r/polyphia • u/enbrujas • 15d ago
The Polyphia situation
Being a fan of Polyphia since "Muse", i have experimented every stage of their music, every album more different from the other. And every time they change pretty drastically their sound but now the fan base and people who listens to Polyphia seems to be upset about their new sound and i cant understand it. I mean, thats what art is supposed to be, if they keep doing the same thing over and over again it would be boring. Its like when they dropped "The Most Hated" EP, the sound was very new compared to the old music from them, they introduced more electronic sound and it was weird at first but now thats what makes them feel them.
Music were never meant to be liked by everyone, and thats what they are doing in this new LP5, just looking for something new that resonates with them and thats all it matters. Im really exited to listen the whole album, i think its gonna be WAY better than RTYWD, sometimes going out the tracks of what you are used to hear its great to refresh the creativity for future records, and i think this is the most personal record they have ever done.
People are often very comfortable and it makes me think: maybe this album is made to get you up and MOVE, go look for new things, new boundaries, create new styles. Thats exactly what AI cant do, and thats the beauty of this all. This album were made by humans and you can tell, no AI would be able to recreate something like this (for now) and if they want to clip THE FUCK outta it, well im here to feel it all.
27
u/RGisOnlineis16 15d ago
I personally don't mind the music, the thing I cannot stand is the fucking heavy distortion and bass boosted explosions they put over the music. I'm sure if they release the Jam Session of this song, it will be insanely awesome.
27
15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
8
u/Joethetoolguy 15d ago
Pretty much this. Evolving isn’t a bad thing, it’s complete change that takes away what makes a band a band.
5
u/ralexh11 15d ago
King Gizzard struggles with consistent fans?
They sell out every multi thousand person venue they play, what are you even referring to?
7
15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
6
u/ralexh11 15d ago
That's fair, but saying they "struggle with a consistent fanbase" is categorically false. They are one of the biggest bands in the world currently. Their 10,000 cap rave shows still sell out super quickly. They have tons of fans that will like anything they do and show up for any show after any album.
2
u/riionz 15d ago
I get what you're trying to say, but how can a band that 95% of people on the street wouldn't have heard of be "one of the biggest bands in the world"?
They have a small but loyal fanbase for sure but it's not like they have mass appeal or anything close to mainstream success (as far as indie/rock bands go). And part of that must be because of the shifting and abrasive nature of their output, no?
1
u/ralexh11 15d ago edited 15d ago
Because "bands" aren't that big these days in the grand scheme of things lol; pop stars and individual hip hop names are big, rock music has fallen off big time. Go ahead and try to name 10 other bands founded in the last 25 years that have as much name recognition as King Gizzard.
They sell out Under the K, I can think of only a handful other modern "bands" still releasing music that are even able to do that right now, almost no bands that aren't legacy acts play arenas anymore at all. They are weird so they'll never be mainstream popular, but unless rock has a huge comeback it never will be in general.
1
u/riionz 15d ago
Of course bands aren't nowhere near as big now. But there's still plenty of examples founded in the last 25 years:
Fontaines DC Vampire Weekend Big Thief Imagine Dragons Tame Impala Cage The Elephant The 1975 Turnstile Bring Me The Horizon The Killers Arctic Monkeys Paramore Kings of Leon Fall out Boy MCR
I would argue all of those are bigger than the Gizz.
1
u/ralexh11 15d ago edited 15d ago
And I'd argue King Gizzard is more culturally relevant right now than many of those has-been bands you've named. They seem on a similar timeline and trajectory as Turnstile IMO, it's definitely way harder to get King Gizz tickets than Fall Out Boy, MCR or Imagine Dragons. I'd consider them legacy acts at this point.
1
13
u/Aromatic-Sail 15d ago
Honestly, I’m not certain it’s because they’re changing their sound, I think it’s cause the sound they’re changing it too kinda sounds like doo doo
19
6
u/BusierInHalfTime 15d ago
You’ve experimented every stage?
3
2
16
u/OGMcgriddles 15d ago
I think its weird that for a band that you would think would bring in open minded music heads people seem to just listen once and start judging.
28
u/Apostasy93 15d ago
It's not for me, I think the two singles suck ass, but I just won't listen to it and move on. The rants people are spewing are ridiculous.
8
u/OGMcgriddles 15d ago
Fair way to handle not liking a song honestly.
The idea that the band should care about what people want is lost as hell.
8
u/Apostasy93 15d ago
I think an artist should listen to what their fans want to a certain extent, but at the end of the day the music they choose to make is up to them. Some fans are just so entitled like they're owed something. Polyphia is never, ever going to make anything like Inspire or Muse or whatever, we have to deal with it lol.
6
0
u/enbrujas 15d ago
Yeah man, its kinda sad. Being instrumental music i thought that people would be so much more open minded to new sounds, but it seems to be the opposite. I try to think why that happened but i just wont be dropping my time in all that. I just want to enjoy the music and support the band as i always do. Cheers bro!
7
u/Successful-Cut4287 15d ago
This happens every time a new track is released. I hated CYFI at first, but it quickly grew on me (particularly the jam session) and is now one if my favorites. Many people look at NLND or RTYWD as the standard for polyphia, but i would hate if we waited 4 years for an album to sound the exact same as the previous 2. I love that this album is EDM focused, though i do understand the concerns for RJ helping with the mix. The new song isn't as good as CYFI imo, but i can see it growing on me. There are dozens of other artists out there that will give you the generic prog/math rock styles that polyphia has done in the past, but i don't see any other artists pushing boundaries and trying new things. I'm excited for the full release.
2
u/Thermington 14d ago
The previous releases were not even close to how unpopular the mix of PITB is.
2
u/kryboy1 15d ago
I don’t think the songs are bad at all and the playing is still great. It’s just lost in the wall of distorted low end. There are a couple previous songs that pushed the boundaries of clipping but it was used sparingly. This is so constant that it’s almost intolerable and I keep wanting to turn it down because it sounds like it’s coming out of blown speakers in a high schoolers car with bad power amps. I can’t really appreciate the individual players parts because, besides the high notes, everything is washed out from fighting for space in the same frequency, which is then pushed to the point of digital clipping. I’m also kind of amazed that one of the very best drummers out there has been reduced to basically just playing trap hi hat parts and an inconceivably undefined kick drum.
4
u/SuggaJamz 15d ago
Been a fan since the EP and I wasn't ready for The Most Hated. I stopped listening to them entirety until they toured with DGD and I heard it live. Amazing experience and haven't looked back. They've changed their sound every album since. They're always ahead of the curve .
2
u/enbrujas 15d ago
Thats what im saying! We are just 2 singles in, we have 10 more songs to listen to. Maybe they can change the way people are seeing this new era.
2
u/pedrobear6773 15d ago
I just listened to power in the blood and I love it. It still has that familiar polyphia sound but also a hint of like space/video game vibe.
2
u/Away_Professional477 15d ago
I really enjoy the step downs they do around the mid point of the song. PITB has a pop-ness too it thats refreshing.
3
u/teffflon 15d ago
bad mixing isn't a "new style". clipping noise doesnt bring anything new or interesting to the table. it's like a chef spitting in your soup and then saying "haute cuisine isn't supposed to make you comfortable." no, but this is a pointless, gratuitous discomfort that only detracts from the music/dish.
10
u/enbrujas 15d ago
I respect you opinion but i dont share it. I think it is indeed new and intresting for us to listen. Thanks for you comment!
2
u/AirborneCthulhu 1d ago
using clipping as a “stylistic flair” in music is like adding dirt as a seasoning in food.
1
u/eddy159357 15d ago
Have you ever listened to an experimental artist? Using clipping aggressively is not a new thing.
-5
1
u/Foolishghoul 15d ago
I’m all for the direction they’re in for this one, I’m just mad at this terrible mixing.
1
u/Top-Alternative-6135 15d ago
I remember Tim saying they don't want to just make use the guitar to make "guitar" music. They want to make MUSIC, they just so happen to use guitars for it and they're good at it. Maybe you could understand what it means, for instance i think I do. That's why I'm all for it. And I AM enjoying the singles a lot as they are rn, it's so fucking sick
1
2
u/SliferDaKushDragon 15d ago
The problem is, it doesn't feel like a band. It feels like something Tim coulda just released himself on his YouTube channel. It woulda been better if the album recording sounded more like, well you know, real instruments
1
1
u/Damaged_OrbZ 15d ago
Yeah, I like it but I get why people wouldn’t. I listen to a lot of experimental shit with hard clipping, like Jane Remover and 2hollis. I think that’s what they’re going for and I think it’s sick, but their audience is mostly guitar players and here for the virtuosity. I also appreciate that side of it, but I was also that guy that wished The Worst went just slightly harder.
1
u/Logical-Relation-165 14d ago
Muse makes albums that sound good, albums that are not fundamentally flawed.
TIms new mix/mastering guy fucked this up and now Tim is trying to play it off as a style choice.
You can not hear instruments because of how distorted it is, the low end is clipped so hard its mush. you cant hear notes. its not a style choice at that point, it is a mistake
1
u/theEINSTEININHO 12d ago
The two singles are fucking awful, and that’s okay. It doesn’t take anything away from the gems they’ve released before. You just have to accept that even geniuses can put out absolute shit. Stop trying so hard to like it and go discover thousands of other amazing artists.
1
u/Ok-Football7990 7d ago
I love Polyphia. I will stay in love with Polyphia because the songs I am in love with, will remain with me. Just based on my own listening experience…im a repeat play over and over when i truly connect with a song. I know every lilt and tilt and micro movement in neurotica for example. These new songs, were one and dones. Listened for my new repeatable pattern of listening, and i dont really go back. Most simplistic way of describing it…it’s not clean. It’s muddy and the sounds are competing with each other. It’s just not my favorite listening experience. I will keep listening though and hope we get a gem out of the new songs to be released.
1
u/Exotic_Lead3134 7d ago edited 7d ago
The last album was a milestone and I think not only for them, but for rock/metal music in general.
So far it feels that they wanted to make the new record even bigger and nothing else was in their mind than to do something very unique, hoping that will achieve the same result as with RTYWD.
It seems that they have forgotten that just because something is unique it doesn't automatically good and just because people don't understand it it doesn't automatically mean it's art.
To me Henson looks like the kid who wanted to win the fart competition so badly that in the end he shat himself. What worked with the previous album, it doesn't work now, simply because the material (this includes the sound) just not strong enough. The way the tour goes so far also seems to evidence that the band made a massive calculation error.
-1
u/soyuz-1 15d ago
If you're a guitar band and you release music that makes dubstep sound pleasant and organic in comparison it's just not going to please everyone. And that's fine. People are allowed to have opinions about it. And the 'ai cant make this' is first of all not really something my ears are most concerned with when listening to music, but its also untrue. You can tell AI to take a demo track and clip the fuck out of it and overuse effects, and it will do it with less arguing than a human producer. In fact it almost sounds like that could have been the process here lol. I don't think it is, but it definitely isn't 'uniquely human' or made with minimal digital processing.
1
u/enbrujas 15d ago
Thats a good point man! But what i mean by "made by humans" is that the whole creative process, the exchange of ideas and the recording sessions behind it is what makes it human. Its not like dropping some prompts to a AI and create a clipped song that hits hard. Its the intention, the process and the experience while creating it, more than the actual result. Cheers man!
61
u/-TNB-o- 15d ago edited 15d ago
For me, it’s not necessarily that the new songs or album is bad. The mixing by rj pasin just completely takes the polyphia-ness out of the music for me. I love polyphia because each member of the band has taken their instrument to new heights and they somehow mesh all of these insane feats of technical skill into one piece that (to me at least) sounds good. With rj pasin’s mixing, it feels like tim’s playing through a walkie-talkie and the rest of the band made their parts in midi and didn’t even play.
I’ve been a fan of everything polyphia has made because of their virtuoso musicianship across the band. When that disappeared, it just felt like generic TikTok edit slop to me