PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS - Boegehold / Keegan / Leonard / Meros

[The Curious Orange]

Started listening to this album today. I understand why the Beard may have turned these down. Not that they are bad, per se, but they aren't quite Beard...   Laid-back Beard, Elevator Beard.

Boegehold wrote some of the more interesting SB songs of late - Something Very Strange, A Better Way to Fly - and after the more mainstream Noise Floor I was hoping this was going to explore the avant-garde side of things a little more. Instead, it's Spock's Beard Lite.  Spock's Bum Fluff, if you will.

I enjoyed it, but I couldn't help thinking how much some of those songs would be improved with a kick-ass Al Morse solo...

Reminded me of nothing so much as that The Sea Within album - good, but slightly disappointing given the pedigree of the people involved.

[jingle.boy]

I'm three tracks in to it this morning, and feeling the same way.

[Kwyjibo]

Listened to it once and was underwhelmed. Maybe it will grow.

[Mladen]

I gave up on the second song. Sorry. 

[Nekov]

Well, I most be the only one that liked this one more than noise floor then  .  Still not great

[Ben_Jamin]

I enjoyed this album.

[romdrums]

Reminded me of nothing so much as that The Sea Within album - good, but slightly disappointing given the pedigree of the people involved.

That album is an incredible disappointment to me.  I think that's the last chance I give to Roine Stoldt and Daniel Gildenlow.  Their respective music is just something that doesn't resonate with me.

[DTA]

I don't know if this is a Boegehold thing, but I really dislike the long "Meatloaf"-style song titles. Have We All Gone Crazy Yet, No One Ever Died And Made Me King, etc. I bought this album on release day but still haven't gotten around to giving it a serious listen. I loved The Oblivion Particle and Noise Floor so I'm guessing I will enjoy it once the songs sink in.

 

[goo-goo]

Reminded me of nothing so much as that The Sea Within album - good, but slightly disappointing given the pedigree of the people involved.

That album is an incredible disappointment to me.  I think that's the last chance I give to Roine Stoldt and Daniel Gildenlow.  Their respective music is just something that doesn't resonate with me.

I enjoyed the Casey McPherson songs with The Sea Within release a lot more than the ones with DG.

[Fritzinger]

NEWS:

In 2019, Pattern-Seeking Animals, the California-based band featuring Ted Leonard (lead vocals & guitars), Jimmy Keegan (drums & vocals), Dave Meros (bass) and John Boegehold (keyboards), presented its much-lauded eponymous debut.
Just a year later, the group announces May 15th, 2020 as the release date for its newest opus, “Prehensile Tales”, which expands the stylistic niche carved out by the debut and adds additional twists and turns along the way.
For the six songs on the album (the longest clocking in at over 17 minutes), the band introduced violin, flute, trumpet, cello, sax and pedal steel to the sound palette that was once again recorded & mixed by Rich Mouser at The Mouse House.
The track-listing reads as follows:
1. Raining Hard In Heaven
2. Here In My Autumn
3. Elegant Vampires
4. Why Don’t We Run
5. Lifeboat
6. Soon But Not Today
“I started writing for the second album right as we were finishing up the first one” says Boegehold, who is again producing. “I wanted to change around some of the songwriting approaches I’d been using and draw from a few different musical influences while not straying too far from the overall vibe of the band.”
Ted Leonard adds: "This album is another collection of lush arrangements and infectious melodies. I mean REALLY infectious. There are certain lines that are the last thing going through my head at night and the first thing in the morning. I think it's actually furthering my insanity."
(https://www.facebook.com/mirekis7/), whose ‘An evolutionary broadcast’ design Boegehold immediately considered a perfect fit to the album’s peculiar title.
“Prehensile Tales is a play-on-words I came up with while writing lyrics and thought it would be a funny album title. As a bonus, it actually seems to mean something that fits the music.”
To coincide with the album’s release, the band is set to perform at RosFest 2020 in Sarasota, Florida on May 9th and is lining up more dates later in the year which will be announced soon.
“Prehensile Tales” will be released as Gatefold 2LP plus CD, Limited Edition CD, and as digital album on May 15th, 2020 on InsideOutMusic.

I wasn't that crazy about the first album (still a good album though). I will definitely check out this one. Only 6 songs, that sounds good for a longtrack fan like me 

[Kwyjibo]

I didn't think the first one was a "much-lauded eponymous debut". If this will be on spotify I will give it a listen but I don't get my hopes up.

[RoeDent]

I didn't think the first one was a "much-lauded eponymous debut". If this will be on spotify I will give it a listen but I don't get my hopes up.

"Much lauded" = One or two people liked it a lot.

This is interesting. I feel like this 17-minute track is the longest thing Ted Leonard's been involved on as a full band memeber, as far as I can think. Enchant's longest song (to date) isn't even 11 minutes, and SB's longest under Ted is Waiting for Me at 12:40-ish. The lack of big epics has been one of the more notable aspects of SB's output since Ted arrived.

[Fritzinger]

That much-lauded comment is a typical insideout comment 

[ProfessorPeart]

Yeah, that much lauded comment caught my attention. I was lukewarm, at best, to the first album. I called it Elevator Beard.

I will still pick it up. It has Ted, Dave and Jimmy. I will support them.

[The Letter M]

I didn't think the first one was a "much-lauded eponymous debut". If this will be on spotify I will give it a listen but I don't get my hopes up.

"Much lauded" = One or two people liked it a lot.

This is interesting. I feel like this 17-minute track is the longest thing Ted Leonard's been involved on as a full band memeber, as far as I can think. Enchant's longest song (to date) isn't even 11 minutes, and SB's longest under Ted is Waiting for Me at 12:40-ish. The lack of big epics has been one of the more notable aspects of SB's output since Ted arrived.

I guess "Falling For Forever" doesn't count (because it wasn't just Ted singing)?

-Marc.

[devieira73]

Yeah, that much lauded comment caught my attention. I was lukewarm ,at best, to the first album. I called it Elevator Beard.

I will still pick it up. It has Ted, Dave and Jimmy. I will support them.

I think this album has a lot of potencial to be better than the first, just because the first basically was made by songs rejected by SB and unfortunately it does sound like that IMO.

[KevShmev]

I think this album has a lot of potencial to be better than the first, just because the first basically was made by songs rejected by SB and unfortunately it does sound like that IMO.

Agreed.  My older brother (who bought it because he is a huge Ted fan now) played me most of it a while back and I came away thinking the same thing.  It all ranged from okay to pretty good, but struck me as something I would never listen to, so I never bought it.

[RoeDent]

Debut albums are often a bit hit and miss, the band still trying to find their feet. Hopefully with the experience of the first one, the second should be more solid and more assured of what the band wants to sound like.

[The Letter M]

https://youtu.be/m5mgpcOgFws

First song released from the new album, now available for preorder!

-Marc.

[Fritzinger]

Won't listen to singles as usual, but I put on some songs from the debut again. While it's not a masterpiece, I find myself liking it more than before. And oddly, I like the shorter, poppier songs way more (already loved them on Noise Floor: The Days We Remember, So This Is Life, Bulletproof). So for me it's maybe not that good that the new album consists of mainly longer songs 

I particularly like No-one ever Died and We Write The Ghost Stories. The latter finally has a lighter snare drum sound that sounds a little like Nick D'Virgilio's. I always had a little problem with Keegan's snare drum sound. No Man's Land has a great chorus (although it has that weird whistling part ).

Looking forward to the new album, but I'm not crazy about it 

[MinistroRaven]

Let's begin today with this Vicente Cordero directed (He does it again) video for Pattern-Seeking Animals excellent tune "Elegant Vampires". Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5trQJEqd9bo&feature=youtu.be

 

[RoeDent]

So......anyone got this yet? It's release day.

[ProfessorPeart]

So......anyone got this yet? It's release day.

Ordered from Amazon. Don't even have a shipping notice yet.

[DTA]

I'll download it today but I have so many other albums to listen to it may be awhile before I give it a serious listen

[The Letter M]

So......anyone got this yet? It's release day.

First listen and impressions - I liked it, probably more than the debut. I'll have to listen to it again with full ears and attention, but most of the music definitely caught my ear for sounding different and fresh for these guys, and a bit less Beard-y at times. Also spotted some Beatles (and maybe some Police) influences here and there. The added instruments really flesh out the musical palette and bring some interesting sounds to many of the songs, especially the last two.

After a couple more listens, maybe I'll post some more in-depth thoughts, but my first impression is that is a GREAT sophomore effort from this Spin-off Band.

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Some more thoughts on the album: This definitely rocks, and I enjoy it more than their debut, but going back and listening to their debut earlier today, then onto Prehensile Tales, I liked the debut more than I remember liking it, so I'm glad that liking the second album a lot has sort of helped me enjoy the first one a bit more.

Dave Meros is a BEAST on this album, with lots of great bass grooves and melodies, and his mix is just right. Rich Mouser definitely has the touch and knows what to do for this band. Ted's vocals are pretty great over-all, but nothing has stood out too much to me yet regarding his vocals, but they're all so good everywhere that it's hard to find a stand-out moment from him yet for me. Jimmy and John provide some suitable parts as well, and I quite like Jimmy's grooves throughout the album. He and Dave definitely click in all the best ways possible, which makes sense after having played together for nearly 2 decades now.

The music itself? There's a good bit of variety on here, especially with "Why Don't We Run", which sounds so different from anything else I've heard these guys do, with or without Spock's Beard.

Maybe it's just me, but I hear a lot of 80's rock influences in here, everything from synth-era Rush to Asia, with a lot of other flavors sprinkled throughout. I did notice an abundance of 7/4 and 7/8 though, which has been VERY common in the last few Spock's Beard albums, so it doesn't surprise me at all if it comes from John's writing, but it can be a bit tiring when you hear it in a lot of songs, especially on the same album, but thankfully, I think those meters only occur in two or three of the tunes here.

Over-all, this is a great album, and if you liked the first one, you might find yourself really enjoying this one. If you were luke-warm on the debut, give this one a spin online and see if you like it. At only six songs and under an hour, it's definitely worth your time if you're a fan of any of these musicians and Spock's Beard-sounding music in general!

-Marc.

[ProfessorPeart]

Liking these early reviews, especially about Dave. Never grow tired of his playing. I do have an Auto-Rip from Amazon but I want to wait for the CD. They claim I will have it on Tuesday.

[RoeDent]

Liking these early reviews, especially about Dave. Never grow tired of his playing. I do have an Auto-Rip from Amazon but I want to wait for the CD. They claim I will have it on Tuesday.

Tbh, that sounds typical of InsideOUT releases in recent years, since Sony gobbled them up. Remember the good old days when release day meant you definitely had the CD land on your doormat?

[ProfessorPeart]

Liking these early reviews, especially about Dave. Never grow tired of his playing. I do have an Auto-Rip from Amazon but I want to wait for the CD. They claim I will have it on Tuesday.

Tbh, that sounds typical of InsideOUT releases in recent years, since Sony gobbled them up. Remember the good old days when release day meant you definitely had the CD land on your doormat?

Yeah, I have noticed an unfortunate trend with Inside Out and Amazon. Even before the pandemic, they could never seem to have them on release. It was always 1-2 weeks after. Like, on release day it would update to 'Available in 1-2 weeks' or something like that.

[Kyo]

Tbh, that sounds typical of InsideOUT releases in recent years, since Sony gobbled them up. Remember the good old days when release day meant you definitely had the CD land on your doormat?

This feels rather familiar to me from back in the days. Back in the early '00s when all those Enchant, Spock's Beard and Flower Kings albums were coming out every couple of months (or at least it seemed that way), my local store NEVER had any InsideOut releases in stock on their release date. And they stocked them all - just always a week or two later. It was quite frustrating.

[ProfessorPeart]

My copy arrived today. Man, you weren't kidding about Dave. He is tearing it up. These instrumental sections in the first 2 songs are excellent. Still a pretty laid back vibe so far, but I am enjoying it much more than the first one. I will need to revisit it later after I let this one sink in.

[axeman90210]

Should I check out the debut or the new album first?

[The Walrus]

^^ I checked out the new one with zero knowledge of the band and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Go for it!

[Evermind]

I'm enjoying this album. Nothing spectacular, but there is some good music on it. My favourites are Why Don't We Run and Lifeboat.

[The Letter M]

Should I check out the debut or the new album first?

I'd say check out the new one first, as for me, getting into it has more or less enhanced my enjoyment of the debut, which I initially found to be a bit lackluster in parts. Going back to it now after the new one, I feel I can understand it and appreciate it a bit better than I originally did.

But if you're the type to take things in as they were originally released, go chronologically. There are only two albums anyway, so you could even just treat them as a double album, especially since they were released only 10 months apart from each other.

^^ I checked out the new one with zero knowledge of the band and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Go for it!

Are you at all familiar with Spock's Beard? PS-A are mostly SB members, former and current, anyway. If you're not familiar with Spock's Beard and like PS-A so far, definitely check out their 11th album Brief Nocturnes & Dreamless Sleep.

I'm enjoying this album. Nothing spectacular, but there is some good music on it. My favourites are Why Don't We Run and Lifeboat.

I definitely agree with your last statement. "Why Don't We Run" is an easy forerunner for favorite track on this album, but the epic "Lifeboat" stands out as well. Definitely need to get into this one some more, as well as the debut. Really digging the new one, though. It'll definitely tide me over for new music until the few June albums I'm waiting for come out!

-Marc.