LogFAQs > #976913604

1. Modern Man
2. The Suburbs
3. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
4. Half Light I
5. Wasted Hours (A Life We Can Live)
6. Ready to Start
7. City with No Children
8. Empty Room
9. Deep Blue
10. Suburban War
11. Month of May
12. Sprawl I (Flatland)
13. The Suburbs (continued)
14. Half Light II (No Celebration)
15. Rococo
16. We Used to Wait

I'm still a little surprised that I enjoy this album as much as I do, as it feels a little bit out of my normal wheelhouse. And I say that dating back to originally listening to this album in the wake of it winning a Grammy back over a decade ago. This isn't an "artsy" album per se, but it probably has "more to say" than most other albums I liked back then? I don't know. That still doesn't feel quite right. Maybe it's just that there's almost nothing here I'd consider a "radio hit" and yet this is a very strong album with lots of fun hooks.

Ultimately, for me this is an album that's more than the sum of its parts.I found it difficult to do the ranking and feel like this could have fluctuated pretty wildly if I was doing it at a different time. In very quickly scrolling past the rankings submitted so far, I suspect this one is going to be all over the place with lots of songs in someone's top 5 and someone else's bottom 5.

Thinking about the album as a whole, it feels like the pillars are The Suburbs, Suburban War (espeically with some of the lyrics brought back from that initial track), and Sprawl II. Those are the 3 songs that encapsulate the tone, vibe, and message of the album.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Month of May: Ehh... I shouldn't be so blunt about it, but the more typical rock sound on this track kinda bores me? Like, it's *fine*, but....

I agree with this sentiment, and that track kind of ended up being the "fodder" line for me.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

The Suburbs (Continued): A short, poignant outro. I'm sure there's an argument that the song is too short for me to be giving it such a high placement--I'm honestly considering moving it up to first--but I'm not really bothered by short tracks. It comes in, hits the emotional beats it wants to, and fades away. A perfect end to the album.

I agree that it's a great little closing coda. One of the big reasons the bonus tracks just don't work for me. You hear this track's echos back to the opener and it really closes the book and leaves you feeling satisfied.

Just one extra comment on my bottom song, We Used to Wait. This is easily the most forgettable track here. I simply did not remember this track at all when coming back to this album. And even after 3 additional listens, it's made no lasting marks on me.