I haven't had this before, this urge to need to really talk about a thing that I don't think I can do justice to written down. Although a lot of what I ended up saying was waffle, I do find it much easier to talk things through than to write them down. Writing's never been my strong point, but we'll see how this goes.
Here is what is effectively my review of Don Broco's new album, 'Automatic'.
Something I touched upon in my original 25 minute long ramble was about the type of band Don Broco are perceived as. There's been a lot of this online over the weekend and it really annoys me. I think that Don Broco get a lot of stick for being this "lad rock" "cheeky Nandos" "River Island poster boys" type of band, which I don't think is fair. And I don't think it's fair because this isn't some sort of trend that every band is doing at the moment, it's just Don Broco being Don Broco. And if you've listened to 'Automatic' with an open mind and didn't enjoy it, that's totally cool. But if you listened to 'Automatic' with the intention of disliking it when you got to the other end, what was the point in you bothering? Just ma feels, man.
I'd be genuinely interested to hear what others think about the album, especially if you want to address any of the points I've made. Feel free to comment below. You won't, but I feel kind inviting you to.
First off, I am a big Don Broco fan. It is what it is. LOVE Thug Workout, Priorities is one of my favourite albums of recent years (mainly tracks like Priorities, Actors, Fancy Dress etc.)
ReplyDeleteMy view on the whole standard/deluxe albums is similar. One of them is pointless. I think if a song isn't good enough to make the standard album, why release it at all? I don't think I'd miss tracks like 'Bad Feeling' or 'Wrong Place Wrong Time' if I never hear them again. Another thing that annoys me a little bit is the fact that we heard 6 of the 14 tracks on the deluxe album before the album was released. I get that it's been ages between albums, but I much prefer it when bands release one single to warm you up, then hit you with the album. I listened to the album like "heard this one, skip, heard this one, skip"...yeah...
It kinda feels like Money Power Fame and Fire are just there to keep die hard fans of Priorities happy, which I get sort of, but can't help but think it's a bit lazy. If you're going to repeat something stylistically, you have to make sure it's so much better, and those tracks just aren't.
All of the other tracks I either love, or like enough to keep on the album. I particularly love Automatic, Nerve, Let You Get Away, and Super Love. As much as you hate Further, I actually think it's a good track to finish off an album - I don't share your hatred of ballads though, so no surprise that we think differently there.
Overall I'd say your rating of 7/10 is fair. I can't help but think without a couple of tracks it might have got a higher score.