Disco de The Stills: “Without Feathers”

I actually think it is. You see, just like many of you who have given this album bad reviews, I would have rated this as 1 star after my first listen. It was just not what I was expecting from the freaking Stills. After Logic, I was anticipating this next album to be more of the same sad-emotional-pop-rock, and I was greatly disappointed at first. Did they get happier and forget how to rock out? But I put aside my memory of what once was, and decided to listen to the album as if it was a completely different band. After a few listens, I can say that I love this album. I find myself listening to it more than Logic now.

Random thoughts on Without Feathers:

1. The catchy pop hooks are still here, just in folk rock form now :)

2. I disagree with people saying that Logic was original and that WF isn't. I thought Logic was catchy, and that you could rock out to it, but they sounded just like a ton of other post punk bands out there at the time. WF doesn't sound like anything i've heard.

3. Listen to "In The Beginning", "The Mountain", and "Oh Shoplifter". The layers and arrangements are amazing. "It Takes Time" is also ridiculously catchy.

4. I love their new uses of percussion and how the organ is central to their new sound. I love the rotary sounds they use (that whirring sound an organ makes).

5. Yes, there are some dud songs, like "Outro". The out of tune guitar in "Baby Blues" annoys me to no end.

6. Yes, if I was in control of the band, I would have Tim sing lead again. Dave's voice works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't

7. The new drummer Julien Blais is an upgrade from Dave's drumming.

Overall, I give WF 4 stars. But since people are giving it 1 star just because its not Logic: Part 2, I'm giving WF 5 stars to counter it :)

I first must say that of all the post-punk bands out there and in all their infinite glory, The Still's sophmore release "Without Feathers" was probably THE one I was most anxious about. With all the Post-Punk and Nu Wave bands out there it's constantly a challenge to sort the greats from the one-hit wonders. Lyrically The Stills have always been one of the stronger Post-punkers in my book but their first album right off the bat was compared to the likes of The Strokes, Echo and The Bunnymen, and Interpol. Personally I've always thought they sounded like a merged version of The Strokes and what Spoon should sound like but that's beside the point. The Stills, although their debut was absolutely brilliant and nearly perfect, needed to make a statement with their second album. They needed to do something to set themselves away from all the constant comparisons and find their own original niche. "Without Feathers" does in fact accomplish this. Never before have I heard a band's sophmore release sound so abosolutely nothing like them and yet at the same time, exactly like them. The Stills' "Without Feathers" goes into so many different territories it's hard to decide what to compare it to (if it's at all possible).But if I had to I'd say that there is a slightly apparent Elton John/Beach Boys/White Stripes/Beck influence, and even Raveonettes particularly toward the end of the album (ironically, They mention the Raveonettes in the liner notes). Like The White Stripes "Get Behind Me Satan", The Stills don't depend too much on their guitars but rather the support of various other intstruments like a piano, horns and of course, a cowbell. And yet through it all, with all the various inspirations, The Stills have managed to make something that is utterly original and able to distinguish them. Many have criticized this album claiming that they have downright "abandoned their roots." I wouldn't necessarilly claim abandonment but rather experimentation. The Stills do sound different on "Without Feathers" but every so often you can make out some "Classic Stills". I think the best song on "Without Feathers" is "Helicopters" and The most "Logic"-sounding song is "Baby Blues" but even still they bring in a female back-up singer and it sounds like it came right out of a Raveonettes jam session. Truly I love both of The Stills' albums and it's practically impossible to compare them because they're totally different. The only con I think may be that "Without Feathers" seems, at times, too soon a record for a band that only has one other album out. At times it seems like it should be like their fourth album because it's such a stretch for them. But that's just my own minor issue. I suppose it's unfair to claim something is "too ahead of itself"...or is it? Whatever. The main point is that "Without Feathers" is a great album, ahead of itself or not, and any true Stills fan should take right to it.

What the hell happened to The Stills?! This is proposterous! I was walking through Borders in plans of buying a new CD. And what do I see on the front stand? The Stills' new album. I was like "All right!" So I snatch it, pay for it, and go home. I pop it in my CD player KNOWING that this album will be better than Logic. I was wrong. Immediately, after hearing the first 4 seconds of the first song, I knew something was wrong. So I skip to the next track, then the next, then the next. Then I realize, this isn't the same The Stills I thought I knew. What I thought was Tim on a bad day was actually Dave(Who should've held on to his drumsticks), all of the songs are slow(Not that I don't like slow songs. I just expect The Stills to be more upbeat), they throw in a piano, and the album sounds more like hip country than alternative rock. I am very dissapointed. I don't think I've ever been this dissapointed over an album. I sure hope that The Stills get off the acid they're probably on and get sober enough to make good music the way they use to.

The Stills' first album was a work of genius--one of those rare CDs that you can play over and over again and never tire of. Now, somehow, they've managed to make a second album that is so astoundingly bad that it inspired me to write my first Amazon review. I read these other reviews here before I bought my copy and I thought these people must be fairweather fans or something and ordered it anyway. I figured their first disc was so good that even if their second wasn't half as good, it still had to be worth a few listens.

WRONG! These reviewers are not joking--this really is a turkey. I have an open mind. I listened to it a good 12 times over the course of two weeks, and did not find a single song that is more appealing than the sound of my car engine. And the flow of the album (such that it is) sure doesn't make up for the absense of any outstanding songs. This sounds like four people who wanted to be doing something else were locked in a room and told not to come out until they had recorded 12 songs.

This is not The Stills you think you like. There is no sense of melody, no interesting guitar chords, no inspiring bass line, no catchy lyrics. Releasing this under the name "The Stills" has got to be a trademark violation or something.

I just saw The Stills last night for the first time and I didn't know they had released a new album until they started playing. I liked the ones I knew--I didn't like any of the ones I didn't know (which was about 75% of their set.) They have good stage presence and I really loved when they played the Logic songs. I thought I would give their new songs a try so I listened to them here. If you see them live you will hear the songs on this album and they WILL sound better but...c'mon these songs still suck! An album really shouldn't have to "grow" on you to like it. If I didn't know about Logic Will Break Your Heart and I heard the samples on this album as a stand alone I would pass right on by. Here's hoping their next album (if there is one) goes in a different (but hopefully smarter) direction.