soap&diamonds

Written by Diamond

Hey besties! I definitely did not disappear off the face of the earth for far too long. And this album definitely did not come out three months ago. But hey, here we are.

General Thoughts: Overall, fire album, I love The Lumineers and this album has all the key markings of a great hit. It has a weaker overall storyline than say Cleopatra or III but the overall musical composition makes up for it. Personal standout is Ativan, definitely my favorite off the album, but I’ll go into more detail later. Overall rating is a 9/10.

Track 1: Same Old Song

Steady beat, the song goes on and on (in a very natural way). It’s a great opener to the album. The chorus feels a lot like a break from the continuous march that is the verses which feels fantastically composed. The jacking of the van is a classic Lumineers story within a story. The rhyme scheme of the section makes the lines “The guests begin to make me feel alone/The party has been done for hours/I’m laying on bathroom tile/Spilling all my guts below the throne” really pop and it’s undoubtedly my favorite part of the entire song.

Track 2: Asshole

The piano is a nice contrast to the opening track and this song is more lowkey then the rather dramatic opening (dramatic by Lumineers standards). This one has a more abstract version of storytelling than the opening (the rest of the album will flip between both modes) but we are already seeing the trademark of this album’s choruses being longer and more drawn out. The drums are more apparent in the latter half of the song and the entire 3 minutes feels like a continuous crescendo which is really refreshing. For this song, my favorite part is definitely the second verse “And all the twenty-something mannequins/Their hearts are barely broken in/But maybe now I’m just a coward envyin’ the brave/And every time you tried to let me in/Your nails, they barely broke the skin/I must admit, the taste of it is keepin’ me awake” Sure it’s a long section, but the imagery the lyrics invoke is fantastical.

Track 3: Strings

Is it rude to say this is one of my favorites on the album? It feels like a detox of sorts, a short break in the album. I love the usage of strings instead of piano or any other instrument as I feel it gives a more calming and relaxed vibe, especially with the connectedness of the notes. And it ties perfectly to the title track.

Track 4: Automatic

The piano starts the song, keeping the same mood of the track before it. Again, the chorus is drawn out and the song ebbs between small periods of faster and longer periods of calm. For a title track, it’s slow and captures the essence of the album, doubting what was once held as gospel. Once again, the highlight in this song is verse 2, “Take your victory lap, running on an empty track/The circle always brings you back, keep in the lane/And the nursery rhymes you learned when you were only five/They’re darker than the dead of night, we sing ‘em just the same” The slant rhymes and the inconsistent rhyme scheme helps build the tension that never seems to dissolve at the end of the song. I especially love, again the imagery that this section brings, with the victory lap and the nursery rhymes.

Track 5: You’re All I Got

We are back to guitar and upbeat baybee! Well moderately upbeat, it has a stronger drive than the songs before but compared to like Ophelia, it’s not upbeat at all. Again, it has the push and pull that has defined this album so far, with a faster pre chorus and a slow drawn out chorus. The frequent pauses between each line make it feel a lot more, hesitant and unsure, rushed and incomplete. It’s a nice change of pace. The best part was actually the ending, where in between repetitions of the title of the song, The Lumineers adds “And I can’t give it up fillin’ all the holes in us/And I can’t give up like Sisyphus below the rock” I am a massive sucker for Greek myth references and I think Sysphus and the rock perfectly describes the entire feeling this song gives me.

Track 6: Plasticine

Quick note: plasticine is a play dough like substance that was often used on early TV shows for those claymation esque vibes.

The guitar is more prominent in this song. This song feels a little like, scripted in the sense that it feels intentionally created to feel stilted and fake. The ebbs and flows aren’t as dramatic, the commentary break in the middle of the song highlights a sense of coverup and fakeness. This song is a lot less focused on metaphor and on the vibes. There’s a whole twenty second outro with just piano playing. The best bit was definitely the chorus, specifically the song that starts the chorus and opens the song, “Plasticine, I can bend me into anything you need” It gives the eerie uncanny vibe that follows this entire song and it sets the tone for the entire song pretty well.

Track 7: Ativan

My favorite track! The guitar is still here but we are missing the piano so prominent in the previous tracks. Don’t worry, the piano comes back later on! There is no ebb and flow in this song. The lack of excitement so perfectly conveys the sensation of being on medication and being so confused with the feeling of what “normalcy” feels to others. There’s a weird lack of variation in the song (bar the ending even though that isn’t too much of a difference) giving the same empty vibe that people who have been on medication are all too familiar with. That, with the addition of a long 40 second outro, where, funnily enough, anxiety builds over confusion of the song not ending, helps create a sort of moodless atmosphere that is perfect for the subject matter. My favorite part? The ending, “I’ll provide the poison and the medicine/The only thing you’re ever gonna need” It’s a fire line, and also a sobering one. You can OD on ativan, the poison and the medicine indeed.

Track 8: Keys on the Table

Again, starting out with guitar but no piano! And a continuous reference to Track 5, making this song feel like a continuation of “You’re all I got” The ebbing and flowing so characteristic of this album is back but more dramatic this time. And now the pre chorus is slowed while the chorus is faster, a flipping, an opposition if you will. Surprisingly, my favorite from this song is not the lyrics, but rather the absolute lack of piano. It’s actually intriguing, considering every song (barring strings) so far has had at least a hint of piano. There’s none here, no melancholy it seems, and it makes this song feel like a resignation, an acceptance of something that can’t be changed. 

Track 9: Better Day

The piano’s back guys! The ebbing and flowing with the flipped chorus and pre chorus vibes is still here as well. This is a shorter track and it feels like reminiscing at three am. It’s especially vocal focused with none of the crescendo that has marked all the other slower songs in this album. I think my favorite part of this song is the simplicity of it all and how it highlights the more morose aspects of the song.

Track 10: Sunflowers

Another breather track near the end of the album. I love the contrast between the fast high bits and the strong melody in the lower range. It feels fitting as one of the last tracks of the album and helps conclude the entire album.

Track 11: So Long

Last track time. We got drums and a guitar woop woop! This entire song’s focus relies on the backing track, the words are drawn out and slow, with small bits of energy that dim away as the song continues. The song feels more energetic than all the others but it’s also a lot slower and sadder in the annunciation of the words. My favorite part of this song is the pre-chorus “Sit in isolation all the time/I’ll be on the ocean in your arms/Tell it on the mountain, ‘He’s arrived’/Everybody’s famous for a while” It’s a surprisingly optimistic way of interpreting the theme of the song and I think it fits as the ending to this whole album.

Ending Thoughts: This album was great. I loved the musicality of it all and it makes for the perfect study album. Plus my cats agree so that’s a plus! So long~~

Diamond Out!