AMIT first impressions

[Robson]

Something that strikes me about this album is that all the songs are reflective, "serious". There are no humorous, distanced songs here. Even the ones that seem cheerful don't talk about anything optimistic. For me, there has been a change here. I love the darkness of MK.

[Pasc']

There are no humorous, distanced songs here.

"What I'm gonna need" is the least serious song mark has ever made 

[Robson]

Yes, but I didn't think about bonus songs

[koobaa]

Something that strikes me about this album is that all the songs are reflective, "serious". There are no humorous, distanced songs here. Even the ones that seem cheerful don't talk about anything optimistic. For me, there has been a change here. I love the darkness of MK.

Agreed, very reflective collection.
Also reMARKable how many train-related references can be found throughout the album and bonus songs. It often signifies the journey of life, the passage of time, and the interconnectedness of all things. 

I counted 8 songs that mention trains one way or the other:
- Two Pairs of hands
- Ahead of the Game
- Tunnel 13
- Watch Me Gone
- Sweeter Than The Rain (or Train?)
- Before My Train Comes
- One Deep River
- Nothing But Rain (or Train?)

[hunter v2.0]

He's trained for this his whole life, you know.

[koobaa]

Ha ha, indeed. Training makes Master.

[stratmad]

It often signifies the journey of life, the passage of time, and the interconnectedness of all things. 

With all these train strikes all over the place, I'm not so sure about the interconnectedness of things. 
No wonder MK prefers the scooter, like me 

What I found found interesting, though, was a point he made about trains (I can't remember which interview it was): the idea was that cities will change, and come and go, and it doesn't really matter where he lives, but the railway lines between them remain constants in his life.

[Robson]

Something that strikes me about this album is that all the songs are reflective, "serious". There are no humorous, distanced songs here. Even the ones that seem cheerful don't talk about anything optimistic. For me, there has been a change here. I love the darkness of MK.

Agreed, very reflective collection.
Also reMARKable how many train-related references can be found throughout the album and bonus songs. It often signifies the journey of life, the passage of time, and the interconnectedness of all things. 

I counted 8 songs that mention trains one way or the other:
- Two Pairs of hands
- Ahead of the Game
- Tunnel 13
- Watch Me Gone
- Sweeter Than The Rain (or Train?)
- Before My Train Comes
- One Deep River
- Nothing But Rain (or Train?)

Yes exactly. Thanks kooba, I also wanted to count the trains in the new songs

[privinvest]

what's the best 30 seconds of the album?
for me it's:
https://youtu.be/ZIQIc3UzWEs?t=138
i want more of it Sir MK!

[dustyvalentino]

Something that strikes me about this album is that all the songs are reflective, "serious". There are no humorous, distanced songs here. Even the ones that seem cheerful don't talk about anything optimistic. For me, there has been a change here. I love the darkness of MK.

The line about the wood for his guitar certainly made me laugh.

[Robson]

Something that strikes me about this album is that all the songs are reflective, "serious". There are no humorous, distanced songs here. Even the ones that seem cheerful don't talk about anything optimistic. For me, there has been a change here. I love the darkness of MK.

The line about the wood for his guitar certainly made me laugh.

The ending of Tunnel 13. Surprising, perhaps incomprehensible to some, bold and megalomaniacal.

[koobaa]

Something that strikes me about this album is that all the songs are reflective, "serious". There are no humorous, distanced songs here. Even the ones that seem cheerful don't talk about anything optimistic. For me, there has been a change here. I love the darkness of MK.

The line about the wood for his guitar certainly made me laugh.

I don't know why folks think this line is cringy. This piece of info is too cool to leave it only for guitar nerds like us to discover. And it does give the song another dimension.
As MK put it: "I was trying to square this upsetting act of robbery with this intensely creative act of making a beautiful instrument."

[neco]

Once again I just don‘t get the idea of putting such good songs as Bonus only.. at least The Living End, Along a Foreign Coast and Dolly Shop Man would be great additions to the main album, they deserve to geta bigger audience than just the once who buy Deluxe versions of ODR 

[hunter v2.0]

Something that strikes me about this album is that all the songs are reflective, "serious". There are no humorous, distanced songs here. Even the ones that seem cheerful don't talk about anything optimistic. For me, there has been a change here. I love the darkness of MK.

The line about the wood for his guitar certainly made me laugh.

I don't know why folks think this line is cringy. This piece of info is too cool to leave it only for guitar nerds like us to discover. And it does give the song another dimension.
As MK put it: "I was trying to square this upsetting act of robbery with this intensely creative act of making a beautiful instrument."

I feel this type of literary device is like "breaking the fourth wall" in films or theater, i.e. where an actor suddenly speaks to the camera/audience. Personally it doesn't work for me. He does it in Heavy Fuel too ("That's why I wrote this song.")

If Mark wanted to show that there is some kind of balance between evil and good (or whatever), I think it's kind of odd to write a whole song about a terrible deed and then right at the end, "but look - something good came out of it!" Not very elegant, IMO.

[dustyvalentino]

Something that strikes me about this album is that all the songs are reflective, "serious". There are no humorous, distanced songs here. Even the ones that seem cheerful don't talk about anything optimistic. For me, there has been a change here. I love the darkness of MK.

The line about the wood for his guitar certainly made me laugh.

I don't know why folks think this line is cringy. This piece of info is too cool to leave it only for guitar nerds like us to discover. And it does give the song another dimension.
As MK put it: "I was trying to square this upsetting act of robbery with this intensely creative act of making a beautiful instrument."

I feel this type of literary device is like "breaking the fourth wall" in films or theater, i.e. where an actor suddenly speaks to the camera/audience. Personally it doesn't work for me. He does it in Heavy Fuel too ("That's why I wrote this song.")

If Mark wanted to show that there is some kind of balance between evil and good (or whatever), I think it's kind of odd to write a whole song about a terrible deed and then right at the end, "but look - something good came out of it!" Not very elegant, IMO.

Agree, if the whole song had been written like this it might be OK but it juts comes out of the blue and it's very jarring.