New BT album - These Hopeful Machines

[ethios4]

I'm sure it will be met with nothing but scorn here in the Lounge, but BT's new album These Hopeful Machines came out yesterday.



Picked it up, only listened to the first few songs so far. Sounds like everything he's done in the past all rolled into one. Dance-oriented like Ima, uber-poppy like ET, diverse like TBU.....definitely more evolved song writing. So far I haven't really enjoyed it much....I've always been turned off by the pop aspect of BT, and based on just the first few songs this album is very very pop oriented, at least to my ears. Production is technically great, although his stuff sounds more and more like plastic to me....just so insanely heavily processed. Musically it is pretty interesting so far....lots of diversity and creative ideas. Just the vibe is so freaking cheesy to me. Bleh.

[UKRuss]

I agree, it is a bit twee.

But flippety blink, there is no denying his creative talent and production. my word, it really is a spendid thing from a mixing and mastering point of view.

Just a shame, as you say, the songs themselves are bit too 'You Complete Me' type love chicanery.

[ChiDJ]

He tweeted the shit out if this yesterday. It's now #1 DL on iTunes and Amazon.

Good for him.

[beats me]

I like BT, but having said that, I've never heard such a piece of self important musical wind baggery. The tracks are all unnecessarily long and constantly fade in and out to different styles. It's nothing short of annoying and there's no reason for it. It's like instead of doing remixes he tried to cram 3 or 4 remixes into the original track. Stupid.

[ethios4]

I actually rather enjoyed that aspect....a musical journey of sorts. That may have been because I was so eager to hear something other than pop-dance though.

It reminds me of a comment BT made once that he writes music for girls. No kidding!

All chiding aside, I totally respect him as an artist and I really feel he is doing exactly what he wants to be doing. From having seen him live a few times I get the impression that, as a person, he is much like his music....really happy fun-loving uber-intelligent kind of guy.

[Tarekith]

Haven't been able to find the CD locally yet, but I'm anxious to hear it. Really loved Binary Universe. Here's a great article on mastering for the album:

http://www.sonicscoop.com/?p=3290

Note to self: I never want to be BT's mastering engineer.













(ok, well maybe)

[ethios4]

Wow, great interview. That's brilliant!

I get the feeling this album will grow on me a lot....I look forward to exploring the rest of it.

[beats me]

I'm all for musical wankery but a lot of these tracks are clearly set up as dance tracks and that is where it fails. You're going to have people constantly tripping over themselves on the dance floor as he shifts in and out of his random ADD BTisms.

The only tracks I found redeemable are the radio edit of Every Other Way (not the album version which is Frustrating), and The Emergency which is clearly a rip off of Kaskade and Deadmau5 collaborations with the vocal stylings and depth of George Michael and then punctuated with a long orchestral outro that even James Cameron would consider a little over the top.

But I also realize this isn't the place to have a discussion with casual music listeners.

[pepezabala]

horrible chartpopmusic.
does this guy use ableton anyways?

[ethios4]

I'm liking it better after the horror of those first two tracks. I really dig the instrumental stuff, and I gotta admit I got a bit choked up at the end of the track where he makes a vocal part out of his child's fumbling words about not wanting to be perfect anymore....wow.

[beats me]

I'm liking it better after the horror of those first two tracks. I really dig the instrumental stuff, and I gotta admit I got a bit choked up at the end of the track where he makes a vocal part out of his child's fumbling words about not wanting to be perfect anymore....wow.

You should really check out the radio edit of Every Other Way, the first track you don't like. The radio edit was the first song I heard off the album and it got me really excited about what the album might be like. Boy was I wrong about both the album and the horrible album version of that song.

[ethios4]

Cool, will do. There really is a lot to listen to on this album....just a whole lot going on. It's not often I hear an electronic album with so much depth, even if some of it turns me off. I'm thinking this album deserves a continuous listen-through from the couch position.

[beats me]

Cool, will do. There really is a lot to listen to on this album....just a whole lot going on. It's not often I hear an electronic album with so much depth, even if some of it turns me off. I'm thinking this album deserves a continuous listen-through from the couch position.

I'll be curious to hear what you think. Listen to the radio edit and then the album version and you'll probably understand how I'm coming from a point of frustration here with all the unnecessary edits and changes that takes away from the song. I know it's hard for us to listen to music like a "normal" person but if you can put yourself in that mindset you would probably find the album ranges from trite meh to annoying. Of course I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in that mindset listening to something like an Amon Tobin album but that clearly isn't the type of sound BT is aiming for here.

[slaykent]

Awful Dancepop crap. I really thought he grew out of the whole poppy trance thing with TBU, but apparently that was WAY off. Still, TBU is one of my favorite albums of all time. Shoveling snow doesn't seem so bad with that album in my ears.

[nuxnamon]

so I've never bought or knowingly heard any BT song. but i do hear alot about his productions. so if I was to cop an album of his, what are recommendations.. but i do like that poppy sound, believe or not.. maybe give me the ones you guys hate most and that would probably suffice..