Sleeping at Last - Storyboards

[murlough23]

Since I know there are some SAL fans here who downloaded and devoured the band's newest album as soon as it became available, I thought we should have a thread to discuss it. Storyboards was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, as I've gradually become a pretty big fan of the band for their unabashedly pretty, string-drenched approach to indie rock. Ghosts was much more of a rock-oriented album, even when it was down-tempo, and I've realized that the group has lessened their dependence on electric guitars gradually over the years. Keep No Score seemed too down-tempo to me at first, but I slowly uncovered song after song that I loved, and then I realized how it all fit together, and now that album is as excellent in my mind as Ghosts. But now I'm having similar difficulties with Storyboards to the ones I initially had with Keep No Score. Likely due to the departure of Chad O'Neal, there are few (if any!) electric guitars on this record, so even the most upbeat material is acoustic. This gives the band more room on the canvas to play with banjos, mandolins, bells, and bits of exotic instrumentation - things which are generally minor accents rather than big attention-getters. At times the string section seems to take the lead. And there's nothing wrong with that - this is some beautiful music. But it means that the album has more of a "stillness" to it than previous SAL discs, and thus I'll need more time to digest it (as I always do with the slow-burners).

So far my favorite track is "Porcelain", but I'm also quite fond of "Chandeliers", "Slow & Steady", "Timelapse", and the whimsical "Clockwork", which sounds to me like it belongs in a Disney movie.

Your impressions?

[chrisnu]

I've listened to it a couple of times, and I enjoyed it. Not as much as Keep No Score, but I think it's because I'm more immediately drawn to the swelling emotion of that album, while this feels more intimate and "still", as you put it. I don't recall any electric guitar, either. Favorite tracks so far would be "Porcelain", "Naive", "Birdcage Religion" and "Green Screens". I'm drawn to the lyrics of these songs more than the music thus far. I get the Disney feeling from "Clockwork" as well. It takes forever for me to think of where an album fits in an artist's discography. I'll get back to you.

[murlough23]

Chris, have you listened to Ghosts yet?

[chrisnu]

Chris, have you listened to Ghosts yet?

No sir. I'll get on that.

[murlough23]

No sir. I'll get on that.

It's not necessary to appreciate the new album - as a matter of fact - it might seem even farther removed from it stylistically. But it's definitely worth hearing at some point - no hurry.

[plvarona]

Now that I've had about a week and a half to digest this album so far, I will say it is definitely their slowest burner.  However, there were a few tracks that jumped out at me from the start, and most of the rest of this album grew on me after a few listens.  I'll probably wait another week before I officially score the album, but so far, I think this album is quite good.  Even though at this point I enjoy both Ghosts and Keep No Score more, there's still a lot to like about this album.  What stood out to me the most was their instrumentation, which was their most diverse to date, and as usual they did a good job building the songs up.  Lyrics were very thoughtful as usual, so that was another strong point.  What might drag this album's rating down a bit is that there are a few songs that I haven't quite gotten into yet (more on that later), and also this album as a whole didn't grab me as much as the other two.  However, the album's strong points are quite strong so I'm still going to rate it highly.  I'll wait another week before I give my official word but right now I'm probably thinking "B+/A-".

As for individual, "Chandeliers" is my favorite, followed closely by "Timelapse."  "Unmade" and "Green Screens" are also among my favorites.  On the flip side, "Clockwork" just doesn't work for me.  It is just too far out of left field for my taste, and just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the album.  I can understand why other people like it, but it just does nothing for me.  Also, "Naive" seems to plod a bit.  It's not that I'm against all down-tempo songs, but I'm just having a hard time getting into that one as well.

As I said earlier though, so far I have a positive impression overall.

[ajyouthguy]

Relevant Mag interview...

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/features-reviews/progressive-culture/17726-sleeping-at-last-is-back

[murlough23]

Also, "Naive" seems to plod a bit.  It's not that I'm against all down-tempo songs, but I'm just having a hard time getting into that one as well.

The problem might be that it's too early in the album. Kills the momentum built up by the first two tracks. Of course, I felt that way about "Needle & Thread" at first, and now it's one of my favorites.

[plvarona]

The problem might be that it's too early in the album. Kills the momentum built up by the first two tracks. Of course, I felt that way about "Needle & Thread" at first, and now it's one of my favorites.

That thought (about the song coming too early in the album) actually crossed my mind.

As for "Needle & Thread", I had actually heard that song in concert before Keep No Score came out, and that probably helped it become an early favorite of mine.  However, I did think it was unusual to have that song third on the track order.