While Fantastic Planet has sorta become a classic over the last decade, the reunion has been going on for so long that they've released as much material as they managed in their first run - not many bands return and are that productive.

It's striking (to me) how great their best material sounds. Their sonic identity is as much a calling card as the songs themselves.

I've been digging into The Heart is a Monster recently and I think it's their best record (an amazing headphone record), though Fantastic Planet will always hold a special place - no piece of art has quite captured the blankness of a 'civilized' opioid addiction (esp 'Another Space Song'), more relatable and realistic than that AIC / Ministry junkie horrorshow drama stuff - for me, at least.

First two albums are a bit patchy (though the tunes I dig on Magnified, I really dig), the last 2 are a little more hipster / Autolux territory for me to really get much out of. But 2 great albums is good enough for a solid N.C.

I never fully got into their first run but several friends are way into it, and Fantastic Planet is a very well done DIY recording.

But the reunion stuff is godawful: grid-aligned, drum sampled/amp simulators, weak songs written in the studio with even worse lyrics than the original run. Similar production aesthetic of a Taylor Swift record except more minor key and everyone in the band looks like David Duchovny. Similar reunion records by Hum, Shiner, and Quicksand were a little dull and unnecessary IMO, but this stuff flat out sucks.

I liked "Stuck On You" when it came out and was getting played on the radio. The latter part of the album has some decent tracks, but there was too much Nirvana biting on that overly long record.

Not my thing. Might be fine if it wasn't so god damn slick sounding. Everything is compressed to death. Zero dynamics and all of the guitar tones sound like a Triple Rectifier, which is also not my thing. It's not total crap, but deserves a "Meh" or "Shrug" option. Not sure I can vote.

Yeah, it's a meh. Never interesting enough to be worthwhile; always competent enough to get by.

I went through a period where Fantastic Planet was on pretty heavy rotation and I still think it is a solid album, though everything else they've done since getting back together has been pretty one-note. Boring as hell live band. I guess Greg Edwards needed something to do with Eugene in prison?

WeStartToDrift wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 12:09 pm I guess Greg Edwards needed something to do with Eugene in prison?

Wait, what!?

I love that first Autolux album. The others are mostly crap, but that first one is terrific.

WeStartToDrift wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 12:09 pm I went through a period where Fantastic Planet was on pretty heavy rotation and I still think it is a solid album, though everything else they've done since getting back together has been pretty one-note. Boring as hell live band. I guess Greg Edwards needed something to do with Eugene in prison?

Well, shit. I just learned 2 things today.
1) Failure and Autolux share a bandmate.
2) That awesome bass player from Autolux is doing 2 years for importing cocaine.

tommy wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 12:28 pm 1) Failure and Autolux share a bandmate.

Yeah, the presumably arty/creative one from Failure. The other dude, who I suspect is the driving force behind the reunion stuff, is a super douchey LA producer guy who's written articles about how 'Steve Albini is wrong about Pro Tools' and such.

2) That awesome bass player from Autolux is doing 2 years for importing cocaine.

Well.. shit. Not exactly the most prolific band, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

penningtron wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 12:38 pm The other dude, who I suspect is the driving force behind the reunion stuff, is a super douchey LA producer guy who's written articles about how 'Steve Albini is wrong about Pro Tools' and such.

I’m not gonna bother to find the thread, but Steve addressed this in th OG forum, that he’s cool with Ken Andrews. I think he engineered Magnified for them. Ken’s other bands On and Year of the Rabbit were pretty gimmicky, and I havent heard the reunion, but Fantastic Planet was ok by me.