Let me just start but saying I fucking love this record. But I have to admit, at first listen, I was expecting a little more from "Cosmic Thrill Seekers". With all of the hyperbole surrounding its' release, hailing it as this era’s "American Idiot" or "The Monitor", it was easy to poke holes in it's case as a cultural landmark. But nevertheless, the album hung over me from the moment I first listened to it Friday morning and I couldn’t stop replaying it all weekend long. Each time I found myself enjoying it a little more, digging deeper and deeper into the incredibly well written and layered lyrics while discovering more and more subtle nuances in each song’s composition. It's so densely compiled and washes over you so effortlessly in it's flawless transition from song to song that it's easy to miss how much work has been put into crafting this seamless, Wizard of Oz inspired existential crisis on acid. It reminded me a lot of Jeff Rosenstock's "Worry" in that way - when you finally let it marinate and quit comparing it to all the great albums everyone else was comparing it to, there's no denying how easy it is to let the album consume you. It just gets better every time you listen. But don’t go in expecting it to revolutionize the art form - they have a very specific style but they do it exceptionally well. And while I understand doing everything you can to get as many ears on this album as possible - the Green Day and My Chemical Romance comparisons are really only doing it a disservice. And judging by the occasionally grating vocal stylings - it doesn't really seem to want to be judged on the same pop standards as those records either. The record is more of an emotional experience. “Cosmic Thrill Seekers” is more about the trip as a whole and deserves to be experienced as such. The 3 act story arc of The Heart, The Brain and the Roar give the album more in common with the likes of a Say Anything or Elton John album, it’s just a lot dirtier sounding. Like Dillinger Four or None More Black doing David Bowie karaoke. Just sit back and enjoy the trip, you’re in good hands with Prince Daddy and the Hyena and this record shows that they have all the makings of one of punk’s most promising new staples. The pure ambition displayed on this record deserves to be celebrated independently from the hype - it's an infectious punk parable with an incredibly well layered narrative underneath a familiar, raspy Gainesville aesthetic.
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