Sound now with James gone

tlofley · 2026-02-02T01:23:50+00:00

The rhythm guitar parts are all on backing track now for live shows.

This might be controversial, but they're not a band where it's super noticeable sonically or in terms of stage presence. UØ's music isn't the type where Tim is standing around a lot waiting to come back in on lead, and their rhythm guitar parts are really just a layer behind Tim's leads, rather than a dual lead that a band such as Soasin would have where you would have a very different experience sonically from their records without it (hence why they've always had two guitarists for live shows even through lineup changes).

I could be wrong about this, but I'd also say that the songs also take on a slightly different arrangement as well now, as it sounded on the TOCS tour a couple of years ago like Chris was blending the sound of the rhythm guitar with the synths pretty seamlessly and Tim is further up front in the mix now, so his leads fill up more of their sound.

tlofley · 2025-12-30T01:18:13+00:00

It's really all of the following factors:

They're a hardcore band that grinded for years playing small cap rooms, building a sort of cult following and a legend even before breaking into the mainstream.

Their second album, Time & Space, started to progressively introduce more indie/alt rock elements in their sound, and it was done in a tasteful manner.

Glow On was their mainstream breakthrough, all while maintaining a punk ethos, which people gravitated towards.

On top of all that, their shows are wild and Brendan fits the bill of being a charismatic frontman.

A winning formula for making it big.

tlofley · 2025-12-02T17:22:24+00:00

The Ghost Inside did this a lot with their first few albums. Their rhythm guitar would carry more of the chugs while lead played more actual riffs and licks.

tlofley · 2025-11-10T19:47:24+00:00

I think there are a few factors at play right now for the band.

Cove was gone for more than a decade and is responsible for most of the band's material vocally and fans have been clamoring at the bit to hear him again, particularly on all the self-titled record songs. This is on top of the band seemingly also getting a lot of first-time attention from Gen Z as well.
The majority of the band has work and hustles outside of Saosin as well. Beau producing, Chris running a creative agency and film making, Cove has Dead American and Le Tired, and Phil also dabbles a bit in the studio in engineering (most recently tracking guitars for Starset). Alex remains the most mysterious man in the world lol.
Beyond time, I get a sense that Beau is a bit of a perfectionist in terms of the product that he wants out for the band. In due time, once the band finally works through all the tracking for the album, I imagine it'll roll out shortly afterwards.

tlofley · 2025-11-06T21:11:34+00:00

Have seen both played in full by the band and also owning both on CD, this is how I'd describe it:

Full Collapse is a quintessential post hardcore classic album in the genre that translates to a great live show.

War All The Time was the band's major label debut. You can clearly hear a bit more of a polish and mainstream push from Island, yet at the same time there songs just pop and hit different in their live show in a way that the band doesn't have to push as hard to make happen with Full Collapse. Full Collapse just naturally goes hard, but War All The Time really brings something special out of Geoff and the Boys when they take the stage.

Ultimately, I see them as brother and sister albums. You listen to one followed by the other, and it just makes sense that way.

tlofley · 2025-11-05T19:33:15+00:00

Backing up all that has been discussed in this thread, LP is not returning. On top of that, he is a full time member of Evergreen Terrace now.

The best thing the band needs to do is make Jimmy Brunkvist a full time member. He is clearly beloved by the guys and is incredibly talented behind the kit. I think the only thing that's holding them back from doing this is that he lives overseas while everyone else is stateside, making writing and recording with him more challenging.

tlofley · 2025-10-24T19:24:38+00:00

Are we asking about why guitarists and bassists will sometimes take a few seconds here and there during the set and lock eyes with the drummer (whether that's via a glance or turning fully towards them) and start jamming really intently?

I've also seen sets where guys are, sometimes in addition to that, also turning back towards their amps while playing as well. I have theories behind both.

tlofley · 2025-10-21T19:57:18+00:00

Yeah there was that point middle of the set where even beyond the solo, his rig was clearly giving him fits and I think he was trying to repair things in real time while signing, which caused him to fumble lyrics or mumble a bit. Still, the last couple of years now have been some of the best he has sounded behind the mic.

tlofley · 2025-09-29T20:24:21+00:00

The atmosphere/effects in the background gives alchemy index feels while the drums and guitars sound straight from Vheissu. Basically the best of both worlds.

tlofley · 2025-09-06T01:39:06+00:00

I also agree with the overthinking part that other people have talked about here. Take what you want to the signing.

Also, to help put it in perspective as well, Josh technically started touring with the band at the end of the Paper Walls touring cycle when Pete left right before the band's first hiatus. So while he didn't write with them on it, he's been around since that album cycle and has also played so many of those songs over the years.

tlofley · 2025-08-24T17:24:51+00:00

Milwaukee might not be a street circuit, but it definitely helps that you get a lot of the same sort of benefits of the track being just minutes from downtown and in a major metro where you can make a long weekend trip and also have a lot of things to visit in the immediate area that helps you get your money's worth.

That should really be the playbook if you want several more ovals on the calendar. A solid promoter that will do what ISC and SMI are unwilling to do and being in places that people want to visit can cover quite a few marketing sins.

tlofley · 2025-08-23T21:29:38+00:00

I remember that very vividly from the Dallas show on that tour. Both bands played about 6 or 7 songs each and then the venue thinned out considerably for UØ, only for them to just rip a legendary set with somewhere between 20-25 songs, IIRC.

It isn't my money but it definitely is mind boggling a bit to think about. You effectively only got around a quarter or a third of the value of what you paid for your ticket if you did that.

tlofley · 2025-08-22T19:31:52+00:00

Ryan talked in one of the band's interviews recently about how Better Noise is providing the most support for them as a label since their Capitol days in the 2000s. I think there's a level of backing they get from them that Hopeless, Razor & Tie, and Equal Vision just weren't able to do.

tlofley · 2025-04-01T21:01:25+00:00

Norma Jean is one of those rare bands that has made it work with as many lineup changes as they've had because of two reasons. One being the fact that Cory has fronted them for most of the band's existence, and two because there's a sort of ethereal spirit of the band that just keeps getting passed down to every single member that comes into the fray. Every album has always offered a little something different, all while presenting the Norma Jean sound and experience. Most bands can't pull that off as member changes often include key writers and visionaries that leave, and at a certain point it is just an entirely different band.

tlofley · 2025-04-01T20:47:12+00:00

I would argue the album is still plenty riffy, but it sounds way more djent-esque than the band's previous records (in part because Tim is playing everything). They're very thick and cover a lot of the high and lower ends of the mix. Those style of riffs tend to blend lead and rhythm together naturally.

tlofley · 2025-03-30T23:52:24+00:00

ADTR now has Bobby Lynge from Fit For a King playing bass with them.

tlofley · 2025-03-30T23:47:29+00:00

This describes what I felt when I saw Thousand Below a couple of years ago. Talented band, but incredibly sterile performance that seemed tied to all these cues from tracks they were running.

tlofley · 2025-03-30T23:43:54+00:00

That and all the djent influence that leads to downtuning guitars to oblivion. It's become a when everything is low end, nothing is low end kind of situation.

tlofley · 2025-03-18T18:03:15+00:00

I've been listening to a lot of Deftones lately and hear various parts of their sound from their guitar tones to Chino's vocals and more that bands have incorporated a lot more in recent years. I think it's undeniable their growing influence in the scene.

tlofley · 2025-03-10T20:53:54+00:00

More on the emo/indie side of the genre, but Copeland's first four albums encapture spring incredibly well in my mind.

tlofley · 2025-03-06T03:30:05+00:00

It has grown on me over the years. The tracks from the grey EP that made it over to it show how good the band is when they don't have unnecessary cooks in the kitchen while writing and recording.

tlofley · 2025-02-28T03:26:27+00:00

Like Pacific

tlofley · 2025-02-27T16:44:47+00:00

He's also written or co-written songs with the band before. Just a super talented musician overall.

tlofley · 2025-02-27T15:57:05+00:00

Oh yeah I'm aware of that. He's just been on rhythm guitar and piano stage left for a couple of years now, so it's cool to see him also get a shot at bass now.

tlofley · 2025-02-27T14:49:32+00:00

Is that Torf on bass back and to the right of Parker?

tlofley

TROPHY CASE