Anyone else not convinced with BDAW ? OK just me then...

[MerseyExile]

Sorry. Really sorry. I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t think BDAW is brilliant. Yes It’s good BUT it is not a NMA classic and not nearly as good as some of their old and recent stuff.
Obviously this is just my opinion so let me please explain before getting criticised. I eagerly sought out and bought  the early singles before Vengeance was released.  I think I have everything NMA have ever recorded since. I don’t go in for pink vinyl and Hungarian imports etc. If I’ve already got it then good – but I double and triple up on LPs, CDs and cassettes. So I’m an oldie at 57.
I have listened to BDAW 3 times so far….
1st time with eager anticipation from the reviews.
2nd time with a bottle of red of red wine to celebrate my birthday (getting a new NMA LP a day before your birthday !) and being convinced I must have been wrong yesterday.
3rd time this morning.
I know this is not going to gain me any friends.  Yes BDAW is good but sorry it’s not that good.

[Dominic]

personally I disagree, but I'm sure there'll be a few who agree with you.  Though this will happen with every album (TIAGD or Eight aren't favourites of mine either). 

But it's worth remembering many NMA fans are quite a dedicated and devotional bunch of music followers - so devotional in fact that if it was an organised religion there'd be a few songs about it!  (with One of the Chosen I couldn't decide if that was about religion or music fans until the closing lines).
But in rock and roll terms devotion is a positive and so it is fairer to say NMA have a higher percentage of fans follow their music religiously than say the Foo Fighters.  Such fans will be always be more open to whatever musical avenue the band choose to explore than others only interested in a particular sound or period.

BDAW isn't a rock album so it is hard to compare against one, and even harder to compare against their other albums. How to compare with TIAGD with Eight?
I'd recommend a fourth listen - forget to expect 'NMA' and forget to expect 'rock', just absorb it on its own terms.  It may not contain that next NMA anthem-hymn for everybody - but it's a fine album and I agree with the consensus of it being one of their best constructed records in years.

[Danny]

I'm not convinced by it either. Of course I reserve the right to change my mind in time, but as it stands, no. Still better than most albums by most other bands, mind, but as far NMA goes, there's much better IMO

[DannySan]

When you have serious bands that have stood the test of time and have evolved over years and decades then there are bound to be some songs/ albums that some fans take to but also some that fans don't take to. I love the album but I know that there will be many genuine fans out there that don't like it.

It's just the way it goes.

Mersey Exile - I hope the album grows on you 

[Darkness]

I'm struggling as well. 
To me it's "the Emperor's New Clothes", everyone one is raving, but I just can't see it.
I think it must be my age...
It'll probably grow on me in time - Strange Brotherhood did.
Nice to see the boys back in the charts. I've loved them since I first heard them and I always will.

[Toronto Popular Front]

it took me a while and a good few listens to get, however i will say that the song "i need more time" doesn't do it for me, yet this seems a big favourite.

[Master Ray]

No apologies necessary. 

As I said before on a previous post, this is a band who constantly evolves.  Sometimes they will veer off in a direction that not everybody will follow them onto.  No problem... I hope you lot who aren't keen on BDAW will still come to the gigs.  And maybe the next NMA album will tickle your fancy a bit more...

My own unpopular opinion?  I've never been that keen on 'The Love Of Hopeless Causes'... I like 'Strange Brotherhood' much better... and SB is an album that Justin doesn't seem that keen on!

In fact, 'your unpopular NMA opinion' might just be an interesting new thread...

 

[Impuri-D]

3 plays isnt nearly enough for this one IMO.

I have had it on repeat in the car since release day, so with my commute, I have heard it around 30 times now.

It only started to make sense around play 25, an its like listening to a different album.

The mainstream media validation, to me, feels a little like its 'their time' for a little praise, rather than the musicianship and songwriting on display - because there is nothing 'better' artistically about BDAW  than Carnival, High, or TIAGD, and with it being a much less immediate sound, I cant see how a renta-mouth in the mojo office could suck the marrow out of its finer points by deadline.

[Shush]

Completely agree. Impruri-D

After listening to it umpteen times, I have changed my mind about which is my favourite track several times. Its not a simple album, there is lots to take in each time you listen.

Before this one falls into place, you need lots of listens, and tell yourself before you make your mind up about it -- I need more time --

[Johnz]

It definitely needs quite a few listens. Three times is nowhere near enough.

I do think the rave reviews are genuine because in many ways this album is more accessible to non-hardcore NMA fans. Most of my friends who aren't crazy about NMA instantly liked a lot of the songs. So in some ways I think, rather than being a bad album it just isn't the album that some of us wanted it to be.

Personally, I think it's brilliant. Give it time. I only really started to like SB recently and am now wondering what I ever disliked about it.

[MerseyExile]

I agree that 3 listenings  are not enough. However, 30 listenings in a week (3 times a day) is at the other end of the spectrum. I am a fan not an obsessive fanatic. 
Respect to the "emperors new clothes” quote.
My 4th and 5th listening have not yet changed my opinion. Some so-so tracks and one or two very weak "fillers". I am not trying to be contentious but I don't get the euphoria about this. So, I will listen at least once every day for the next 5 days before making another comment. Hopefully it'll grow.
 

[skratch]

i'm having a rough go of it as well.  while it has a few tracks that i like, it doesn't have the raw, angry edge that i'm accustomed to.  more like a 'world beat' kinda affair.  and some of the vocals have really thrown me as well.  not justin's, his are always spot on, but the more 'melodic' background vocals.

don't get me wrong, i'm very happy that this album is doing as well as it is critically.  it's just not doing it for me.  at least not yet.  but i'm not quite ready to throw in the towel yet.

[Johnz]

There's nothing contentious about not liking an album. I struggle with some other bands' supposed master pieces. All points raised here are by people respectfully stating their opinion and I think that's a good thing. It is a discussion forum after all.

To be honest, as much as I love the new album, I am surprised that there aren't more people that can't warm to it. I suspect that quite a few are still waiting for it to finally click and are waiting on the live dates before they dismiss it. While I agree that the album may be about 2 songs too long, I'm sure you won't find two people who will agree on what those two songs are !

But do try to persevere with it a bit more and play it loud and/or on headphones.

[Si_H]

You're not alone.

Time prevents me from a more erudite reply, but I have to say that with the exception of possibly the title track, I can find nothing I really like here. Out of all the NMA albums I have, this has been the most disappointing for me. God knows I've tried to like it.. headphones, glasses of scotch, loudness, etc, and it just leaves me cold. Its not music that I would have chosen to listen to had it not been NMA.

I have a genuine sense of loss after this one.  Sure, I've not liked some albums as much as others, and there are always tracks I prefer over others, but thats only to be expected with such a wide range of time and material. BDAW, however, is just like a mental car-crash for me, and however hard I try, I cannot "get" it.  Since every other album has had immediate highlights and often a "Oh YES! God I love this band!" moment on it for me, the contrast is very striking indeed.

Ah well. Maybe the next one will bring it back for me

[peternotbaldyet]

When LOHC came out, we somehow got hold of a promo version of it. After the 2 previous albums I was so looking fotward to it. It left me cold. For years, I would only play it intermittently. Over the last 6 or 7 years, I finally warmed to it and now play it regularly. BDAW has been on constantly since it turned up. I played it twice last night. It is atmospheric and widescreen. I think it's the finest thing they've done in nearly 25 years.