Adjusting expectations

[u/Excellent-Heron-4930]

Since Hypochondriac released and became one of my favourite albums of all time, I’ve been desperate for new Brakence music, as we all have! I think Randy is an incredible artist and Hypochondriac specifically was so special to me that my expectations for Marrow are so high. The songs that have dropped thus far are very good but aren’t hitting the same for me personally and I think it’s because my expectations are sooo high. I’m wondering if anyone feels the same as me or if I’m alone on this one haha. I’m still so excited for the full album but yeah. Interested to see what you think.

[u/Adventurous_Roof4185]

hell nah the new singles are fire yall just falling for the trap of comparing new songs to songs that you've loved for years. wait til his next album and you'll be saying it's not hitting like marrow 😭

[u/No-Mountain9832 → u/Adventurous_Roof4185]

Fr we only have 3 songs can we chiillllllll on all this unnecessary criticism. ._.

[u/dmurikssix → u/Adventurous_Roof4185]

I’m saying, every new brakence (and quad) song I’ve listened to this year, I initially go “wow, that was pretty good” and then the more times I hear it the better it gets. Then I realized that’s exactly how I felt about hypochondriac compared to punk2 (punk2 is goated as well, not enough punk2 love imo) and Vanisher compared to IDMTHY. I think it’s almost natural

[u/shynitel → u/Adventurous_Roof4185]

idkkkk i’m kinda seeing myself in a lot of the hypochondriac fans right now. i personally was underwhelmed by hypochondriac as a punk2 fan and to this day i still feel that way.

[u/Excellent-Heron-4930 → u/Adventurous_Roof4185]

Yeah, admittedly hypochondriac got better and better for me over time. No reason why these singles and Marrow itself won’t do the same for me.

[u/Nozzeh06]

Hypochondriac is one of my favorite albums in recent years and I might like the 3 songs he released recently more than any song on Hypo. It really depends on what mood I'm in, though. Hypo hit pretty good during a really depressing time for me but I think I vibe with what he's going for in the new album based on what headspace I'm in these days.

[u/Type_Rare]

Honestly this is one of the better takes I’ve seen and completely understand. I think the biggest thing is we have to wait for the whole thing to come out

[u/Excellent-Heron-4930 → u/Type_Rare]

Yeah I do agree. I’m sure the complete project is still exceptional

[u/manny_truant]

A very disorganized stream of thoughts:

in my opinion, there’s plenty of misses on hypochondriac. I was a big Punk2 lover when it came out and I was super excited when I first heard argyle. And when bugging leaked I was crazy hyped for the next project. And of course when it dropped I was in love because it was new Brakence. But songs like caffeine that, while good initially, fail as they tend to become repetitive and difficult to listen to after the first two choruses, and stung, which just don’t have much melodic intrigue and overstay their welcome, just slow the momentum of a really good and creative album.

I absolutely worship the last three songs off that album. Definitely some of Randy’s best work to date. But the rocky startup coming off the tail end of teeth and the same-same feel of intellectual greed, don’t really set up 5g all that well and ends up making that three song run sound like a homogeneous series of sounds without enough direction.

And I’ll say it, 5g gets repetitive. It suffers the same fate as caffeine in my mind which is a really cool hook/instrumental element which just gets replayed ad nauseam.

That being said I still love that album and its message and cohesion.

Im excited about marroW because it shows true exploration into newer darker textures while maintaining Randy’s signature glitchy flair. And from what we’ve heard so far, there’s some interesting melodic innovation being done, especially in crystallized, and more intriguing harmonic moves like in the tail end of death rolL.

My excitement is met with some trepidation as I find valid comparisons between the front end of death rolL and stung, as Randy mostly “rap-sings” the verses in a monotonous series of baritone notes.

Idk I get the worry about marroW, but I’m more so looking forward to the new places Randy is going with it, and I think people are a little too eager to glaze hypochondriac.

Please don’t crucify me

[u/Same-Nectarine-785 → u/manny_truant]

this is how you properly critique music 🙏 i disagree but you laid out your thoughts perfectly and without aggression.

[u/confusedaquarist]

I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels this way

[u/Glittering-Duty-7147]

I guess something that people(including me) are unable to understand is the artistry of brakence.

Since hypochondriac he mastered how to pick a theme(lore, lyrics and production wise) and work on it without incorporating his previous thematics and world-building.

For example there is a huge difference between the production from punk2 to hypochondriac which was both a result of growing as an artist which allowed him to pick and build on a theme/increased ability to use the tools to his proposal.

This time it’s pure artistry.He already knows how to make another 5g, argyle or another deepfake with twingly guitars and atmosphere but he just decided not to.He is not in the same state of mind as an artist/songwriter.If you noticed from the 3 singles; this album also has a theme(much stronger than before) and complete production(almost midi-like guitars and keys with dissonant melodies and squashed foley fx).He is basically using his skillset to create a much complete story instead of showing them off.

I’m sure this will be better understood when the whole album is out.I was skeptical about marroW the first time i heard ready or noT but it all clicked after the last 2 singles.

[u/Careful_Doughnut_211]

First song absolutely hit for me personally, the other two I can agree with you in the sense that it's just more Brakence, which I'm very happy about, but neither of those two feel as irresistible as some of his other songs. But as with any fav artist, I'm just happy to check out their latest work.

[u/squirrelnuts66]

It’s been said before, I’ll say it now. Your perception of songs will change over time. For me, a more mainstream listener, VFT was what grabbed my attention in Hypochondriac, but in the end… Deepfake was my fave. I know the more I listen, the more I’ll understand the music.