To be honest, if I had never heard of As Tall As Lions before, this might have gotten a full five pluses. However, I feel like it strays too much from everything I love about As Tall As Lions. The only thing that I feel is truly consistent between their self titled album and You Can’t Take It With You is the bass. The same smooth, rich, powerful, and perfectly balanced bass that made the music of As Tall As Lions’ self titled album stand out. (I saw As Tall As Lions live and a buddy of mine said, “wow, he like… sexes up that bass!”)
You Can’t Take It With You lacks the energy of the self titled album, but makes up for it with thought provoking lyrics a la A Break, A Pause and a genuine, organic feel that doesn’t compromise quality for the sake of being raw. Love it or hate it, you have to commend As Tall As Lions for creating such a top notch product without using Auto-Tune.
Initial thoughts: I was sort of disappointed, because it wasn’t the same As Tall As Lions sound that I know and love.
Now: I came to understand and appreciate that it has been three years since the self titled release and a musical sound is bound to evolve into something better, or at least we hope. I know that new fans will love the album and old fans will either love it right off the bat or grow to love it.
Best track: You Can’t Take It With You (THIS is how you use a title track, folks!)
DROPS AUGUST 18
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