The New Album Thread

[RockawayBlind]

I have no enthusiasm for a FM album. If it sounds like the EP, it will be pablum and a sad way for FM to go out on. Because, believe it, this thing will likely sell even less than SYW and the band will never record again. At least if SYW is the band's last studio album, it will stand up as a collection of songs with some real flashes of brilliance, even though it is uneven as a set.

Lindsey seems to have talked himself into believing he has to write these really uninteresting pop songs for FM. He followed SWS, which was exciting and brilliant, and the This is 40 contributions, which were as shiny and well-crated as any pop songs Lindsey has ever done, with probably what I see as some of his worst output, the EP. I'd rather he gave up on the whole thing and went back into the studio to give us some more of his solo weirdness.

If FM must record as a band, then thrown out the rule book and start from scratch. Seat the band members in a circle and do some live recordings. Use real acoustic guitars. Forget the studio wizardry. Give us an organic sound. Go listen to bands like Lone Bellow and Mumford and Songs to get a sense of how to update the FM sound from the 70s-meets-the-80s-meets-the-90s inconsistency of SYW. I want something cohesive, smart and well-produced. Otherwise, as I said, Lindsey should go back to the studio and give us more weirdness, synthetic sounds and all.