OK Goodnight- The Fox and the Bird

[The Realm]

Thought I better chime in here. Been listening to this album for the last few days. Overall it is really great but agree with above takes that t is better taken as a whole. Even though I love all types of heavy music the softer songs probably work the best for me. After many listens I think the start of the album is extremely strong, I really love the first 4 songs including the beautiful instrumental The Journey.

[jammindude]

Even after just a couple of weeks, I’m already going through that phase where each song is taking a turn being “my favorite”

First it was the title track
Then it was The Raccoon
Then it was The Mountain
Then it was The Snake
Then it was The Falcon
Then it was The Journey
Right now it’s The Bear

I think my favorite part is that it feels like I’ve just hit shuffle on my entire collection, and yet it somehow still functions beautifully as a single cohesive story.

[Ben_Jamin]

I keep coming back to this one, thanks to this thread for making me aware it’s worth the first few listens. Songs might not seem remarkable but the total album experience is top notch .

It’s almost a hard album to recommend because there’s no one song that gives you any idea of the band’s “sound”.  If you show someone the title track, they wouldn’t get the right idea of what this band sounds like. But if you were to show someone The Bear or The Crocodile, it still wouldn’t accurately convey what this band is about. You almost HAVE to hear the entire album.

I literally can’t stop spinning it. I’ve been listening to the album on repeat since I got it and it just keeps getting better with every listen.

I’m not getting that same experience from the debut or the EP, but there are some good moments.

I would say The Falcon really defines their entire sound....

[Ben_Jamin]

One way I can describe the album is a more heavier Bent Knee...

What I enjoy about this band are the female vocals, the grooves and rhythms of the bass and drums.

[jammindude]

I keep coming back to this one, thanks to this thread for making me aware it’s worth the first few listens. Songs might not seem remarkable but the total album experience is top notch .

It’s almost a hard album to recommend because there’s no one song that gives you any idea of the band’s “sound”.  If you show someone the title track, they wouldn’t get the right idea of what this band sounds like. But if you were to show someone The Bear or The Crocodile, it still wouldn’t accurately convey what this band is about. You almost HAVE to hear the entire album.

I literally can’t stop spinning it. I’ve been listening to the album on repeat since I got it and it just keeps getting better with every listen.

I’m not getting that same experience from the debut or the EP, but there are some good moments.

I would say The Falcon really defines their entire sound....

Hmmmm….

I won’t deny that The Falcon is the one song I tend to single out as an introduction to someone who already listens to progressive rock, because it’s the lone track on the album that sounds the most “Dream Theater-esque”.  But that’s just it. To me, there’s nothing else on the album that sounds like that song.  I mean, I’ve been trying to make comparisons on a per song basis and I’ve come up with this so far:

The Drought - Florence and the Machine or maybe Lorde
The Fox and the Bird - 10,000 Maniacs with a bit of The Cranberries
The Raccoon - …is almost downright Joni Mitchell
The Journey - this is fairly Dream Theater-ish as well, but it’s just a 2 minute interlude, albeit an excellent one.
The Snake - Pain of Salvation
The Falcon - as previously mentioned, definitely the Dream Theater song

The rest of the songs are almost into BTBAM and Opeth territory, but then The Bird breaks all that up with more absolutely beautiful minimalism.

But the diversity is why I love it. And also why I think it is worlds better than their other material.

[jammindude]

I also wanted to mention that during one of their interviews, the lead singer pointed out that they’ve been getting a lot of comparisons to The Dear Hunter and she really loved that comparison. I’ve only heard a very little bit of them, and what I did hear didn’t immediately strike me, but this comparison makes me want to check them out a lot more. If they sound anything like this band, then I just haven’t looked at them hard enough.

[Ben_Jamin]

The Bird actually does sound like The Dear Hunter, more so the song The Things That Hide Away.

[twosuitsluke]

I think I said it on the first page but the band to me are like The Dear Hunter/Bent Knee/Caligula’s Horse.

[lonestar]

I think I said it on the first page but the band to me are like The Dear Hunter/Bent Knee/Caligula’s Horse.

As good a mix as any, I love that they aren't committing to a specific sound, and instead are exploring whatever their tremendous talent will allow them to.

[Ben_Jamin]

I think I said it on the first page but the band to me are like The Dear Hunter/Bent Knee/Caligula’s Horse.

I hear a lot of the Bent Knee in this album.

[jammindude]

I think I said it on the first page but the band to me are like The Dear Hunter/Bent Knee/Caligula’s Horse.

As good a mix as any, I love that they aren't committing to a specific sound, and instead are exploring whatever their tremendous talent will allow them to.

You worded this perfectly! That is exactly what I’ve been thinking! It’s the definition of the word progressive rather than the definition of the genre of progressive.

[Ben_Jamin]

I am just loving the concept and how each song has it's own distinct  sound to it....It is very fitting....

My favorite has to be The Racoon (and the Myth)

[Skeever]

The Bear is so freakin good!!

OK Goodnight are coming to a very small room in Philly next Thursday. I think I might have to go see them.

[lonestar]

The Bear is so freakin good!!

OK Goodnight are coming to a very small room in Philly next Thursday. I think I might have to go see them.

So jealous... They aren't touching the west coast, I'd definitely drive hours to see them.

[ProfessorPeart]

My discs arrived already so I can start checking this out. Small disappointment right off the bat, the new album appears to be a CDr and not pressed. Limbo + Under The Veil is definitely pressed.

Anyway, I'll start checking this out tonight.

[jammindude]

My discs arrived already so I can start checking this out. Small disappointment right off the bat, the new album appears to be a CDr and not pressed. Limbo + Under The Veil is definitely pressed.

Anyway, I'll start checking this out tonight.

I haven’t looked quite that closely, but I wonder if that’s why I’m getting a slight scratching noise at the beginning of The Drought and The Journey?

[lonestar]

Interesting... Glad I bought the lossless download

[jammindude]

Interesting... Glad I bought the lossless download

I contacted Merch booth to inquire about the pressing. Maybe they will give me the files for free since I did purchase the album. I still think it kind of blows that we might be entering an age where people will sacrifice the quality of the physical media.

[ProfessorPeart]

Yeah, as a heavy Discogs user I know what to look for. There are no identifiers on the disc at all to denote any kind of pressing and I can very clearly see the data area on the disc. It looks like I burned something on my PC. The other disc is completely uniform on the bottom and you can't see any noticeable lines. I will be ripping this to WAV right off the bat and storing those files on my PC as a backup. There also looked like there was some smudges on the edges like someone handled it. It was shrink-wrapped which threw me off, but I'm 99% certain it is burned.

[nick_z]

Well, that’s kind of disappointing…

[Skeever]

I actually feel like I hear some weird audio issues in the quieter parts of the Mountain too. Feels like they don't have much budget to work with! Hopefully if the next album is a success, it might get a higher quality release.

[jammindude]

I sent a IM to the band’s official FB page about the audio issues with the CD, and I got a response that thanked me for bringing it to their attention and they are going to look into it.

[jammindude]

Well that was really cool! I got a response from the IM I sent to the band’s FB page, and apparently someone is lurking here.

They saw the recent conversation and sent me a code for a free download of the HQ files. Very very cool. I love it when a band is still small and interactive with their fan base. I have a feeling that a day is coming when they will be way too big to give that level of personal attention…so I’m enjoying it while I can.

Whoever it was, if you’re still lurking, I salute you… 

[lonestar]

Hey lurker, feel free to join, we'd love to have an inside perspective to this amazing album.

[Skeever]

Got my ticket for next Thursday.

Really tough for me to decide what I like better - this album or Fauna.

[lonestar]

So jealous... I'd love to see them live.

[ProfessorPeart]

Well that was really cool! I got a response from the IM I sent to the band’s FB page, and apparently someone is lurking here.

They saw the recent conversation and sent me a code for a free download of the HQ files. Very very cool. I love it when a band is still small and interactive with their fan base. I have a feeling that a day is coming when they will be way too big to give that level of personal attention…so I’m enjoying it while I can.

Whoever it was, if you’re still lurking, I salute you… 

That's cool!

I ripped the disc using EAC last night and encountered no errors so I was happy with that. Did not get a chance to really listen. Hope to get to that soon.

[Skeever]

So jealous... I'd love to see them live.

I will be happy to attend on behalf of the forums

[ProfessorPeart]

Got my first listen in today. Quite a lot to digest. Really enjoyed it. All over the place and I agree it needs to be taken as a whole. I can see where some of it would not work in a library shuffle kind of thing.

[jammindude]

Just an update on the audio issue.

Those of us who are full on from the CD generation know what it sounds like when you have a lens on your player that’s dirty? Or out of alignment? Sometimes it’s a dirty disc too, but it’s that digital scratching noise?

I was hearing that really badly at the very beginning of The Drought and during the quiet piano intro to The Journey. At first, I thought it was my car’s disc player, so I decided to burn a FLAC file from the disc and then listen to it that way. But the sound was still there. That was the reason for my original complaint.  Now that I’ve got the original FLAC files directly from the band I noticed that the noise was completely non-existent in The Drought (thank goodness) but when I was cranking The Journey yesterday, I still heard that very mild scratching sound…though not NEARLY as noticeable…at the beginning of The Journey.   Is anyone else hearing that noise? It’s definitely worse on the CD, but I’m still hearing it ever so slightly on the files and I’m wondering if it’s somehow intentional? Or a glitch in the original file? Or am I the only one that hears it?

[SoundscapeMN]

Could they support Childish Japes in Boston at their album release show in September?

[Skeever]

Just an update on the audio issue.

Those of us who are full on from the CD generation know what it sounds like when you have a lens on your player that’s dirty? Or out of alignment? Sometimes it’s a dirty disc too, but it’s that digital scratching noise?

I was hearing that really badly at the very beginning of The Drought and during the quiet piano intro to The Journey. At first, I thought it was my car’s disc player, so I decided to burn a FLAC file from the disc and then listen to it that way. But the sound was still there. That was the reason for my original complaint.  Now that I’ve got the original FLAC files directly from the band I noticed that the noise was completely non-existent in The Drought (thank goodness) but when I was cranking The Journey yesterday, I still heard that very mild scratching sound…though not NEARLY as noticeable…at the beginning of The Journey.   Is anyone else hearing that noise? It’s definitely worse on the CD, but I’m still hearing it ever so slightly on the files and I’m wondering if it’s somehow intentional? Or a glitch in the original file? Or am I the only one that hears it?

Can you provide a specific time stamp?

[jammindude]

Just an update on the audio issue.

Those of us who are full on from the CD generation know what it sounds like when you have a lens on your player that’s dirty? Or out of alignment? Sometimes it’s a dirty disc too, but it’s that digital scratching noise?

I was hearing that really badly at the very beginning of The Drought and during the quiet piano intro to The Journey. At first, I thought it was my car’s disc player, so I decided to burn a FLAC file from the disc and then listen to it that way. But the sound was still there. That was the reason for my original complaint.  Now that I’ve got the original FLAC files directly from the band I noticed that the noise was completely non-existent in The Drought (thank goodness) but when I was cranking The Journey yesterday, I still heard that very mild scratching sound…though not NEARLY as noticeable…at the beginning of The Journey.   Is anyone else hearing that noise? It’s definitely worse on the CD, but I’m still hearing it ever so slightly on the files and I’m wondering if it’s somehow intentional? Or a glitch in the original file? Or am I the only one that hears it?

Can you provide a specific time stamp?

From about :06 to :26. As I said, during the piano intro of The Journey. Almost the entire thing.

[lonestar]

You guys got better hearing than I do...

[jammindude]

I just listened to it again, and if you really crank it, I hear it almost from the start of the track before even the :06 mark. It becomes slightly more pronounced at the :11 mark and then continues all the way until the full band kicks in just past :30-ish.