The Eternal - 6 Months Later
 

How has your opinion of this release evolved in that time frame then?

It remains fantastic. "Massage the History" is still breathtaking. "What We
Know" still headbutts concrete into powder. "Leaky Lifeboat" still evokes the
sun gods. And "Thunderclap" is still saved by the "yeah yeah yeah"s and the "whoa
oh oh"s.

I find that seeing them a few times on the tour has changed what I feel about certain songs; I really appreciate the power of "No Way"--I actually think it sounds better on record, though. "Calming the Snake" live, conversely, is superior to the album version--without those superfluous echoes on her vocals, Kim is free to shred a siren song. It seems only a partially realized track in retrospect.

There is nothing on The Eternal that plumbs the depths of "Sleepin' Around."

Holds up better than any SY record this century outside of Sonic Nurse.

it's still incredible. Seriously. Probably my favorite SY album since MURRAY STREET.

I still love it. It sounds like they're having a lot of fun, which translates into an overall high-energy listening experience. Hell, I can even get into 'Thunderclap' now, and I feel bad it's disappeared from set lists. It might be a little overshadowed by the superior material it accompanies, but it's still fun, and the interlude has some killer shred tones...

i went from really liking the first month it came out, then held off listening to it for a while (i think i might have ran through it fifty times in that first month), and now i'm back to really liking it again. the whole album just sounds very rejuvenated and it's great to see how enthusiastic they are playing it live. "sacred trickster"/"massage the history" has to be one of their best opening/closing combos ever, lee's songs are both incredibly solid, mark's basslines are groovalicious, kim's vocals haven't sounded this good on record in a while (and live on "calming the snake"...wowee!), thurston dun damn good, especially on "leaky lifeboat" (those harmonics!) and "antenna" (still my favorite song on the album), steve is beastin' it as always, etc etc. so many new things to love about this one with each listen.

Me too.

Best album that I've heard this year.

i think it's an excellent album, my mind doesn't usually change about records very often though

I still think its a great album, I always will.

I feel exactly the opposite. So much better live!


I'm not sure if it's because of the vocals, but I agree. So much better live!

Maybe the fact that these two tracks have been at the beginnings of the set lists give them some extra live "oopmh."

I loved it initially, then I grew to appreciate it even more as I heard it more and more. Now it is my fave since sonic nurse.

lee rules all.

it's alright

There are some good tracks but this one never spent as much time in my CD player as any of the others. I've listened to it the least amount of times and never felt myself needing to go back to it so much. It's the first album I can safely accuse them of treading water on. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Still love it. What's amazing is how it sounds live. Usually with a live performance the music loose it's edge it's raw sound not this one. It's a tribute to the band that they can play it spot on and not get sloppy like other bands (ie: Rolling Stones)

i initially thought of it as a great sy record.... i then thought of it as almost a perfect sy record..i now believe it to be in their top 3 releases of all time and the album of the year...nuff said!

I like it, but yesterday I was listening to some previous albums like nurse / dirty / ddn. and I think the eternal deserves four points out of six. still quite enjoyable after six months. leaky lifeboat - the best!

3 songs are quite ok, all in all its boring.

dear sy.

im sorry for being such a dick about the eternal before.

i wrote the words anti-orgasm on a page of random lyrics/crap months before i found out you had the same idea, so i cant use it, cos i waited too long. but anyway. you did a great job. anti orgasm is exactly the direction i wanted you to go in. away from that rather ripped stuff. malibu gas station is cool. but your just reusing stock pile sonic riffs and bits, this is what i found lame. not that anything i say should matter. i wish you would get weirder and do something experimental, nothing you've done has been actually experimental since bad moon rising. i mean its called experimental by people but it isnt actually doing any experiments. i wish you didnt put the punk and the rock back into no wave. i wish i had your money and equipment.

absolutely

What about all of those SYR releases?

Or NYCGF.....oh Christ what have I started?

But yeah.....in a way, I agree with you.....although I really do love Eternal....it creates a mood, is so well paced.....strong songwriting all round.

But I'm always wishing that "SYR" stuff and "normal" stuff can go on the same cd.

Haven't listened to it in a few months. Pretty cool album though.