Goofle

It's just one of those things. They put out an album that really offers nothing new, and is ultimately tedious. I am hardly going to fall in love with it. I can enjoy "Pumped Up Kicks" for what it is, and a few other tracks, but in the end it is just a boring album.

It is basically the perfect album for lazy alternative music fans (not saying you are one, you like it, great) and one that will get a lot of airplay on radio stations that appeal to that audience.

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TheBig3

Yeah thats fine but can you give me specifics. Saying its boring, to me, says its on par with Coldplay.

Helena Beat is one of my favorite tracks to play on the train. I wouldn't say its boring. So help me to see where you're coming from.

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Goofle

I say "boring" because the sound has been done a thousand times before, but it's not even a sound that I am particularly fond of. They are one of those "Jack of all trade" bands where every style they incorporate is done rather averagely.

Not one element of their music is inspiring.

Take "Helena Beat" for example, it is sort of catchy, and has a few electronic elements thrown in, regular indie rock and watered down psychedelia. It ticks a lot of boxes that fans of pretty standard bands will like.

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TheBig3

I'm not trying for any gotcha questions here, but I'd like to know (again) where you're coming from. Could you give me an example of "standard bands?" (as referenced in the bolded quote)

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Goofle

The two you mentioned (MGMT and Phoenix), acts like Best Coast, Warpaint, Two Door Cinema Club, The Drums, Big Pink, Cults, Beach House (although "Teen Dream" is a fantastic album) and stuff like that.

They are perfectly fine bands, with some good albums, but I am generally looking for songs to skip, rather than wanting more.

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Goofle

I was kinda hoping for a response

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TheBig3

sorry, things are nuts over here. Also, I thought I did respond but I guess not.

What I'm not getting is what makes them standard? This prompts me to check whether or not you dislike the sound. And to invert the question: is there an outstanding band to contrast with these "standard bands"?

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MoonlitSunshine

By "Standard", do you mean that it's a sound that has been done before? I would agree that the sound isn't particularly unique (I still enjoy it, as I don't listen to much music of this type), but standard has an altogether different meaning.

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Goofle

Bands I like with a similar sound...? Quite tough. I really like Beach House's "Teen Dream" and I think I would by lying if I said I didn't really enjoy MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular" at least when it first came out.

Best coast are a good example of a band that is hit or miss. I enjoy the songs "Boyfriend" and "When I'm with You", but the rest of the album is a slight drag because it is not focused enough. It's not bad by any means, but it doesn't stand out in any way.

One problem I have is placing bands like The Flaming Lips, Spiritualized, The Breeders, The Polyphonic Spree, Animal Collective, Neutral Milk Hotel, Super Furry Animals etc. alongside the ones mentioned. If they are considered similar, I would say I enjoy them more.

When I say "standard" I mean it is good, nothing particularly creative/innovative and something I personally do not get very excited about.

As I said, the sound itself seems pretty indistinct. The bands I mentioned have all made a few good songs (or albums) but as a general rule, I find myself getting bored if I have to listen to a whole album.

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MoonlitSunshine

Yeah, see that's not what I would call Standard. In truth, I don't think it would be possible to denote any music as standard, as there is no musical standard... There is standard within a genre, true. Had you said "Standard Alt/Indie-pop", or something similar, I would have been more inclined to agree out of hand.

I think where we disagree is that you refer to their abilities as "average over a wide range of aspects combined into one" and not notable enough to distinguish it from anything else in a genre that doesn't really interest you. Whereas I would say that it is a solid, well worked debut album from a group who show potential in a number of different areas, in a genre that I haven;t had a lot of exposure to, which probably works in the band's favour. No, it is not a breakthrough album, no it doesn't have anything new or revolutionary, but it's fun, it's good, and it'll be interesting to see what they do next, now that they have had public success.

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