Hey everyone, I have been listening to LIBAD a lot since it came out. The album continues to grow on me more and more each day. I thought it would be cool if people shared their initial impressions, and if their opinion of the album has changed after multiple listens. To kick start the discussion, maybe share which songs stand out to you and why, let us know if you have a favorite too! Maybe you discovered something new about the album that you didn't notice initially?
As most of us here are guitar players, we probably all had a moment where we realized the album isn't going to be an hour long master class in how to be an amazing guitar player. Granted, Syn still manages to showcase incredible skill throughout LIBAD. For me, this was a shock to the system. But, I've always praised A7X for keeping each album fresh. No two albums are identical, and they always knock it out of the park. So I didn't want to sleep on LIBAD or write it off for being different.
Here's why I'm in to the album.
I found that after a several listens the album became less strange to me. What was initially bizarre just seemed commonplace, it simply made sense and felt natural. I often find myself waking up first thing in the morning and one of the songs is stuck in my head. I love waking up like this. I feel truly inspired, and I'm picking up my guitar more than I had been lately.
By extension, I've always dreamt of a collab between Buckethead and Daft Punk... I've said for the longest time if those two artists did a show together, that would be the ultimate thing for me. LIBAD clearly pays homage to Daft Punk amongst other artists, and while not going for a Buckethead style song, LIBAD is avant-guard to the point that I could draw comparisons to Bucket's work (namely Syn using synthesizer-like effects through his guitar, or things like whaling on the whammy bar in Game Over with a similar fashion to how Buckethead utilizes his kill-switch). Anyway, the album does something I've always imagined, combining the styles of artists that would otherwise never be associated with each other. It doesn't take shape in exactly the same way I'd imagine Buckethead and Daft Punk collaborating, but the elements of ostensibly different artists are brought together in an eclectic master piece.
Furthermore, I think that there's a lot of deep thought that went in to this album, some of which is initially clear, and some of which might go over our heads. On my first listen to Mattel, hearing the lyrics, "Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight" made me raise an eye brow and ask myself if that was a reference to Truman Show. Matt has since confirmed it was. I think it's cool that this music album references important works of art from other mediums such as film. The album apparently takes inspiration form the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, which I read in high school and thoroughly enjoyed. But get this, LIBAD doesn't just reference movies and literature, it also draws upon the magic of commercials.
I was just listening to Game Over today, and I noticed there's a Folger's Coffee easter egg thing that I didn't catch until today. Everyone knows the line, "The best part of waking up is Folger's in your cup." Leave it to A7X to turn a stupid commercial in to a cool-whacky line from a song in the form of, "The bestest part of waking up (mundane ideation), this dark roast got me (so fucked up)." I can help but simultaneously laugh and rock out to that line. Fucking brilliant!
One final note before I open the floor, my favorite song is (O)rdinary and here's why. It's a Daft Punk song that tells the story of a robot coming to life. After all, who here doesn't feel their heart strings pulled at the end of Terminator 2 when the T-800 says, "I know now why you cry." That's why this is the best song on the LIBAD!
