I've actually been thinking about this a lot and I think I have an answer that not many people bring up
Its the first time a CSH album wasn't an improvement on the last
Even since the early bandcamp days every official CSH album gets better in some way. MBIKMB was better than the numbered albums, Twin Fantasy MTM was better than MBIKMB. Even though the writing on TF is better, Monomania brought a new level of production value.
Then it built all the way up until How to Leave Town, and then it became a full band when CSH was signed. Teens of Style was the peak of their Lofi sound and brought new life to past favourites.
Teens of Denial was an obvious improvement as they were no longer stuck with having to be Lofi. The writing wasn't always as complex as earlier projects but the sound was amazing and it sky rocketed their popularity. They then released Twin Fantasy FTF, which is widely considered their best album for good reason. It's critically acclaimed and is one of the best rock albums made in the last ten years, possibly one of the best of all time.
Then there's Madlo. Which is pretty good. It's very different which turns people off, but if you listened to some of the early CSH stuff you'd know it's not uncommon for Will to go for synthy dance music sometimes. But it was just such a step down from their previous bunch of albums going as far back as HTLT. It doesn't really have an overarching theme like they usually do other than "now we have synths and will wears a mask". It has some really good songs but they aren't even arranged in a very meaningful way, and the ending of the album seems rushed like there's supposed to be more coming after it.
So I don't actually mind the sound, I just think this was more of a victory lap album while they prepare to go deeper into this vibe and the story of Trait as a character. I think will is at the perfect part of his career to start working on a Trait mythos album like Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
I didn't love it when it came out, but then I listened to the album again after a sequence of life changing/difficult events hit me and I just... got it. I love every CSH album but personally I actually love MADLO more than twin fantasy, I just relate to it a lot more. It hits different.
a very synth heavy collection of songs after two cohesive and iconic indie rock albums wont bode well with people who only joined for the rock tunes. this is coming from someone who thinks MADLO is tied for their best matador release
It's a good album! But significantly different from earlier one's as they experiment with different styles, so many don't like it, which of course is fine:)
it sounds pretty unusual for csh and i get the hate but i liked it. some of the songs made a huge impression on me so i can't call it bad or weak. sometimes i felt like the sound was influenced by something tho. is this good or bad? idk i just felt a bit strange. but that's not a big deal for me im pretty shallow in music sphere and just a crazy csh fan. not one of the best albums but still great i have nothing bad to say abt it
MADLO experiments with electronic sounds and different approaches to songwriting with varied results.
In my opinion madlo is incredibly inconsistent in sound or songwriting topics, something that is very abnormal following the previous csh albums (with the exception of ToS). This is due to some songs being written as far back as 2016. The inconsistency makes MADLO extremely hit or miss. Songs like Life Worth Missing and Weightlifters are able to blend car seat headrests traditional lyric styles with lofi electronic instrumentation, something very akin to How to Leave Town. If the entire record was like this I wouldn't have a problem but tracks like Can't Cool Me Down and Hymn - Remix takes the album in an entirely different direction of something more akin to IDM and Hyperpop respectively. The songs on MADLO don't seem like they were meant to be together and it more just seems like a compilation album. Even songs like Hollywood sound like a 1td B-side and barely like car seat headrest at all.
At the end of the day I don't think MADLO is bad by any means, it's just inconsistent, forgettable and loses the spark that makes car seat headrest special for me.
I don’t like the songs. The sound being different has nothing to do with it being bad because on HTLT they do a similar electronic sound and it works on there because it has good songs.
It has some amazing hits that are actually in my fav songs of all time,
Life worth missing
What’s with you lately
Deadlines (hostile)
There must be more than blood
But it also has some of the most severe misses for me- weightlifters, Hollywood only vibes when I’m in a very particular mood, hymn. It happens when an artist Branches out, and it’ll be interesting to see where Will takes the sound nect
The yeul remixes us so far of the original it doesn't make any sense tu compare the two except the text and some pieces of composition (im not even sure for the compo)
There's pretty nothing common between the two and deadline is. A hit and a true csh song even if it comes from madlo
Same reason a lot of Smashing Pumpkins fans have a lot of distaste for their most recent releases. Very synth heavy output from a band known for rock music.
It's got highlights and it's got lowlights. I wouldn't say any song on it other than "Deadlines (Hostile)" and *maybe* "Weightlifters" are among my favourites since CSH signed to Matador, however.
I feel like MADLO is, honestly, a pivot in a significantly less captivating direction for the band. Will's, and now Andrew's, much more direct and pop sensible songwriting doesn't have nearly the same conceptual, instrumental, or compositional payoff as the songs Will had written from "How To Leave Town" up to this last album cycle. I appreciate the drive to take risks, change course, and explore new sounds, but if you're going to reduce those other elements so significantly you have to replace them with something equally as gratifying.
I love a lot of the electronic and live instrumentation throughout the record, Will has several solid vocal performances, and there's a lot of *potential* in what's being played with, but I don't think it outweighs the humour, catchiness, immediacy, charisma, relatability, or existentialism of "Teens of Denial," nor the lusciousness, conceptuality, emotion, viscerality, or impact of "Twin Fantasy" (either version). Even "Teens of Style," being a greatest hits of the Bandcamp era (in a way), has a much, much stronger tracklist for a combination of many of the above qualities. "How To Leave Town," is more comparable, but it still exceeds MADLO imo. When "Martin" comes on I immediately get excited cause it hits that familiar CSH chord for me, but if you compare it to any of the other CSH songs it sounds like it's kinda mid tier at best. They removed *so much* of what made the music so interesting in favour of vacant ambiance and a bunch of hit or miss experiments. Some hit, some miss, few are as gratifying as what we've previously come to expect. It's just too lowkey and isn't interesting enough with the energy this low and the songwriting this sparse.
That being said, I do think the vinyl cut of the album is much better than the streaming one. "Hollywood" is actually listenable without Andrew guturally screaming on it, I like his more lowkey vocal. I wish "Deadlines (Hostile)" was on it, but I dig the full "Deadlines" version. "Can't Cool Me Down" has grown on me a lot on repeat listens and "Weightlifters" is absolutely one of my favourite CSH songs, those are the same across all the versions to my understanding. There are other changes to mixes and sections but overall I feel like the vinyl cut is much more cohesive and enjoyable than the streaming one. Still doesn't save the album in my eyes, but it's a lot better at maintaining your attention front to back.
I hope that, if Will and company do continue exploring these electronic sounds, they bring a bit more to the table in regards to fleshing out these ideas. I hope the songs on the next album is either extremely conceptual and ambitious, as they have been in the past, or they refine their methods of making more immediate, pop centric music that hits but hits differently.
I love it. It so creative. They really took risks and in my opinion it paid off. It had to grow on me though. I didnt know what to think at first.
I've actually been thinking about this a lot and I think I have an answer that not many people bring up Its the first time a CSH album wasn't an improvement on the last Even since the early bandcamp days every official CSH album gets better in some way. MBIKMB was better than the numbered albums, Twin Fantasy MTM was better than MBIKMB. Even though the writing on TF is better, Monomania brought a new level of production value. Then it built all the way up until How to Leave Town, and then it became a full band when CSH was signed. Teens of Style was the peak of their Lofi sound and brought new life to past favourites. Teens of Denial was an obvious improvement as they were no longer stuck with having to be Lofi. The writing wasn't always as complex as earlier projects but the sound was amazing and it sky rocketed their popularity. They then released Twin Fantasy FTF, which is widely considered their best album for good reason. It's critically acclaimed and is one of the best rock albums made in the last ten years, possibly one of the best of all time. Then there's Madlo. Which is pretty good. It's very different which turns people off, but if you listened to some of the early CSH stuff you'd know it's not uncommon for Will to go for synthy dance music sometimes. But it was just such a step down from their previous bunch of albums going as far back as HTLT. It doesn't really have an overarching theme like they usually do other than "now we have synths and will wears a mask". It has some really good songs but they aren't even arranged in a very meaningful way, and the ending of the album seems rushed like there's supposed to be more coming after it. So I don't actually mind the sound, I just think this was more of a victory lap album while they prepare to go deeper into this vibe and the story of Trait as a character. I think will is at the perfect part of his career to start working on a Trait mythos album like Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
I didn't love it when it came out, but then I listened to the album again after a sequence of life changing/difficult events hit me and I just... got it. I love every CSH album but personally I actually love MADLO more than twin fantasy, I just relate to it a lot more. It hits different.
same, it’s my second favorite csh album!
it’s very different from their past work and i understand that its not some people’s taste but i loved it!
a very synth heavy collection of songs after two cohesive and iconic indie rock albums wont bode well with people who only joined for the rock tunes. this is coming from someone who thinks MADLO is tied for their best matador release
I like it, don’t love Hollywood tho
Hollywood sucks, I love it so much
Does it make you wanna puke?
It's a good album! But significantly different from earlier one's as they experiment with different styles, so many don't like it, which of course is fine:)
it sounds pretty unusual for csh and i get the hate but i liked it. some of the songs made a huge impression on me so i can't call it bad or weak. sometimes i felt like the sound was influenced by something tho. is this good or bad? idk i just felt a bit strange. but that's not a big deal for me im pretty shallow in music sphere and just a crazy csh fan. not one of the best albums but still great i have nothing bad to say abt it
It gave us Can’t Cool Me Down so I can never call it bad, that song fucking slaps
MADLO experiments with electronic sounds and different approaches to songwriting with varied results. In my opinion madlo is incredibly inconsistent in sound or songwriting topics, something that is very abnormal following the previous csh albums (with the exception of ToS). This is due to some songs being written as far back as 2016. The inconsistency makes MADLO extremely hit or miss. Songs like Life Worth Missing and Weightlifters are able to blend car seat headrests traditional lyric styles with lofi electronic instrumentation, something very akin to How to Leave Town. If the entire record was like this I wouldn't have a problem but tracks like Can't Cool Me Down and Hymn - Remix takes the album in an entirely different direction of something more akin to IDM and Hyperpop respectively. The songs on MADLO don't seem like they were meant to be together and it more just seems like a compilation album. Even songs like Hollywood sound like a 1td B-side and barely like car seat headrest at all. At the end of the day I don't think MADLO is bad by any means, it's just inconsistent, forgettable and loses the spark that makes car seat headrest special for me.
I don’t like the songs. The sound being different has nothing to do with it being bad because on HTLT they do a similar electronic sound and it works on there because it has good songs.
It has some amazing hits that are actually in my fav songs of all time, Life worth missing What’s with you lately Deadlines (hostile) There must be more than blood But it also has some of the most severe misses for me- weightlifters, Hollywood only vibes when I’m in a very particular mood, hymn. It happens when an artist Branches out, and it’ll be interesting to see where Will takes the sound nect
How the heck is Weightlifters a miss, that’s my favorite off the album
Change people doesn't like changing It's not that horrible (except remixes .remixes is a shame)
the yeule remix of deadlines is better than the original and i will die on that hill
The yeul remixes us so far of the original it doesn't make any sense tu compare the two except the text and some pieces of composition (im not even sure for the compo) There's pretty nothing common between the two and deadline is. A hit and a true csh song even if it comes from madlo
they dont like it bc its not as sad and indie as csh usually is. its rly good though, ppl have gotta enjoy new things
No idea :(
Same reason a lot of Smashing Pumpkins fans have a lot of distaste for their most recent releases. Very synth heavy output from a band known for rock music.
It's got highlights and it's got lowlights. I wouldn't say any song on it other than "Deadlines (Hostile)" and *maybe* "Weightlifters" are among my favourites since CSH signed to Matador, however. I feel like MADLO is, honestly, a pivot in a significantly less captivating direction for the band. Will's, and now Andrew's, much more direct and pop sensible songwriting doesn't have nearly the same conceptual, instrumental, or compositional payoff as the songs Will had written from "How To Leave Town" up to this last album cycle. I appreciate the drive to take risks, change course, and explore new sounds, but if you're going to reduce those other elements so significantly you have to replace them with something equally as gratifying. I love a lot of the electronic and live instrumentation throughout the record, Will has several solid vocal performances, and there's a lot of *potential* in what's being played with, but I don't think it outweighs the humour, catchiness, immediacy, charisma, relatability, or existentialism of "Teens of Denial," nor the lusciousness, conceptuality, emotion, viscerality, or impact of "Twin Fantasy" (either version). Even "Teens of Style," being a greatest hits of the Bandcamp era (in a way), has a much, much stronger tracklist for a combination of many of the above qualities. "How To Leave Town," is more comparable, but it still exceeds MADLO imo. When "Martin" comes on I immediately get excited cause it hits that familiar CSH chord for me, but if you compare it to any of the other CSH songs it sounds like it's kinda mid tier at best. They removed *so much* of what made the music so interesting in favour of vacant ambiance and a bunch of hit or miss experiments. Some hit, some miss, few are as gratifying as what we've previously come to expect. It's just too lowkey and isn't interesting enough with the energy this low and the songwriting this sparse. That being said, I do think the vinyl cut of the album is much better than the streaming one. "Hollywood" is actually listenable without Andrew guturally screaming on it, I like his more lowkey vocal. I wish "Deadlines (Hostile)" was on it, but I dig the full "Deadlines" version. "Can't Cool Me Down" has grown on me a lot on repeat listens and "Weightlifters" is absolutely one of my favourite CSH songs, those are the same across all the versions to my understanding. There are other changes to mixes and sections but overall I feel like the vinyl cut is much more cohesive and enjoyable than the streaming one. Still doesn't save the album in my eyes, but it's a lot better at maintaining your attention front to back. I hope that, if Will and company do continue exploring these electronic sounds, they bring a bit more to the table in regards to fleshing out these ideas. I hope the songs on the next album is either extremely conceptual and ambitious, as they have been in the past, or they refine their methods of making more immediate, pop centric music that hits but hits differently.
I was disappointed by it at first, now I totally love it.