Follow-up thread to Hybrid Theory : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-1-hybrid-theory.47086/ Meteora : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-2-meteora.47107/ Minutes to Midnight : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum...art-3-minutes-to-midnight.47112/#post-1489354 A Thousand Suns : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-4-a-thousand-suns.47118/ Happy New Year to all! ---------------- Top 3 Qualities Accessibility : if anything, Living Things brought back some mainstream attention to LP, after ATS had alienated many. Singles like Burn It Down or Castle of Glass got huge success, Powerless was featured in some weird Lincoln vampire movie, the album sold well, etc. I remember a friend, a casual, telling me around that time "Hey, Linkin Park is good again!". Personally I'd find that statement misguided, but to be fair, that is probably the way the record was experienced by a large amount of people Diversity: this album had a fair amount of variety to it, from the electronic rap-rock of LITE to the folk nature of RU, via the hardcore punk roots of Victimized and the hip hop of UIB. While I think this came at the cost of a strong sonic identity, there is certainly praise to give for the way Living Things managed to navigate multiple genres of music on a single record, in true Linkin Park-fashion Instrumentation : this album contains a surprising amount of cool layers, synths, electronic beats. I think this quality is unfortunately diminished by questionable mixing choices and the tendency of the record to force a fair bulk of the songs to fit the 3-4 min pop formula, but nevertheless, it is something to appreciate. Weirdly enough, at times, I found the instrumental version of Living Things more rewarding than the normal one. Lots of colors, little intricacies, little variations between verses, song fluctuations. In the end, many of the tracks on LT were started during the ATS process - it somehow makes sense the quality wouldn't be so drastically different Top Issue Consistency : so, this was a fight between this and the mixing for what would take the lead as the top issue. But eventually, what bothers me the most with Living Things is how the record feels like having an identity crisis, despite its short runtime. Up until IBG, the album reads like an electro-rock version of HT / Meteora. Wall of sound, big Chester choruses, some screams there and there, some bars from Mike. There are some obvious differences : the distorted heavy guitars got replaced by super loud octaves, the 90's electronic elements got substituted by bright 2010's indie-pop synths, Chester sounds more rock than metal. But otherwise, we got kind of a clear idea of what's going on. But then, from COG onwards, the album takes an abrupt 180° turn, decides to nope out of what it started, and goes on an electro-folk venture instead, while still including a brief stop at an hardcore-punk station for less than 2 minutes. From that point onwards, no more big Chester choruses (until Powerless), Mike is omnipresent in the lead, and the vibe is absolutely totally different. Now, what half you think is best depends on your tastes - I am probably in the minority thinking UIB is the one and only true highlight in the second half - but the main issue I have is that the record itself feels like 2 EP collided together. Unfortunately, I think the consistency issue also extends to the quality of some of the songs, with Burn It Down, Lies Greed Misery, I'll Be Gone, or Skin to Bones being tracks that I feel don't really belong to the band best material
This is my 2nd favorite LP album after A Thousand Suns, and some days even surpasses that album for me. In terms of individual song quality it is easily the best (at least half of my top 15 LP songs are from this album), but it doesn't have that seamless concept album experience that A Thousand Suns has. To me this album is 10,000 miles above Hybrid Theory and Meteora and represents all the best elements of Linkin Park and I'm disappointed that we only got 1 album like this whereas the tired genre of nu-metal got 2.5 albums from LP (the .5 is From Zero, which has a mix of nu-metal songs and other LP styles all in one). I could say that this has been my favorite album of any artist over the past 2-3 months. Responding to the Qwerty19's Top Issue: I can see the difference between the 1st half of the album and the 2nd half when it comes to cohesion, but in that sense it's not particularly different from Meteora. Meteora starts off with a bunch of similar nu-metal songs (Lying From You and particularly Hit the Floor are noticeably heavier and less melodic than the surrounding songs, much like Lies Greed Misery stands out from the surrounding Lost in the Echo + In My Remains + Burn It Down and I'll Be Gone), and the second half has Breaking the Habit, Nobody's Listening, and Session, and even From the Inside has a unique atmosphere and 6/8 time signature differentiating it from the generic nu-metal that plagues the first half of that album. It returns to normalcy at the end with Numb, much like how Living Things returns to normalcy with Powerless although "normalcy" is a bit looser here since Powerless itself obviously has key differences from the poprock tracks in the first half whereas Numb is basically just Easier to Run 2.0 on that album; nevertheless, Powerless is the same type of Chester-led poprock song as In My Remains and I'll Be Gone. Top Qualities: Accessibility: Every song on this album is replayable and catchy as hell. The songs do not take time to immerse myself into, they immediately grab me. This doesn't mean that the less accessible parts of the album (the progressive nature of Until It Breaks, plus its transition into Tinfoil which sets the stage for Powerless) aren't good, since I think the best stretch of the album is EASILY those last 4 songs, but the fact that the entire album is so palatable means that this is the album I choose to play the most. There is pretty much never a time where I am not in the mood for Lost in the Echo, or Victimized, or Skin to Bone. These songs have the perfect mix of melody and energy. Consistency+Songwriting: The crisp sounds of the synths and guitars and even the percussion on this album is just so enveloping, it's such a unique soundscape that I haven't heard in any other album. You won't find another person who loves every song on this album as much as I do. Lost in the Echo? Their best opener, some of Mike's best rap, euphoric layered outro only rivaled by Papercut, headbanging main riff, immediately introduces the listener to the chunky synthetic riffs that line most of the album. In My Remains is a great follow-up, keeps the same vibe but goes in a more melodic direction and has a much bigger chorus with some of Chester's most impressive vocals to date, and a nice contrast with Mike singing the bridge. Burn It Down has never stopped being a banger. Lies Greed Misery is necessary to break up the samey-ness of the first 5 songs; it keeps the album fresh. Sure the rap verses in this one are a bit corny but I rather think of them as badass, and the outro might be LP's most brutal breakdown, just the way the massive synths and guitars crash together with Chester's impassioned screaming is absolutely destructive. I'll Be Gone is not "overshadowed by Primo", both songs are great in their own ways, but I'll Be Gone has a massive euphoric chorus that Primo does not have, leading Primo to blueball me every time I listen to it. Castle of Glass a brilliant atmosphere culminating with beautiful triple layer harmonies. Victimized is another different song that keeps the album from getting stale, and it's obviously a banger all round, but I feel the percussion is the MVP here which goes under the radar. This is also the part of the album where the album starts to stick together like glue as it has a gapless and pretty weird transition into Roads Untraveled, and yeah it's odd but it works fantastically for me. Roads Untraveled is one of the most beautiful LP songs, it's amazing how much emotion the song is able to convey even in the chorus where there are no real lyrics. Skin to Bone is a easily a top 5 LP song, the crunchy main riff and Mike's harmonized vocals (and their seamless transition into Chester's chorus) absolutely slap, I'm consistently baffled by how people seem to not like this song since quite literally the only negative I can think of is its short length. Until It Breaks is the most creative Linkin Park song, and while the rap may not really have any substance (compared to songs like Hands Held High at least), Mike's flow is mean as hell. For me it's the best rap song by the band hands down (although Dedicated is very close behind) and if I listen to that song even just on its own, it usually results in me continuing on and listening to Tinfoil and Powerless too. The way Until It Breaks is able to seamlessly transition from an extremely industrial almost dubstep-like beat in the first half into a an atmospheric which then has some of the most beautiful Linkin Park vocal harmonies ever created (done by BRAD DELSON no less) and flows seamlessly into Tinfoil, their best interlude track, followed by the soaring masterpiece of Powerless (beaten only by The Little Things Give You Away) shows Linkin Park really firing on all cylinders. Top Issue While Mike's rap flow in this album is miles ahead of the lazy bullshit style that he did in Meteora (aside from Nobody's Listening), his lyrics lack actual substance. It's just battle rap stuff. This was also a problem in A Thousand Suns with the lyrics of When They Come for Me though, where he spits fire about how underrated he is... during a concept album about nuclear war? At least this album (Living Things) doesn't have an overarching concept to restrict the lyrical content, so it's not like the battle rap lyrics are out of place. They just don't have the same emotional impact as lyrics of songs like Dedicated, Forgotten, Papercut, or obviously Mike's solo stuff like Over Again. I do think that the album could have also maybe done with some seamless transitions in the 1st half as well since it is kinda weird for all of the seamless transitions to be in the second half, but it's a minor problem since it's not like the 1st half doesn't flow well.
This is probably my least favorite LP album overall. I felt like it was such a step down from MTM and ATS and I never felt like they really pushed themselves as hard after 2010 and this was the first result of that. Positives first is that it is probably one of LP’s most accessible records for those who jumped ship after Meteora. The pop sensibility they are known for is fused with rap-rock dynamics that were lacking on the previous two records. And while the folk influences are a HUGE mixed bag for me personally, I’m glad they tried to do something different halfway since the pop-rock in the first half does get a bit numbing by I’ll Be Gone. Also, lyrically, I do think it is a pretty solid record. Metaphorical imagery is glittered throughout, there is some nice wordplay/references from Mike, and there is a good amount of new vocabulary that doesn’t sound repetitious. Mike’s delivery/flow kinda peaked here compared to the progress he made in confidence from Meteora to Fort Minor to here. And while I understand Mike’s braggadocio raps don’t really create a very emotional atmosphere for Chester’s parts to breathe/connect, I do like it here for the most part. The last verse of Until It Breaks and the Victimized verse are just fucking cool lmao. Lost In The Echo is an amazing opener too and probably my favorite on any LP album. The instrumental is epic, Chester’s melody in the chorus soars, and Mike’s confidence and swagger is delivered with the power of his braggadocio raps at his best but with a much more emotional and conscious lyrical presentation that makes the verses and chorus feel like connective parts. That being said, I do find the songwriting to lack much of that emotive appeal that LP was known for by this point. To be honest, even almost 13 years later, I still don’t know what the main theme is of this album or what they were trying to go for. Maybe the more metaphorical imagery kinda distracts from the conscious/emotional core of the songs. Some of it feels like word salad to me and I’m not sure there is as much honesty and vulnerability displayed on this album compared to something like In Between or The Messenger. And that’s why I feel from a songwriting perspective, the album is the least connective to me of the 8.
This was my first actual hyped album release by the band (I became a fan in 2009 but didn't understand how to follow a band so I didn't know about the impending ATS), but it's still my least-favorite offering by the band. I have a lot of things to say about it. I will still say what I like about it first to he fair: Accessibility: This album excels at it. "BURN IT DOWN" was a hit through and through. Even the more creative numbers have an accessible current to them. "CASTLE OF GLASS" comes to mind particularly. Coming off the heels off A Thousand Suns, LIVING THINGS brings back their strong pop sensibilities and shows that they definitely have the chops. The back half of this album takes this and fuses it with folk sensibilities to create some great and distinct songs. It's also very clear based on people like @Tocaraca and the many people of Reddit that it ushered in a new generation of fans, many of which are now the ones that make up the bulk of the social media fans of the band now. You could spit and hit a fan of LP that's now in their 20s who got into the band with this album. Live Performance: A lot of these songs do really well live, even in spite of what I think are some mediocre studio recordings. Live recordings of "LIES GREED MISERY" I've heard have a ton of energy despite what I think is a pretty poor recorded song. The mixing also is much better in the live performances, like with the "IN MY REMAINS" synth that's completely buried on the studio version. We also got the banging "VICTIMIZED" and "QWERTY" mashup! Vocal Performance: Chester and Mike both pull great vocal duties here. My favorite Mike singing performance is "Sorry for Now," but a few of these songs are not far behind, like "ROADS UNTRAVELED," which really leans into Mike's baritone range alongside the piano in the intro. He also sounds great on the bridge of "IN MY REMAINS" and all over "CASTLE OF GLASS." Chester has some great moments as well, with some wonderful peaks like on the outro of "POWERLESS" or "ROADS UNTRAVELED." I also love the times we've gotten vocoded harmonizing Chester vocals, and that really started here with "LIES GREED MISERY" and went on to "A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES." I also love Brad's singing at the end of "UNTIL IT BREAKS"--he has a very light, folky delivery there that I have wanted to hear again ever since. And now...the negatives. First and foremost, the first five tracks on this album seem very trite and uninspired to my ears. Of them, "IN MY REMAINS" would be the one I would keep in an ideal world, because it feels the most melodically and structurally interesting. Mike can say all he wants that they arrived at that spot independently, but I personally do not believe him, especially considering that Joe is on record saying Skrillex was suggested as a producer. These first five tracks both don't inspire and also frustrate me because they seem like an attempt to cash in on the EDM and brostep fusion that a lot of washed up 2000's bands were trying to do at this time (Korn with The Path of Totality, Three Days Grace with Transit of Venus, these two particularly come to mind). They have good bones but the production seems very creatively bereft. Especially considering that the band did some really solid actual EDM tunes like their Aoki collabs or the "VICTIMIZED" remix. I've long theorized that LIVING THINGS was a bit of a compromise between Brad's folkier ideas and Mike's more trend-driven electronic ones, and I think a focus on one or the other would have resulted in a more cohesive and stronger album that would not be muddled by an attempt to unify by some stretch. Despite the variety of Minutes to Midnight, that album's production allows a more logical throughline to be seen. My second main issue with this album stems from some general production and lyrical choices at points. I think the bones of "LIES GREED MISERY" for example are good, but Chester's lead vocals, production and lyric-wise, kill it for me. Mike's braggadocio rap style starts here and really kills what are supposed to be more emotive songs like "LOST IN THE ECHO." It works on "UNTIL IT BREAKS" because of the different theme, but for the others it's a no-go for me. Overall this album really sours for me because it feels like it's not cohesive or thought-out. We have 3 ATS rejects so to speak ("Primo", the ATS guitar samples being the backbone of "VICTIMIZED", and "TINFOIL" & "POWERLESS" coming from there), a smattering of folk-infused and inspired songs, and then very safe and sterile electro-rock. If I start at "CASTLE OF GLASS" this album is like an 8/10, but with the first five songs it's their worst one by a lot. I know a lot of people really love this album, but it's the one LP album that I really feel misses the mark in a big way.
To me it's quite clearly a resigned album. It's about giving up, letting go, and moving on. Often about old connections with people who lied and broke promises and had to be left behind. It might not feel like it sonically but it's actually quite a sad album, depending on your interpretation. Almost every single song backs this idea. "One last lie I could see through, this time I've finally let you go", "set the silence free to wash away the worst of me", "I wanted to fix this but couldn't stop from tearing it down", "it's time you let me go", "I'm only a crack in this castle of glass, hardly anything else I need to be", "the love that you lost wasn't worth what it cost and in time you'll be glad it's gone", "when your name is finally drawn I'll be happy that you're gone", "time has torn the flesh away, the early morning sings no more", then it all culminates with the end result of betrayal and loss in Powerless. The only songs that arguably don't fit are Lies Greed Misery and Victimized as expected, but these can easily be interpreted as being simply moments of anger against whoever the subject of these songs is. In fact the more I think about it the more I realize that this album is lyrically more cohesive than maybe all of their other albums. It does have a strong lyrical theme, although the song order doesn't tell a story since otherwise Lost in the Echo would probably not be the opener. Their other albums are all over the place lyrically. Hybrid Theory talks about internal paranoia and mental anguish in Papercut and then switches right to anger towards somebody who has done wrong in One Step Closer, and Points of Authority has that battle rap thing that doesn't seem to directly relate to what Chester's lines in that song are talking about (and Cure for the Itch doesn't contribute to the album lyrically OR sonically since it doesn't bridge two songs together like Tinfoil does). Meteora also switches lyrical tones from Don't Stay to Somewhere I Belong to Easier to Run to Breaking the Habit etc, the only thing tying these songs together is that they are from the perspective of a young person struggling finding their way in the world. Living Things is from the perspective of somebody older and less angry. Minutes to Midnight opens with a song about angsty suicidal ideation, then moves onto almost the complete opposite with Leave Out All the Rest being about acceptance and letting go (kinda like the theme of Living Things), and randomly has a political song (Hands Held High) in there. Wow, what a cohesive lyrical theme amiright? What do In Between and The Little Things Give You Away have in common lyrically? Not much. A Thousand Suns is their most lyrically cohesive album, although When They Come for Me is a clear outlier (and The Messenger could be on any album). The Hunting Party has a clear theme of anger, mostly political in nature, although Final Masquerade does not fit that at all, and neither does Until It's Gone really. One More Light is just generally an introspective album, although Good Goodbye breaks that mold. This is their 3rd more coherent album from a lyrical standpoint in my opinion. Suffice to say, I do not agree with your opinion.
Bro what You can take any of these albums and shoehorn them into your own designed lyrical "theme." It doesn't really make it more lyrically cohesive—Linkin Park writes generally abstract lyrics for this very reason, so that people like you can find your own interpretation of the lyrics that resonate with you. I get that you really like the album, but you're just overly leaning into bias at this point. For example, here's a lyrical analysis I've come up with for Hybrid Theory to illustrate the point. The overarching theme of the album is actually extremely coherent and profound, addressing a single manipulative relationship, the internal conflict it causes, and eventually finding emotional release: Spoiler "Papercut" addresses anxiety, self-doubt and paranoia, and asserts that the other in this very toxic and manipulative relationship harbors these kinds of issues, but won't admit it ("I know you've got a face on the inside too / You're paranoia's probably worse"; "The face inside is right beneath my skin"). Sets the tone for the album and shows the dynamic of this relationship. "One Step Closer" is a lashing out against the manipulator in the relationship, the first of these emotional moments where anger boils over, resulting in an outburst against the manipulative figure. This intentionally contrasts with the more internal dialogue songs. "With You" highlights the idea of a codependency or cyclical attachment to the emotional abuser as lyrics such as "I'm trapped in these memories" highlight this. The title "with you" is actually ironic. The aftermath of the conflict in "One Step Closer." "Points of Authority" tackles cycles of manipulation and control, with Mike's "battle rap" [sic] verse clearly being an internal dialogue with oneself to cut off this person who outwits them at every turn ("The pace is too fast / You just won't last"). The chorus shows the arrogance and lack of humility as the other seeks to control and not take accountability. The conflict and attempt at resolution in the previous two tracks has failed. "Crawling" looks inward again as it explores the deep-seated trauma of the toxic relationship, the fear of leaving it behind, and the confidence eroded along the way. "Runaway" shows the desire to escape, musing upon running away to flee the toxicity and abuse. On the flip side, it shows how they never do because of the gaslighting methods used to keep the protagonist questioning their reality and their blaming the other ("Guilty by association / You point the finger at me again"). "By Myself" delves into the protagonist's isolation, building upon the musing of "Runaway," torn between exposing the manipulator and fearing disbelief or further harm. Leaving feels impossible ("If I turn my back, I'm defenseless"), yet staying only deepens the cycle of control ("If I hide my pride and let it all go on / Then they'll take from me 'til everything is gone"). This track captures the paralysis of being trapped, emotionally and mentally. "In the End" is the answer to "By Myself," reflecting that despite all their efforts, "in the end, it doesn't even matter." They watch the "time go right out the window" as they spend more and more time in a relationship designed to trap them and keep them suppressed. "A Place for My Head" is a moment of catharsis, showing the dueling emotions as straight out of the nihilism of the previous track, it launches back into anger reflecting upon the manipulative relationship ("You try to take the best of me - go away"). "Forgotten" dips into disassociation in the verses, as evidenced by the endings ("And the eyes ease open and it's dark again") as in the chorus it reflects upon how they've become numb to the memories and trauma, and at the core they've forgotten anything else outside of this new normalcy. A step forward in recognizing the need for change. "Cure for the Itch" represents a moment of emotional release as "Mr. Hahn" represents the protagonist's true identity breaking through the chaos. The musical expression of the real Mr. Hahn reflects the reclamation of the protagonist's identity. Then we get "Pushing Me Away," which ties the narrative together by addressing all the cycles and wounds and a determination to end them ("This is the last smile / That I'll fake for the sake of being with you"; "Everything has to end, you'll soon find / We're out of time left to watch it all unwind"). Suffice to say, I do not agree with your opinion.
I didn't even design it myself. A friend of mine mentioned to me that the album felt depressing/dystopian in a peaceful way, like being okay with one's time coming to an end. If you're implying that I just made up this theme in a biased way to defend the album, you are incorrect. If I didn't think the album had any sort of cohesive lyrical theme I would admit that.
The point is: this album has just about the same level of lyrical cohesiveness and narrative structure as any other album they have released, barring ATS, which is still only just a few steps above, and the more specifically personal OML lyrics. ATS still keeps things abstract and vague even with the concept though. Nothing wrong with taking an interpretation that you like from LT, but it doesn't do anything differently from the majority of their studio offerings lyric-wise.
I pretty much agree with this, and my claim that it is more lyrically cohesive than all their other albums except ATS was going a bit far. I do think it feels a lot more cohesive than Minutes to Midnight (both lyrically and sonically) still, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who listen to MtM with a storyline in mind.
I was looking for your opinion on this album specifically, it was pretty interesting to go through it! I wanted to highlight this little part above as it's also something I wanted to mention but forgot to do so. I think Living Things may be a bit special in LP's discography as it may be the record most influenced by its predecessor—it feels like quite a bunch of ideas that ended up on Living Things started from seeds from the ATS sessions. I thought that also included Lies, Greed, Misery but I may be mistaken as I can't find a source for that. However, the contrast between the two albums doesn't serve Living Things quite well. Looking at it from a specific (negative) perspective, it's not impossible to see Living Things as the little "B-side" sister album to ATS that didn't benefit from the same scale or ambition as its relative. While ATS excelled at making songs evolve—for example, bringing climaxes and final rewards as extended outros or synth solos—some songs on Living Things feel more like "cool ideas" that either got a bit dumbed down (Primo > I'll Be Gone) or didn't get enough room to breathe. Skin to Bone would be an example of the latter to me. Sonically, I like every element in that song. But structurally, it just doesn't do it for me. It feels like a track where the band had a cool beat, a cool synth, and a cool melody but didn't really know where to go with it. It starts, does its thing for 2+ minutes, and ends without bringing any moment I'm especially looking forward to. In my musical imagination, I could see that type of soundscape being used as a bridge, part A, or part B of a song on ATS, where it would be supported by a second and even third part with different elements. But on its own, in my opinion, it doesn't really bring enough to the table to be memorable. This makes a good point. I will say I still like LITE a lot, even though I suppose moments in that track exemplify the EDM/fusion trend of the time. And there is definitely a disconnect between the lyrics in the verses and the chorus. But I dunno, I like the synths, the vibe, the melody and Chester performance that much
I actually gave this album a couple (as much as possible) neutral listens in the past week, trying to ignore my problems. I'll never hear it as completely unbiased as I did in summer of 2012, but I tried. I do remember liking all the songs so much more that summer actually. It was the album of that summer for me, the one that really cemented Linkin Park as my favorite band, in a transitional period in between middle school to high school. Sky was the limit, I had no idea what to expect from a high school, and I was connecting with lots of musicians in my hometown, expanding my taste greatly (that summer marked my first encounters with both metalcore acts like Memphis May Fire, as well as more guitar-forward artists like Jack White or Jimi Hendrix). My middle school girlfriend also broke up with me that summer, and so some of the angst resonated with me. I reflected on some of these things as I listened to this album, trying to recall the time period. "LOST IN THE ECHO" was better in this setting. Especially reflecting on how much I loved that song in that time period. "IN MY REMAINS" was a favorite of mine too, and I've given exception to that song alone among the first five tracks consistently as a solid track. "BURN IT DOWN" and "LIES GREED MISERY" still aren't really doing it for me for different reasons, and "I'LL BE GONE" is a solid song, but requires a lot of mental gymnastics to avoid thinking about how it came from the tragic loss of "Primo." How a band can write demos that are better than some of their actual studio recordings is beyond me! But I ignored that, and IBG is a good tune, even if not my favorite. Of course, we also have "CASTLE OF GLASS," "ROADS UNTRAVELED," and "UNTIL IT BREAKS," which I think are the best songs from this album by a very very wide margin. That opinion does not change, and I think I really love UIB even more, maybe because I've had an interest in understanding the history and context of how hip-hop developed and changed over time, and Mike has those homages as well as some varying styles and deliveries. There's just a vibe to that song, and his lyricism is fun yet also personal at points, even literally referencing his parents' careers! And of course, the whole thing is one hybridized (ehhhh? no? okay) collage of different ideas that somehow works in a really cool way. "SKIN TO BONE" and "VICTIMIZED" are tier two probably, as I like them but they're not exceptionally favorites for me (unless it's the @Tocaraca cover of VICTIMIZED, in that case sign me up) I still would love to hear the folk demo for STB one day. And then "TINFOIL" and "POWERLESS" are just kinda there. Decent closer but not really a highlight, probably on the same level as IBG. Feels kinda like "Pushing Me Away" in terms of being a decent song but one of their weaker final tracks. I still stand by my sentiment that the first five tracks really give this album a crisis of identity and leave it a bit less distinct in its identity. I also do still personally theorize that there was a bit of disagreement on the overall style of the album, which resulted in some of its disjointedness. I think if this album was made up of more songs like COG, RU, and UIB, it would probably be a close competitor with ATS as one of my favorites from the band. But perhaps I have been a tad harsh on it in recent years. I did it all for you Toca
Did you guys hear Primo before LT came out? I heard LT many years before, so Primo just blueballs me with its chorus every time coz I'm expecting that big soaring explosive chorus after the buildup but it never comes. I love Primo's guitar stuff and generally its production but I'll Be Gone feels like a way more satisfying and finished track to me.
"Primo" was LPU XIII, so I would wager that unless you are a new fan who listened in a very weird order, most everyone heard "I'LL BE GONE" first. It was released a year and a half later. I like the softness and arpeggiated guitar work of "Primo" that slowly builds into a climax, over the wall of sound on IBG that generally just follows a normal verse-chorus dynamic. I think it builds up perfectly fine personally. It also speaks more to my love for more ballad-y, folksy, or lyrically grounded stuff, of which it has little nuggets. "Primo" scratches that itch for me, but I wouldn't mind some of the elements of IBG being combined with it, especially Owen Pallett's strings parts.
Yeah, I feel like Primo's verses and bridge sections combined with I'll Be Gone's soaring chorus (at least in the second half of the song) would be absolutely perfect. BTW I also agree about Pushing Me Away, kind of a middle of the road song in LP's discography and closing track history, although I think Powerless is a top 5 LP song
Pushing Me Away is a great song. Also, Until it Breaks is my least favorite song on the album, though that might be because I'm not as much of a straight-forward hip-hop fan and usually only like rap much when it's mixed with rock/metal or it's Eminem