DrAwkward wrote: Sun Aug 15, 2021 8:50 pm God fucking hot dammit i love this band so much it makes me FUCKING swear.

Me'd your post. Sorry, Doc

The non-Fugazi band from that era which has actually increased in stature in my heart.

Also, in regards to the name, EVERYTIME I mention them to my dad, going back to the mid 90's he immediately says "That's a great fucking band name"

NC forever. Never crap. Great Guys, great music. And I still like to believe that we all had something to do with them getting back together.

New single from upcoming October album release.



Not in love with this song, I admit. The emphasis on the anthemic vocal line musically and in the mixing/recording feels a bit generic indie-rock. But I do love this band and look fwd to the album.

^ I agree with your assessment.

Initially I would say that the production is too slick for my liking and undermines the lovely messiness of AoL.

Still love the Archers and hope I will get to see them live again.

Maybe it's just me, but that sounds a bit like The Killers.

I really loved this band fir a really long time but as time passes they feel less and less satisfying. The lyrics are most of the time kinda cringe to me now. Still love the guitar and drums though. I'm having a hard time with most music I loved in high school these days lyrically. People sure sang stupid shit in the 90's.

Icky Mettle, Vs the Greatest of All Time, and Vee Vee are all fantastic records. I like the others too, but significantly less so. I'm not into this new track (really needs a hook) but am curious about the rest of the record.

That new song sounds like Wired for Sound by Cliff Richard, which I believe was written by BA Robertson, who wrote 'Saint Saens' which is one of the best power pop songs ever recorded in my opinion, although it is an opinion not held by many. Perhaps just me and BA Robertson.

AoL are one of my all time favs ... so definitely a resounding Not Crap from me.

Always loved their combination of melodic hooks and weirdo guitar parts. Web in Front is a perfect indie guitar rock song.

Saw them in the early 90s and they were great live. Really tall guy on vocal/guitar and short guy bass player who was like the energizer bunny.

I agree the newer stuff is less than stellar. Seems a little overproduced and kind of unremarkable.

But if they come nearby on tour, I'll be right up front waiting to hear .. "<crack> .. <crack> .. <crack> .. <crack> .. <crack> ... stuck a pin in your backbone"

Saw them last night. They played 3 new songs ("In the Surface Noise", "Raleigh Days", "Misinformation Age") but otherwise all older ones. Still a great live band, still featuring the brief comedy stylings of Matt Gentling between songs.

I was pretty lukewarm on the new record when it came out but I've been listening to it a bunch over the last week as I got excited for the show, and it's grown on me, especially the quieter moments. There are little things I don't love about the sound of the record, but after sitting with it for a week, I remembered that I felt the same way about All the Nation's Airports and White Trash Heroes and grew to love both. "War is Wide Open" stacks up well against "Chumming the Oceans" and "Bombs Away" for me.

somehow I missed this band in the 90s despite listening to bunch of other bands in the Merge/Carolina orbit, but got to know the first couple albums later on.

The new one, I think, is pretty great. Sounds like a different band, which is fine. I like it enough that I was a bit disappointed that they played so few songs from it live.

Which, by the way, was in Chicago last month and the sound was just astonishingly bad. Didn't get on track until fully halfway through the set, I have no idea what was going on.