A Band In Hope

So this is what I posted on The Matches boards a while back after their album A Band In Hope came out on March 18.
I just went through the songs on the album and said what I thought. It's not a publication worthy item but I just wanted to vent...

I actually quite like AM Tilts. It's not my favorite song but it reminds me somewhat of Decomposer, which is what I was hoping for in this album. I didn't want their sound to change much.
Their City needs to be listened to in moderation.
I really do like Wake the Sun. Something about the lyrics makes it a great song. I don't really see a huge difference in the chorus and the verses though which is a huge problem with me-- I hate songs where there's no swell of sound for the choruses.
Darkness Rising is another song I couldn't make it through. It reminds me of one of the boring choir songs we had to sing in high school. The chords are very interesting through-- I almost look forward to hearing this song on tour.
I love the lyrics in To Build a Mountain; which is probably a huge part of why I like it. I like the 'dooo's' and the humming that really has no purpose in the song but it's perfect.
We Are One says the same words over and over and over... I'm glad it's a shorter song because I'd be going nuts otherwise. I don't know why it's on the CD.
I actually quite like Point Me To The Morning-- It does remind me a lot of EVDKTL but adds a nice little updated twist. However-- the same 'ohh's' before the chorus are used later in the CD. It would have been better to omit them from the second song. I'll get to that later.
24C is interesting in the beginning but quickly gets boring and repetitive. It even says "monotone" in the song. I feel like I'm going to fall asleep every time I hear this song.
Clouds Crash is interesting... That's really the only word I can come up with for it. It's another song, however, that has to be listened to in moderation.
I enjoy Between Halloweens. I always picture Shawn as James Dean for Halloween. I hope he does it this year.
If I were You is the other song that repeats the 'Ohhh's' as Point Me Toward The Morning. It's kind of annoying but I actually like the song. It's just so wrong that it's right.
Future Tense has something that I like... I feel like they're channeling Head Automatica on this one. The chords and whatnot just remind me of a couple songs by HA. It's a good thing
Yankee In A Chip Shop is a song I was specifically waiting for since I saw a YouTube version a while back. I like it a lot! It's totally random but it's perfect!
Proctor Rd. is short a quick. I immediately felt the urge to restart the CD.