Boards
Going back to Will Haven - Carpe Diem for the first time in ages
Don't think I quite got it the first time around, in 2002-3. I was looking for stuff like Deftones, and Will Haven are often mentioned as being similar (they really aren't). Carpe Diem (the song) was always a top tune for me, but the album didn't quite work for me, too samey and not enough songs like Be Quiet and Drive.
Went back to it today, and holy crap. This is immense. The texture of the sound is just great, and Grady's voice sounds better than I remembered. But the 'variations on a theme' approach makes sense to older me: like how lots of the songs use the same bass drum pattern (Carpe Diem, Alpha Male - dum dum dum tcch dum, you know the one).
It's like a concept album, where the concept is Listen To This Fucking Note. The repetition of riffs and single chords kind of put me off at first, but now it's the best thing about it.
Awesome stuff, so glad I gave it a spin. Have you had any recent reappraisals, or do you have a pile of records to come back to when you might 'get it'? I'm personally still waiting to totally get Joy Division - I love them, and I appreciate them more and more each year, but I'm not there yet.