I'm inclined to agree. If this were a situation like with TFK or PT, where the lead writer just put their band on hiatus (in Roine's case, twice for nearly five years at a time, and in Steven's, over a decade for PT), then I could see them taking time and coming back later, but SB hasn't had a singular lead writer since Neal, and even outsourced their writing to include members that aren't musicians in the band (not that there's anything wrong with that).
With Ted, Dave, and John Boegehold all focusing on P-SA, I don't see them "saving any material" for SB. And Ryo just put out a solo album last year, so he's been busy on his own stuff. Unless Al has 5 years worth of material saved up for a new album, I can't see them bringing the band back together anytime soon.
I think there are definitely some who would not agree with that. Don't get me wrong, collaboration is a hallmark of music in the last 60+ years, but I know a lot of rock fans get on their high horse about "our guys write all their own music!" I would actually argue that songwriting is in many ways a greater talent than playing a musical instrument. Just about anyone with a decent amount of practice can play a musical instrument on at least a rudimentary level. Not everyone can write a good song.
I thought it was odd at first, seeing Stan and John in the writing credits beginning with
Feel Euphoria, but it was still SB playing the songs, and at that point, it wasn't much different than them playing Neal's songs in the band when he wasn't with them anymore (granted, he wrote them while IN the band FOR the band). And most of those songs were co-written with members in the band anyway, at least during the NDV-era. It wasn't until BNADS that we saw songs solely by Ausmus and Boegehold.
Here's the songs written solely by John Boegehold:
"Something Very Strange
"Postcards From Perdition (Limited Edition Bonus Track)
"Bennett Built A Time Machine"
"Get Out While You Can"
"A Better Way To Fly"
"To Be Free Again"
"Disappear"
"What Becomes Of Me"
"Days We'll Remember" (Bonus Track)
"Bulletproof" (Bonus Track)
"Armageddon Nervous" (Bonus Track)
Eleven songs solely by Boegehold and four ended up as bonus tracks, so really only seven, and in the vast catalog of Post-Neal SB, that's not a lot.
And as for Stan Ausmus, only two songs were credited solely to him - "Tides Of Time" and "One So Wise", both of which are pretty great IMO, so not a big deal there.
I think when folks saw the writing credits for
The Oblivion Particle and saw that over half of the album's 9 songs were credited solely to Boegehold, they probably already made up their minds about the music before even listening to it, which is a shame. It's not their best album, but it's a fun one IMO, especially songs like "Bennett", "A Better Way To Fly", and "To Be Free Again". I think consequently, the band took those criticisms to heart because of the four sole-written Boegehold songs for
Nosie Floor, only one made it to the main album ("What Becomes Of Me"), while the other three were put on The Cutting Room Floor. I wonder how John felt about that, and if it was the impetus for him to start Pattern-Seeking Animals.
-Marc.