Alright, a quick poll for those of you who love this album: what have you been listening to it on? The last time I really checked these guys out was when they were being tweeted about endlessly during SXSW. I headed to the Hype Machine and listened to what had been released or leaked.
It was physically unpleasant. I mean, not painful, exactly. That would be going too far. But my old man ears really, really recoiled from it.
But that was all on headphones (sealed-back headphones at that). Today I’m giving the album a chance over speakers, and I have no complaints. I actually like it! And am adding it to my still-extremely-tenuous “2010 = summer of anthemic rock” thesis (Fang Island being the other major data point).
Maybe I’m an outlier here. I still think the clipping is a gimmick, and one that really, really doesn’t work without a room full of air to mellow it out. But I’m excited at the prospect of being less of a pain in the ass about this record.
(And yes, I realize that this post constitutes an inevitable but still detestable descent into explicit audiophile pain-in-the-assery. But if you know me you’ve known for a while that this was only a matter of time.)
I’m glad you gave it another chance. We all know it is going to get old really quick, but might as well enjoy it for the moment, clipping or not.
Which album are you referring to? Is the band called Sleigh Bells?
[…] I recommended Sleigh Bells’s new album last week. I absolutely love it. But some folks hated it. And I count among that number not only commenters on this blog, but also my friend Tom Lee. He reports, however, that his view changed when he switches his listening medium: […]
It’s also awesome in a car speeding down a highway.
[…] of having opinions about novels instead of opinions about music, as I’m now super-old and it’s all just noise anyway (young people! so awful, right?). If you feel like joining me in this endeavor you should consider […]