I freaking love the album! It’s what I needed and never expected from a HUM record. It’s a welcome surprise in times like this and I can’t thank the band enough for bringing some hope in a place that feels more desolate than ever. Just so you know, not everyone thinks like Anthony does. Everyone has their own opinion.
as a hum fan it is disappointing though to see how many people are throwing a fit over someone's differing musical opinion, i thought inlet was great but jesus christ people are freaking out over an opinion piece.
It’s funny how everybody says this when he gives a mediocre rating to their favorite album, but is fine with every other review he gives. Take a hint, you’re wrong
@@Cienfuegos. I said his worst take *in awhile*. Honestly I don't feel like he has a perfect track record at all, but generally he seems to have pretty good taste, which is why this review in particular caught me off guard enough to say something. Also this review in particular does show a lack up understanding about what the point of this album actually is and what it sets out to accomplish, which makes it fairly difficult to actually take his review fairly seriously. Regardless, you saying that people wrong for disagreeing with him occasionally would imply that you're one of those people who just goes along with everything he says and essentially bases their opinion off of Anthony rates an album, which honestly just makes you look kind of silly. And above all else, musical opinions are completely subjective, so just because I might think that this is among his more questionable reviews doesn't mean that I don't think that he's valid in making those claims. He has the right to have an opinion that I disagree with, and I have the right to disagree with and call him out for it. The only person here that is wrong is you, for claiming that somebody is to begin with.
It's not as good an album as other recent comeback albums from late 90s and early 2000s bands, but it's still a solid album. It's getting the Government Plates/that Kanye album with the really long name treatment.
I really hope people won't get scared away by this 5, and actually give this band a try, these guys are the definition of "underrated". 'You'd Prefer an Astronaut' is basically an alt. rock classic at this point, just not as widely known as 'Siamese Dream' or 'White Pony' that have similar dreamy vibe. And 'Inlet' is a great come back record, I actually haven't heard a single negative comment about. It's not a groundbreaking 10/10 experience or anything, but it has a lot of what made this band stand out in the 90's
I'm kinda blown away that anyone listens to a guy like this. He seems more interested in looking like he knows about music than he is actually researching and understanding it
Inlet was actually my first time listening to Hum and I also thought it was kind of meh. I will have to listen to You'd Prefer an Astronaut next to see if their other stuff is worth listening to.
I think Anthony missed the mark on this one. Hum manages to take their time with the songs and unlock them fully. Never has a band sounded so shy and powerful at the same time. I literally felt like I was in a spaceship traveling throughout the album. 9/10 easily.
As a completely biased Hum fan who has completely worn out their 4 most well known albums, there's no way that Inlet is a 10. I enjoyed the album, as Hum is my favorite group of all time (I still can't believe we actually got a new album), but I can only give this a 6. While Shapeshifter has become one of my top three favorite Hum songs of all time, and I think Step Into You is quintessential Hum, the rest of the album felt completely flat.
@@jeremyc9593 As an also completely biased Hum fan who's been listening to them for over 25 years, that's just like, your opinion, man. The album has no flaws IMO.
Hum isn't really shoegaze to my ears. I always thought of them alongside bands like Quicksand, Helmet, Failure, etc. Sure they have indie and punk influences but they don't just sit in the shoegaze category for that.
@@robwalsh9843 I actually think of the Failure comparison a lot, but they're like Failure if Failure did shoegaze. Especially on Inlet. A lot of the ambient stuff makes me think of Slowdive right away.
Gotta disagree this album is at least at 7/10. It was such a solid record. Every track is great and I love that fact that some songs just end up turning into other songs
I couldn’t disagree more with this review. The argument that artists are bound to tie into their previous work in any way is pretty stale and limiting. As a stand alone album, with Inlet - Hum succeeds in expressing numerous ideas and concepts, both musically and lyrically. With a sound that is both a bit familiar and a bit new, the instrumentation and production results in expressive moments that are felt and aren’t easy to forget. The lyrical style is poetic and again, a bit familiar and a bit new, example “Shapeshifter”. Maybe I’m mistaken but I wouldn’t think that anybody would watch a review these days to decide on whether or not they’ll listen to an album, but if someone were to do that in this case they’d be mistaken and would miss out on an album that rocks in its own unique way.
agreed, we wouldn't have Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden, or Laughing Stock if Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene hadn't walked away from the Talk Talk of The Colour of Spring, and It's My Life. Inlet is an incredible record that, if you care to listen, gives you something new every time you hear it.
As someone who was 19 when Stars came out, and then listened to Downward is Heavenward when it came out, THIS ALBUM is just about perfect to me. I love every single note. Not sure how much more amazing this comeback album could have been. But, I am not too worried, Anthony also didn't like THE BENDS and I don't know one single Radiohead fan, especially if you were a teen to early 20 something, when Creep came out, that doesn't LOVE the Bends lol...
I've listened to HUM's music for over 5 years and noticed that with this album, there are a lot of influences from their other projects following their breakup back in the 2000s, namely Glifted (Tim's band) and Centaur (Matt's band). An example of Centaur's influence would be on the heavier songs such as "Desert Rambler," and an influence of Glifted would be on the outro of "Folding," all while still maintaining HUM's classic sound. One thing I really liked about the last song "Shapeshifter" is it sounds like a combination of their last 2 songs before HUM's breakup "Puppets" and "Aphids." This album to me is a breath of fresh air in this current world polluted by bullshit. It really made my 2020 better. I strongly disagree with a 5 out of 10. To me, it is definitely a strong 9 to 10.
@@WaxwingSlain hum is one of my favorite bands of all time and i completely disagree with anthony but, you have to learn to take differing opinions, especially in an EXTREMELY subjective space like music, it makes you look like a huge baby to cry over people not liking music you like.
Honestly I'm generally really biased against old bands like this coming back with a new album after years of studio silence. Those albums usually turn out mediocre and unnecessary retreads of the past or a total abdication of who they are as artists (in rock and metal especially, oh man) but this bucked that trend for me. It sounded fresh but still very much them, while also sounding like it could have come out just a few years after Downward is Heavenward. I thought the album sounded great, the vocals were as good as ever, the songwriting was very good... yeah it was a very engaging album overall. Still a well-reasoned review though, even if I disagree greatly with it.
The funny thing on this review vocals: Matt was President of the University of Illinois Men’s Glee Cub and a member of its prestigious acapella (think babershop) offshoot The Other Guys. Matt can sing. Call it. HUM vocals are purposefully stylized for what he wants to deliver.
Having worked with Matt in the studio setting years ago, the man has near perfect pitch and an incredible ear for tonality. 100% intentional and stylized. Also, despite sometimes seeming monotone, the pitch is always on point.
I actually think the mineralized vocals is part of the beauty of Hum Case in point stars has all these big chords, but notice on the intro he doesn't tell "she's outback counting STARSSS!!" A guitar player would be tempted to give it the rat in a cage treatment but he really does sound like a scientist singing about love.
You know, everybody's entitled to their opinion, and I think this guy's opinion sucks. Look on the channel where this album is posted in its entirety- 56,172 views. For a band that really didn't get out in front of this record before its release, 56000+ views in a little over 2 weeks since its quiet release is impressive, at least to me, but that's just my opinion(and hey, my opinion might suck to a lot of listeners out there, too.). This album is a 10/10 for me and a sh!tload of Hum fans out there.
2020 scores: 0/10: 1 - [ Green Day - Father of All ] 1/10: 1 - [ Sam Hunt - Southside ] 2/10: 0 3/10: 5 4/10: 10 5/10: 23 6/10: 11 7/10: 23 8/10: 29 9/10: 3 - Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter - Black Dresses - Peaceful as Hell - Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? 10/10: 0 [NOT GOOD/10]: 6 - [ Justin Bieber - Changes ] - [ Lil Baby - My Turn] - [ Joyner Lucas - ADHD ] - [ Danzig Sings Elvis ] - [ Nav's Good Intentions & Brown Boy 2 ] - [ G-Eazy's Everything's Strange Here ] IT'S GOOD/10 (from fantano channel): 4 - [ Disclosure - Ecstasy ] - [ Haru Nemuri - Lovetheism ] - [ Dirty Projectors - Windows Open Ep ] - [ Dirty Projectors - Flight Tower ] EP review: 2 - [ Little Simz - Drop 6 ] - [ RMR - Drug Dealing Is a Lost Art ] Classics: 5 - [ Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope ] - [ Talk Talk - Laughing Stock ] - [ Converge - Jane Doe ] - [ My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade ] - [ Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury ] Custom scores: 1 - [ Gunna - Wunna ] -Ω/10 Second take: 1 - [ Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ] - 6/10 "Controversial": 13 - [ Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By ] ============> 5/10 - [ Tame Impala - The Slow Rush ] =================>6/10 - [ Grimes - Miss Anthropocene ] ==================>4/10 - [ Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake ] ====================>4/10 - [ Machine Girl - U-Void Synthesizer] ==============> 5/10 - [ Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 ]====================>4/10 - [ Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud ] ====================>4/10 - [ Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters ] =============>7/10 - [ Westside Gunn - Pray for Paris ] =================>6/10 - [ Dance Gavin Dances Afterburner] ================>4/10 - [ Future - High Off Life ] =========================>3/10 - [ Yung Lean - Starz ] ============================> 5/10 - [ Khruangbin - Mordechai ] =======================>3/10 I will ad this review to controversial tomorrow, just to make sure the like/dislike ratio is accurate Cal cameos: 22 - Green Day - Father of All - Drake - Dark Lane Demo Tapes - Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open - Umbra Vitae - Shadow of Life - Nav's Good Intentions & Brown Boy 2 - Ka - Descendants of Cain - Future - High Off Life - Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now - Gunna - Wunna - The 1975 - Notes on a Conditional Form - Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated Side B - KSI - Dissimulation - Jeff Rosenstock - NO DREAM - Lady Gaga - Chromatica - Deerhoof - Future Teenage Cave Artists - Run the Jewels - RTJ4 - Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi - Lil Yachty - Lil Boat 3 - Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour - Baauer - Planet's Mad - HAIM - Women in Music Pt. III - Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? - G-Eazy's Everything's Strange Here This is the 126th review of 2020
Suz Cruz yeah. I don’t think he does. And he definitely shows his hand by claiming they didn’t evolve their sound while simultaneously citing green to me and dreamboat of all the songs in their discography are quintessential introductory tracks. They’re great, but that’s hardly the case. Doubt he’s heard Glifted, doubt he’s heard Centaur. Doubt he actually knows what makes Hum “Hum” beyond some half-baked blanket descriptors regarding their styles of writing and production.
Unenthusiastic vocals is shoegaze... how can you critique a feature of a genre and say they missed the mark. Never trust a man with round rim glasses...cynics
He's super wrong but I respect his opinion and I don't mind that it differs from mine. This album is excellent. Even more so if you were already familiar with their previous records.
I don't think I'm going to be able to agree w you, on any of these points. It feels the same as those who trash sonic youth, without really feeling the sound. It's not for everyone, but you've certainly missed the point on this album, widely regarded by the fans as a monumental return to form... As if they never left
What a treat this album was. Feels and sounds like they didn’t miss a beat. Loved it end to end myself. I can understand how they’re not for everyone though. They never were
Seems like he just made up the review to milk whatever buzz Inlet is getting, rather than actually having any understanding of what the album is, or even a general understanding of whatever genres they can be put in.
Love this record on repeat listening. As if they were gonna reinvent the wheel not sure why you would expect that from Hum. Riff band from the 90’s with great songs. 7.5/10 for me
Unbelievable. This is a quality alternative rock album. I believe it sounded incredibly dynamic, while also having a dark tone to it. Always have been a fan of his vocals, mainly how he comes up with his melodies. Their song In The Den is one of the best ones on here. Love the swells in the intro. Strong 7 for me
Hard disagree, Inlet is awesome. Sounds like just where they left off, possibly their best stuff. I'll admit I love that droneyness they have going on throughout here, it reminds me a lot of sludge at times. Its heavy and it delivers.
It's always been weird to me how Champaign-Urbana, a relatively small city in central Illinois, had a surprisingly influential music scene in the 90s, but it was already kinda fading by the time I started developing my own musical interests and going to concerts as a teen. Case in point: Tim Lash, the guitarist for Hum, was literally a second grade teacher at my elementary school while I was in 4th~5th grade, twenty-some years ago
Hum, Castor, Scurvine, C-Clamp, Honcho Overload, Glifted, American Football, Lovecup, Poster Children Pretty unbeatable even considering the rest of the midwest at the time. Because KC is way up there, too.
This review sounds like someone how doesn’t like Hum and doesn’t want to listen to Hum but for those of you who do like Hum and want to listen to Hum and their new record: it’s great and you should listen to it.
I feel like certain genres he should just not review. Anything progressive metal or ponderous shoegaze alternative he just seems to shit all over because it's not zany enough for him with the certain type of vocals he likes.
He gave a pretty shitty review of Periphery as well, who are some of the most talented guys out there and they record, mix and engineer their own music.
I loved 'You'd prefer an astronaut' and 'Downward is Heavenward'... I wasn't happy with this album when it 1st came out. I felt it wasn't very interesting. But after a few listens, I'm in love with it!
I've listened to this album dozens of times and also ordered the cd too. This is one of the best albums in a quite a while for sure. Inlet is going to be a classic.
'...a weak return.' ??? this is ridiculous, dude. every alternative year-end-list without this album not being in the top 10 is dubious and implausible.!! inlet is a stellar album, absolutely outstanding, beautiful and perhaps the strongest return i've ever listened to. in my tiny little universe it's in the top5 of 2020, right after dance gavin dance, loathe and palm reader...
They didn’t really leave off on a “high note” dude…There was a car crash and less than great record sales, etc. And btw l, “Inlet” is a very solid album.
While I disagree with Anthony and think this is Hum's best record by a landslide, I'm most disappointed in Melon not addressing how much better their lyrics have gotten. The vague tone poetry of You'd Prefer an Astronaut always felt underdeveloped and meaningless, while even just a few lines of Inlet have given me feels I haven't felt in a while, if ever: "The sunlight drips from the trees and forms in pools I'm wading through them, oblivious and warm." "It can talk, and it listens and hears if you want it to And its telling me everything here isn't true."
