Malazan Empire: Azath Vitr (D'ivers - Viewing Profile - Malazan Empire

the band has faced criticism for becoming boring. [...] The criticism seems to refer to a kind of lyrical slippage from reckless romanticism and withering creative-class satire to half-hearted depiction of an upper-middle class creative life. Take Eucalyptus, from [...] First Two Pages of Frankenstein, [...]

[...] Laugh Track [...] instead adopting a more grownup take on the existential conundrums of earlier National records. [...]

Berninger's characters here seem to exist in discomfiting liminal zones, narrating their lives as if from outside their own bodies: Space Invader is an avalanche of cascading "what ifs" that builds to a raucous crescendo powered by Bryan Devendorf's panic-attack drumming[...] Although Weird Goodbyes adopts the squeaky-clean, somewhat mawkish tone of Frankenstein, Alphabet City sounds desperate and strained, with Berninger adopting a compellingly harried guise.

Laugh Track closes with [...] Smoke Detector. [...] here, finally, is the teeth-baring payoff to 11 songs of building dread and anxiety. It feels like one long scream, a frustrated rejoinder to the album's sad-sack protagonists:




"Sift through the slush and the ash and the dust / Or whatever stands out for whatever reason / It's a laugh for a rush, a remembered feeling / You don't know what it means but you don't want to leave it," Berninger rages. It's a moment of intense, acidic awakening that feels like a fresh start.

The National: Laugh Track review – second album of the year feels like a fresh start | The National | The Guardian

With his unkempt black suit and mutinous hair, the frontman looks – as [...] teases him – like a "dishevelled professor". His stage persona veers from man undergoing psychotic episode to someone having the time of his life. He hurls a drink so high it showers over him and on at least one foray to the back of the hall – with the tangled mic lead trailing over the crowd's heads – you fear he won't actually make it back. Perhaps most memorable is the sight of Berninger and the front rows almost hysterically yelling the lyrics at each other, faces touching, jointly celebrating an era-defining band at the peak of [recklessly spreading COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses just as they're surging?! [Berninger croon] well that's another reason to be sad now anyway...].

The National review – euphoric catharsis from an era-defining band | Music | The Guardian

Forty-four percent of Americans [...] say they've gotten worse off financially under Biden[...] the most for any president [...] since 1986. Just 37% approve of his job performance, while 56% disapprove. Still fewer approve of Biden's performance on the economy, 30%.

[...] 48% say they approve of Trump's performance when he was in office [...] Essentially as many -- 49% -- now disapprove [...]

On handling immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, Biden[... has] 23% approval. [...] the 74% who say he's too old for a second term is up 6 percentage points [...]

[...] 62% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say the party should pick someone other than Biden [...] a third back Biden.

Such is down-on-Biden sentiment that if a government shutdown occurs at month's end, 40% say they'd chiefly blame him and the Democrats in Congress, versus 33% who'd pin it on the Republicans in Congress -- even given the GOP infighting behind the budget impasse.

Troubles for Biden not just his age in reelection campaign: POLL (msn.com)

Azath Vitr (D, on 15 September 2023 - 01:32 PM, said:

Especially because...



Not to mention poorly done regional accents by audiobook narrators VERY often turn me off audiobooks....hell the narrator of the Green Rider books was SO bad that the only reason I got into the books at all was because I pushed through the physical copy and tried to forget her pronunciation and terrible accents. Another one is the Patrick O'Brian books...Patrick Tull AND David Pigott-Smith give Stephen Maturin a typical and deep Irish accent...but Maturin largely grew up in Catalonia/Spain, so his accent would not have been a full Irish accent, but rather a lilt that would show up occasionally (I think even O'Brian mentioned this while he was alive.....but then he hated the idea of audiobooks altogether) in certain words and phrases, but would not be so dominant. I don't know if Simon Vance does this on his O'Brian readings, but at the very least Ric Jerrom does not....he's the only one I can listen to do these books as a result. Meanwhile everyone thinks Tull's readings are best....it drives me mental.

I really miss the quality of their middle years though (Boxer-Sleep Well Beast). The newer stuff does mix in live pretty well though, and benefits from letting their drummer have more free rein.

Memorize the bathwater, memorize the air

I feel like throwing
towels
into water

move forward now
there's nothing to do,
can't turn around
and I can't follow you

Azath Vitr (D, on 22 September 2023 - 11:53 AM, said:

Don't you ever get tired of mashing buzzwords together? It's exhausting just reading it.

In all honesty though Laugh Track isn't great but, then again, I'm not sure who would expect it to be. It was dropped with 2 days warning and no marketing to speak of. It's pretty clearly a home for misfit songs that weren't included elsewhere as evidenced by the inclusion of Weird Goodbyes (which I find to be one of the only truly memorable songs on the release). Complaining about the lyrics and sadness of the overall project is an odd choice as well. I mean, the band has been known to market itself as "sad dad music". The people that would typically check out a spot dropped release like Laugh Track are gonna know what they're in for, you know?

If you're looking for something a bit stronger from the band, you should check out their other 2023 album, The First Two Pages of Frankenstein. While I still don't find it to be one of the strongest in their discography it's a much more coherent album with spots of brilliance. See Grease in Your Hair or Ice Machines for stronger samples of their recent work.

First Two Pages of Frankenstein [...] was not widely received as an inspiring trophy of a band conquering a middle-age slump. Reviews were so-so. Critics and fans heard redundancy, mawkishness, and complacency.

The surprise release Laugh Track is that album’s more interesting companion[...] The oscillating chords and drifting time signature of the first track, “Alphabet City,” announce an experimental approach [...] The album also contains cleverly constructed anthems and skewed takes on traditionalist country—but crucially, the National’s songs are once again packing an emotional wallop.

[...] How do we move forward?

No work of art has hit me with the weight of that question like the new album from the National has.

Some Good News About Your Malaise (msn.com)