Not at all. And it's phenomenal. The three most likely scenarios are that it was leaked by him, someone from xl, or an outside source. And don't bother with any fan made remixes or mixes, the way it was released is perfect, with some great interludes in between the songs.
Hannah Hunt (especially the last minute and chorus) is probably the best songwriting they've ever done. Rostam's production is off the charts again. We got a taste with "Diane Young" but what these guys are doing in the studio is really magical. Most of it unfortunately doesn't translate to live performances well, but the recording aspect reminds me of Revolver-Beatles Era creativity. "Everlasting Arms" is pretty much pop perfection. I can't provide much criticism, besides maybe I'm not exactly into the "Finger Back" and "Worship You" combo, and the chipmunk vocals on "Ya Hey". But, the album is still pretty great front to back. These guys are a well tuned pop music machine right now.
Hey! Way to respond! Thanks :) Now that you mention it, it does make sense to have that discussion when considering how other critics and fans will view the work. I kind of marginalized you into what you yourself were talking about how others might react, context wise- and when I re-read the section you focus on Bankrupt! you didn't actually compare it to Wolfgang much at all. So sorry for that, though I have a feeling a lot of people will- which IMO takes away from the pretty solid group of songs they've presented. Anyways, nice review/article- I like the hybrid thing you have going. Definitely one of the better premature evaluations I've read.
Well, I like this album a lot more than you do. -And I know this is going against your fundamentals of music criticism, but not all work needs to be compared to previous efforts. Just take Bankrupt! for what it is and don't worry about whether it is better or worse than Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and the rest of their catalog.
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