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Arrows Of Desire

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Matt mentioned during the indie88 album listening party with Alan Cross that he writes his bass pretty much exclusively on the A-string, and you can really hear it in the albums past WLRRR. I know Matt loves the Pixies, and that was a big part of Kim Deal's bass playing as well.

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I received my signed CD in the mail today and listened to it back to back. Wow, is all I can say. I'm almost speechless. I think it is, hands down, Matt Good's best album to date in his 20 year span of music. It was well worth the wait. There are absolutely no duds on this album. I can't wait to hear Garden of Knives, Guns of Carolina, and Letters in Wartime at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. It's going to be epic! Letters in Wartime would sound awesome in an outdoor venue or festival setting such as the McMahon Stadium. I can just imagine it.

 

Congrats to Matt on a great album. See you at both shows in November!

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Agreed. The song itself is okay, but the bridge (if you can call it that) really seemed like it was going to lead to something unique. It reminded me a lot of the live renditions that Matt was doing in the 02-04 era with Christan, Pat and Rich (see the extended versions of Giant and Near Fantastica for example). But then it kind of just flowed back into the dull chorus made up of those simple chords and weak lead. The song still has a conclusionary and dreamy feel to it (and I love the lyrics) but It's too bad because, for me, if Matt had decided to continue in the direction the bridge was going, it really would have brought the end track, and thus the album, a level higher and given it that rare texture of song writing that I've only ever seen from him live during the 02-04 era.

 

That being said though, I am enjoying the album and it seems to be one of those that is going to grow on me. When I first heard the title track (AOD) I thought it was good, but at the same time was a little "Meh" about it. It's now one of my favorite songs on the album.

 

Despite not enjoying the verses on Via, I really dig the the rest of the song and especially the lead at the end (gives it that extra texture and punch it needs to make it fly).

 

Likewise, HIC and WLG are simple but have great energy and feel for me. The piano provided by Anthony in WLG particularly gives the song a great kind of umpf (I know that's not a word but you know I mean). In fact, I really enjoyed everything Anthony did in this album, especially his work in Garden of Knives, which is also my favorite song of the album. It has a very unique writing style to it and the instumentation effects laid down by everyone are just fantastically unique. It's weird, but for some reason I keep thinking the song would have fit well on the Oblivion soundtrack (maybe it's just the futuristic feel the song has).

 

The rest (save for GOC)... are pretty filler for me. Interesting arragnements on a few of them, but the use of power chords and unispiring song structures on songs like So Close (even though it does have some interesting verses), Mutineering, and Hey Hell Heaven leave me feeling like they were pretty forgettable.

 

Anyways, just some random thoughts on the album.

 

A week later and I'm eating my words. It's funny how much of a difference a little time can make. I still maintain what I said abut wanting the bridge to lead somewhere else in Letters in War Time, but I take back what I said about it having dull chorus. That really is just an utterly peaceful pool of rock conclusion. Still think more could have been done with the lead too, but the atmosphere...I don't know...it feels like a soundtrack that says "even though there are things that are wrong, everything is still going to be alright". It's like a...lullaby, haha. Very cool.

Edited by daniel_v
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One of the best things about Arrows of Desire is that it contrasts so well with Lights of Endangered Species; It gives you a good appreciation for the different musical styles between the two albums. I listen to AoD, and then transition into LoES easily without feeling like I'm listening to too much of the same music.

 

Question for Matt: With the last couple albums, we were privileged to hear most of the demos before recording the albums, did you have many (or any) demos that didn't make it onto Arrows of Desire?

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It came in at #6. The problem is that because of when the vinyl shipped, those vinyl records purchased combined with the digital downloads that came with them weren’t acounted. If they had been – as SoundScan does not alter their figures once they’re released even if there is a descrepancy – the record would have debuted at #5, which would have kept my top five debut streak extending back to 1999 intact. But what’re you gonna do? Meh.

 

Noticed yesterday that the vinyl release has been pushed back to the end of October. Is it going to be made available through traditional retailers as well, or just MapleMusic? You seemed to indicate that the international version (which includes past acoustic and live tracks) would be pressed too, is that accurate?

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Question for Matt: With the last couple albums, we were privileged to hear most of the demos before recording the albums, did you have many (or any) demos that didn't make it onto Arrows of Desire?

 

From Matt's recent interviews he said that he only cut one song he was working on. He said he knew he'd need about 10 tracks to make the album, and that's pretty much how many he wrote minus the "lost song" he thought was "meh".

 

Did Matt release any demos for this album? I don't remember since I avoid them until post-release to avoid spoiling the record for myself.

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From Matt's recent interviews he said that he only cut one song he was working on. He said he knew he'd need about 10 tracks to make the album, and that's pretty much how many he wrote minus the "lost song" he thought was "meh".

 

Did Matt release any demos for this album? I don't remember since I avoid them until post-release to avoid spoiling the record for myself.

 

Not to my knowledge, and I'm actually quite thankful for that. It would be to cool to hear them now that the record is out -- but I think getting them prior to release in the past has unfairly colored how people approach the songs and how they felt about the finished product. Your initial exposure to a song often becomes your reference point, so people had a tendency to nitpick production choices or changes that they probably would have been fine with otherwise.

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Listened to the album a few times now. My review: Sounds much like Vancouver to me. Apparently inspired by a lot by 80's/90's alternative stuff Matt likes, but it doesn't sound like Replacements/Husker Du/Afghan Whigs at all. That kind of alt-rock has a rawness/edge and simplicity to it, sounds like its recorded by a band. Arrows sounds like it's made in a lab, with tons of different layers on top of layers, sounds very "produced". But in fairness Matt obviously didn't set out to record that kind of record, given all the synth he used. This is a pretty good album, a few really good songs, but the album doesn't given me that "holy shit this is amazing" feeling like LOES did. You guys are nuts, wouldn't rank this near Matt's/MGB's best albums, I'd rank it around Vancouver and WLRRR. I really miss Matt's traditional vocal style, featuring him wailing on long, loud, higher-pitched notes (ie: Rat Who Would Be King, Rabbits, Fine Art of Falling Apart). Mutineering was the only thing that sounded like that on Arrows, and he's really gone away from that style since after Avalanche. Now on most songs he sounds more like a traditional singer/songwriter w/ lots of vibrato. Show off those beautiftul chops again Matt!

 

Order of favorite songs:

 

Arrows of Desire (super catchy song, passionate singing)

Via Dolorosa (great tremelo picking at end of song)

Guns of Carolina

Mutineering

So Close (awesome mini guitar solo at 1min mark)

Garden of Knives (love the sonic mayhem at end of this and start of Mutineering)

We're Long Gone

Hey Hell Heaven

Letters From Wartime

Had It Coming

 

LOES and this were Matt/MGB's 2 shortest albums, around 43 mins each. That's about the length limit that a vinyl disc can handle, so I blame LP sales for the shorter albums since the label doesn't want to ship double-LP's.

Edited by Moonlight_Graham
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What I wonder is is the more noticeable vibrato in recent years intentional?

 

I agree, I miss those longer notes from older records, but I think this album has some passion in the vocals in parts that are a bit reminiscent of older albums.

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My top list has changed a little, after listening to the album thousand of more times :-)

 

Garden of Knives (still my favorite one)

Mutineering (my second favorite one... moved up)

Hey Hell Heaven

Arrows of Desire

Via Dolorosa

So Close (also moved up)

Guns of Carolina

Letters in Wartime

We're Long Gone

Had It Coming (I only like the last part of the song, not the beginning)

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Favourite lyrics that come to mind from AOD:

 

"Ain't got nothing in the world these days

Just the world don't know it's true" - So Close

 

"If you ain't on your back taking it get out of here" - So Close

 

"Over the fire a time to bear what those below await" (this line is haunting) - Arrows of Desire

 

"Well you work a job, you hate your job

You go home and you wonder

"What am I going to do about my job?

It pays the bills, the bills add up" - Had It Coming

 

"There's a spider in the kitchen sink

Turn the tap on, stand there, watch it panic" - Via Dolorosa

 

"No matter where the sun strikes us

Knives will grow" - Garden of Knives

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Does anyone know why this album was removed from Rdio? Most of Matt's collection is available for streaming. Arrows of Desire was available for several months but now it's not :( why? Is it because of the tour?

 

It is a great album for running -that's what I was trying to do.

 

 

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I use Rdio too and AOD is streaming on my computer fine. Maybe it was removed by mistake and now is back up. It's working for me so maybe check again?

 

I can also confirm that it is on there and that I can stream it.

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