thatpinguino

I originally heard "All the Pretty Girls" on the radio in 2014/2015 as part of a local radio station's promotion of a local music festival. I liked the song, but I didn't really look into Kaleo beyond that one song. However, I ended up going to the music festival because it was cheap as hell and it seemed like a pretty okay way to spend a day. The headliner was Marc Cohn of "Walking in Memphis" fame and the second to last act was Shawn Mullins of "Lullaby" fame. Needless to say, I was expecting some 90s nostalgia acts and back bench bands. Then at noon Kaleo came out to a largely empty field and started playing "No Good." The entire tone of the festival changed and people came running because they hit so hard when compared to the rest of the lineup. They played a bunch of the songs that would eventually become "A/B" and at the end of their act the crowd called for an encore. They actually couldn't do it because the venue was limited by daylight and the schedule was tight. At that moment I thought they might actually make it big. And within a few short years they did. So for me, the joy around this band and "A/B" is as much about getting to see some talented folks grow from the early part of their career to making it big. This is one of the only bands where I can credibly say I heard them before they got huge.

In terms of the actual music, this is one of my favorite albums partially because of the A side/ B side split that it has. I think that's what they were going for with the album title and with the hard tonal shift. Kaleo's more recent album, "Surface Sounds," is much more like the first half of "A/B." I just figured I'd go with the more diverse album since it might have something for everyone rather than the album that is more focused, but tonally one-note. For me, having the album split between arena/hard rock and folk/blues rock showcases the band's versatility and gives me a one stop shop regardless of the mood I'm in.

My favorite songs are "No Good", "All the Pretty Girls", and "I Can't Go On Without you".

This album was very much my shit. It's impressive for the lead guitar to have so much going on, yet the composition never feels overwhelming. Like @redwing42 said, math rock and jazz are kinda opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of how they're made, improvisation versus very rigid planning; but, the general vibe here still manages to feel free flowing and expressive despite the structured nature of the genre. Shibuya was my favorite song on the album, but the whole album is a like for me. It's something I can throw on in the background of any situation and feel pretty good about my choice.

As someone who generally likes emo music, I enjoyed this album and I'm amazed I haven't heard more of The Wonder Years. I liked the album, but it's kinda hard to call out anything that made The Greatest Generation stand out from other albums in the genre that came out around the same time. There's nothing wrong with being a bog standard emo/pop punk album though. It's nice to hear a band that evokes my childhood, yet wasn't actually a band I'd heard before.

Finally caught up on this album and I thought it was okay. It was very broadway, but with very familiar metal instrumentals. The vocalist reminded me of Orpheus's singing in Hadestown and I think that makes sense since both works were going for a rock/broadway hybrid. I don't know if I'll go back to any individual song on this album other than When The Lights Are Down, but I enjoyed the whole work.

@undeadpool: I don't want to play for a few more days so I can eventually get one card from the next tier of deck. It's a real grind to unlock cards once you burn through your initial glut of credits.

@undeadpool: I got to rank 40 in a day and then just kept running into the three to four decks you can build in pool 1: on reveal, swarm, devil dino, and self destruction. Then it just became about what bullshit the game threw at me and whether the random effects came up my way or the opponent's. Like did Morph turn into your opponent's bomb or their 1 drop? Or did your discard effect hit your bomb or your 1 drop? Did a location flip that completely fucks up the game or did you get a relatively normal one? Did you or your opponent draw one of the 4 cards that actually interacts with your opponent (Enchantress, Elektra, Spiderwoman, Cosmo)? Did you have priority so that the effect actually worked properly? It's just a lot of stuff that happens to you and that is fun for a minute, but I can't deal with it long term.

I uninstalled. After a few days of playing the same 3 decks against the same 3 decks I got bored. There is a ton of randomness thrown into every game to make up for the fact that the game drip feeds you new cards in a random order. I would like to try new things, but I can't because I don't have key cards for the handful of early archetypes that actually have support. Grinding out wins and games played felt more like work than play so I jumped ship. This was probably the fastest I've bounced off a card game.

@bisonhero: To me, video games are a religion and [Giant Bomb] is the shit.

"This site is a cult of personality around someone who isn't here anymore and anyone who doesn't conform to my personal idea of what that person believed is a shill." Sure dude. I'm sorry the economics of game sites don't support multiple adults with families the same way the sub model supported like 5 single dudes in their 20s/30s. Sites and revenue streams need to grow and expand to keep a site afloat. I wish the sub model was enough, but every Patreon based outfit you follow doesn't make enough money to support a staff and infrastructure the size GB has right now. Let alone if the site actually grew.

Furthermore, we have already seen Quick Looks with actual dev and PR team members involved in the look. If you think Adam Boyes and his team getting plastered with GB staff in the Age of Booty QL didn't impact coverage, I don't know what to tell you.

Played a bit today and the only thing I've played against that felt top tier was Moon Girl + Devil Dinosaur. Playing Moon Girl then Devil Dinosaur is basically a free win. Most every other game has felt good. This game very much rewards reading the opponent and making good situational plays. It's pretty refreshing honestly.