mark Richardson commenting that "Toledo pulls off an album with a jarring degree of specificity that touches on feelings familiar to almost anyone who has experienced young desire and heartbreak. It was relatable and I still listen to it sometimes to remember how strongly I felt things back then.From the very beginning, alone in his bedroom, in his last weeks of high school, he knew he was writing anthems. Since its inception in 2010, it’s become a highly referential project with a series of related album titles (2015’s Teens of Style preceded 2016’s Teens of Denial) and nods to other songs and bands from the Cars to Modest Mouse to They Might Be Giants. I remember finding immense comfort in bands like Snow Patrol, Blur, Frightened Rabbit and really anything that fit that sort of post-britpop, indie rock vibe. Today though I want to talk about my experience with this album and what it means to me like so many others have; it almost feels like a right of passage.

To my understanding, my wife got involved with their sound a whole lot more than me (if it's not obvious to anyone, this band's really intertwined with my love for her). Aside from an offhand comment about an ex or two, there are only two people in every song—the person singing, and the guy to whom it’s addressed (“Most of the time that I use the word ‘you’/Well you know that I’m mostly singing about you,” Toledo sings on “Nervous Young Inhumans”). Without saying which version is better (I love them both for different reasons, 10/10 on both ends) the pressing itself is magnificent. Post production and mixing took place between Decade Music Studios and Will Toledo's apartment, [5] [6] with most effects, stems and final mixes run through the studio's vintage mixing console. Over the last few months he has disarmed packed rooms of rowdy concert goers, leaving them silent as they hold fast to every syllable sung.I’ve of course listened to certain songs such as Bodys, Famous Prophets and of course Beach Life-in-Death plenty, but sitting down and listening to the film 71 minutes? Legions of reverent listeners carve rituals out of it: sobbing over “Famous Prophets,” making out to “Cute Thing,” dancing their asses off as “Bodys” climbs higher, higher. its overall message and many of the moment-to-moment details are deeply resonating for me, "Sober to Death" in particular. An album that was once my favourite album of all time, only now dethroned by Microphones in 2020 but still remaining second place.