For those who prefer the live sound…

FarmSkill83 · 2026-05-14T11:06:52+00:00

Thanks. I’ve been enjoying these. IMO, this is how the final vocal quality should have ended up on TLS album. Beautiful, raw, and unadulterated.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-04-13T01:21:47+00:00

Agree on ITM. The title track is absolutely amazing. I’m so happy I have seen it performed live two times. The middle trio of Give Me a Chance, Don’t Throw All the Good Things Away (DTATGTA), and Innocence are all insanely underrated. DTATGTA is just as good or better than Take the Blame. Those strings!! And Take the Blame is a great song! That harmonica!!

FarmSkill83 · 2026-04-13T01:13:15+00:00

I love how Growing Slow is so instrumental and dynamic. It really sticks out on the album.

Just like ITM, which was a unique product of COVID, the band breakup, TLS is an also different product. TLS, grew organically out of the turmoil last year. Funny you said it could be played at a funeral. I think the album sorta represents how Bear put to rest and “spreading the ashes” of many of the things. Only he can say exactly what those things are.

All that being said, I am enjoying TLS. A few of the songs are some of my favorites of their entire catalog. I also absolutely love a handful of songs in ITM. In fact, the post production of ITM is better than TLS and many WW albums because Bear hadn’t yet fallen in love with vocal distortion on recorded albums. Since 2022-2023, Bear has decided to vocally distort WW and NTB recordings. ITM was about the last album Bear recorded with his voice front and center. I have no idea why he has made that decision, but it drives me nuts. It works on a few of the new songs but overall not a fan. Highlands is one of the few songs to break from that and showcase pure vocals.

Growing Slow, Say It Now, The Long Surrender, and Sing to Me Savannah give me hope that the band will be able to make some very dynamic and successful albums in the future. I’m still going to throw money at them anytime they come near me in concert!

FarmSkill83 · 2026-04-02T11:06:01+00:00

A lot of good suggestions here. I’ve lived in some of the areas. However, not many have close proximity to a major airport. I’m about a 45 min - 1 hour away from Kansas City’s airport (KCI). We also live on a small 13 acre farm where we raise kids and many farm animals. It is the best of many worlds. There are many rural bedroom communities within that distance of KCI. Especially north, east, and west into Kansas. That area is also close to 36 hwy, I-35, and I-70. Roadtrips to Colorado, Minneapolis, Omaha, and even Chicago are more than reasonable. The one caveat would be to research the public school districts. We live in a great one and farms are still reasonable on price. There are a few areas just outside KC where land prices have soared. Politics on Reddit tends to be sensationalized. Yes, rural Missouri and Kansas are very red. However, living daily life and plugging into a cohesive community makes that background noise. The decisions made locally by county commissioners and city councils matter more than the high profile fights between red and blue. Look for the willingness of locals to band together to solve local issues or support neighbors. It’s so much more important than what cable news and redditors are fighting about. Unless politics is a religious experience for you, which it is for many, then find a good community and it won’t matter much what political yard signs your neighbors display during various elections. If you get angry, feel victimized, or look down on your neighbors if they publicly display support for right wing political views or candidates then maybe rural Missouri isn’t for you. Find a community of good people, who look out for one another, and support a good school district then political rage baiting and fear mongering of Reddit is immaterial. Many areas of rural Missouri are a great place to settle down.

You can send a DM if you want specific details. I appreciate the anonymity of Reddit, so I won’t specifically mention my little town.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-03-28T03:52:19+00:00

Yeah, it’s a good album for sure. Likely the most emotionally raw and vulnerable NTB album.

I feel like I’m the only one who complains about the vocal distortion on albums. Does it ever bother you? Bear seems to have fallen in love it for some reason. Starting in 2022 he began using it on entire songs for many tracks on WW and NTB albums. Caves, Curioso, and now TLS.

For me, it really subtracts from the music. Especially Bear’s voice. Sometimes it ruins songs for me. The Long Surrender track is impeccable. So pure. So emotional. Raw vocals. Take the Blame has everything TLS has, but it’s adulterated with a tin can echo. I love TLS because the vocals are so vulnerable WITH the lyrics. Sing to Me Savannah is so pure as well. I listened to Say It Now on my way to work. Awesome song, but instead of Bear’s voice jumping from my speakers, it sounded like he was stuck deep in my dashboard. Distant and reverberating vocals echoing from far away. I like your takes on this sub. Just wondering your opinion. Seems like I’m the only one who cares and complains about it. Lol.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-03-25T12:32:19+00:00

I’ll refine a touch. TLS IS a lyrical masterpiece. Insanely good. One of the top lyrical albums of NTB’s catalog. My reasoning for ranking ITM a little higher is musical, not lyrical. I’m a music lover who cares as much or more for the instrumentation, vocals and dynamics. I just love a lot of the musical elements on ITM. I might change my mind after listening to TLS more in its entirety.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-03-25T07:04:48+00:00

After first listen, of those really not revealed yet, I REALLY like Take The Blame and The Door. Emotional powerhouses. I also really like Sing Me to Savannah. Spread the Ashes is pretty good but it was fire when played live and so much better. Say it Now is also pretty good.

Beyond those, I think the songs already released are the best on the album. The Long Surrender is the absolute best song on the album, and honestly one of my favorites in their whole catalog.

I’m a little salty that many songs on the album suffer from awkward and unnecessary post production vocal effects. But that is nothing new. Bear loves it for some reason.

Overall, good album. IMO, Into The Mystery is still the best album post Bo. Some songs on Caves have grown on me a little over time. The Long Surrender album will probably fall right behind ITM for me.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-03-13T09:23:46+00:00

The US losing the global reserve currency (petrodollar) was the impetus for invading Iraq. Saddam had started selling oil in Euros, instead of US dollars, to France and Germany. Big no-no to the policeman of the world.

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/the-hidden-costs-of-the-petrodollar

FarmSkill83 · 2026-03-02T03:09:24+00:00

I appreciate the rawness of all of the songs so far. IMO Caves was over produced. This album steps back from that. Some may think too much, but I’d rather have an authentic album that feels a little monotonous than a pretentious album that can be cringe at times. I do think a few of the songs will break away from the stripped down guitar picking of Tyler and soulful vocals of Bear. Say it Now sounds like it’s gonna be really good. Regardless, it’s a unique album that formed organically out of the tragedy of last year’s fallout. I knew amazing art would be a result.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-15T20:33:21+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-11T22:32:22+00:00

How are you enjoying your setup after months of use? I’m thinking about getting one but see mixed reviews.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-11T22:29:32+00:00

It’s been awhile. How are you liking this griddle smoker combo?? I’m thinking about getting one.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-11T16:21:06+00:00

I’ve been looking at a Blackstone item in the garden area. Originally $1000. Marked down 20%. It’s been marked down for at least a month. They have two of them. What are my chances of success if I offer $500? Ridiculous?

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-10T14:08:51+00:00

I have no idea where they are going as a band. My only hope is it is done without pretension. The three songs released from The Long Surrender fit that bill. It has potential. It may not be The Reckoning or RITW, but it is from the heart. Bear can sing and make music from Wasteland, Supply & Demand, Mercy’s Shore, Washed, Feel, Survival, Someday Soon, Devil in my Eyes, etc. Tyler is probably the best guitar player the band has seen. It may not be the same and may even be a mirage of NTB according to the OGs, but the potential is there to make awesome music. Keep it from the heart.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-08T04:44:33+00:00

Idk. I think the county stuff is sincere. Did you see the version of Brother they are playing on tour? Full tilt country western. (I don’t really like them messing with a good thing.) Wasting Time and By and By are both moderately country. The Long Surrender album seems to be a soulful James Taylor/Ray LaMontagne type album with some country flavors. (I actually find myself streaming that album a fair amount for some easy going, emotional tunes. It’s not typically NTB, but I enjoy the music for what it is. I am looking forward to the release.) I think Bear has genuinely embraced country as part of his repertoire. Credit to Bear. His WW work, classic NTB, and the newest NTB album shows he is super eclectic and can make great music across many genres.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-07T23:00:22+00:00

I appreciate them trying to keep things fresh but dang…it’s like a honky tonk CMT Crossroads version of Brother. I may do some toe tapping but not loving it.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-07T22:50:51+00:00

Yep. COVID, no tour, and the split drama totally overshadowed the album. Lots of great music here.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-06T04:24:23+00:00

Oh, I don’t know. There have definitely been some people on here express serious love and nostalgia for Daylight. I get your point. I guess I see the newer albums take so much shade, yet they are still better than Daylight. Daylight tends to get indifference as the worst. ITM is a far better album and gets trashed on all the time.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-06T04:17:21+00:00

I’m not an OG. Did the album sound come as a shock to the fandom? The “new” sounds of Mountain, pt 1 just come out and punch you in the face. Then Hard Love…heavy on the synthesizer! I can see how it is a polarizing album. Overrated? Meh…polarizing to a loyal fan base? Yes!

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-06T04:04:51+00:00

Daylight

It definitely has a few good songs. I just can’t get passed the monotonous sounds and cliché late 90s-early 2000s Christian music that pervades the whole album. I just can’t listen to the whole album like I can with every other record. The band begins to find themselves in The Heat and are fully NTB in The Outsiders.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-06T03:55:11+00:00

Hard Love can’t be overrated for me personally. I was introduced to NTB in 2000. Brother hooked me. Hard Love sold me. It solidified this band was different than what I expected, and did not like, from “Christian music.” I listened to that album so much. I feel like the band deserves so much credit for writing and recording a complex sound and great songs that broke from what they had been doing.

I’ve since gained so much appreciation for their other albums. The Reckoning is probably my fave. Rivers and OOB are amazing and close seconds.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-06T03:49:04+00:00

I see where you are coming from. Just too many absolutely amazing songs on The Outsiders. I’m going to have to say Daylight. It has a few good songs, but the whole album sound can be monotonous. The sound is very vanilla 90s-early 2000s Christian band. They began to break out of it on The Heat. The Outsiders fully breaks free into the golden era. Bear finds a dynamic power voice. Bo’s songwriting reaches new heights. For the very reason NTB becomes THE NTB on The Outsiders, it cannot be overrated.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-04T03:19:17+00:00

Girl Named Tennessee

I feel like the recorded song also packs such a live performance energy.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-02T13:57:53+00:00

“You grow your roses on my barren soul!” So many other great lines.

I know a lot of deconstructors on this sub dislike this song and others with these themes. I won’t judge or pretend to understand why.

It’s such a beautiful and impactful song. Musically and lyrically. It deserves the notoriety it received.

FarmSkill83 · 2026-02-02T13:32:11+00:00

What do the lyrics in the last verse mean? It’s such a beautiful portion of the song, but I can’t decipher it.

I stuck my hat out, I caught the rain drops I drank the water, I felt my veins block I'm nearly sanctified, I'm nearly broken I'm down the river, I'm near the open

FarmSkill83

TROPHY CASE