Santa Cruz - Changing Of Seasons

[All Nights Reserved]

This is the video for the last one.

 

[DaHun72]

Gave up on this overrated band a while back but given the shake up I'm keen to hear this release. Has anyone actually had one of their releases in their top 5 in a given year?

[Captain Howdy]

Yes, their self titled album was probably my top album of the year it came out despite getting it late because I was not sure I was gonna like it.

 

Overrated is subjective because to me they are vastly underrated.

[Gotthardline]

God this nearly sent me to sleep 

I have been a big fan of every album these guys have put out but this new one is weak

The songs aren't even bad per say , just so dull

Changing of seasons is good and into the war isn't bad but damn this is sad

Edited October 18, 2019 by Gotthardline

[Captain Howdy]

I actually enjoyed this album. Its nowhere near as good as the last few albums, and the effects on his voice can be annoying, but overall its pretty cool.

[AlphaMale]

Is this out now?

[KarpetRydOFunk]

7 hours ago, AlphaMale said:

Is this out now?

Yeah. Dropped today. 

[All Nights Reserved]

It's basically a pop/rock album with a terrible production but not bad at all. After the first spin it's a 7/10 from me.

[Geoff]

I actually think the songs are very good. Song-wise, given a few months, it could even rank as my favourite, or near my favourite Santa Cruz album. For me there are only two issues with it, but sadly they're pretty significant issues;

1. The production - it's not actually bad, but it's a bit patchy and a big step back from their previous work. Just not as polished and it comes across a bit mixed throughout the album. Hopefully it won't detract too much, but it's not a great production job.

2. Archie - what the fuck happened to him?? I've never heard such a quick transformation in my life of someone who sounds like he's just lost all his self-confidence. I'm not saying he was a world-class vocalist, but he was awesome for this band. A big, loud, cocky and aggressive voice. Not great attributes for a best friend, but he was a good front-man. Sadly, everything that made him great is gone on this album. He sounds meek, tentative, unsure, uninterested and like I say... like someone who's been completely stripped of all self-confidence. I can't remember the story on the break-up of this band, but I assume there's a story in there that really took a toll on this fella. People always went on about his swearing and stuff, but I even miss that. I didn't mind that cockiness. Now he sounds like he'd be too scared to swear on the CD. Sure, there's a couple of obscenities, but there's no passion in it. No aggression. It's a really sad thing to hear, especially for a young vocalist. I really hope this is just a once-off and the kid gets his self-confidence back for the next record. 

Like I say, I actually quite like the songs and the album. I expect it to be a top 10 finisher, seriously, but I was really taken aback by the vocal performance on the album.     

 

[lettard]

I quite like it,but it sounds very very little like the Santa Cruz that we have grown to know...and I totally agree about where Geoff is comin from on Archie...from the strains of Scream For Adrenaline to this stuff is a big difference,but I really like this disc and it could well end up in my top 10 also but then again looking on whats been released this year thus far that wouldn't be hard.

Edited October 22, 2019 by lettard

[Crazysam]

I had a hard time listening to this one, between the vocal effects and the poor job mixing/mastering of the album it started giving me a headache towards the end.  If you can get passed the overall sound issues there are a few solid tracks, but overall I just didn't enjoy this 

[Glen]

I won't be listening to it. haven't really taken to any of tracks so far which is a shame as I do think the debut was very good. 

[AlphaMale]

1 hour ago, Glen said:

I won't be listening to it. haven't really taken to any of tracks so far which is a shame as I do think the debut was very good. 

 

4 hours ago, Crazysam said:

I had a hard time listening to this one, between the vocal effects and the poor job mixing/mastering of the album it started giving me a headache towards the end.  If you can get passed the overall sound issues there are a few solid tracks, but overall I just didn't enjoy this 

I agree with you both. Very hard to listen to and it's just not very good. No song even approaching 8/10 except maybe Tell Me Why, and even that's a stretch.

[simo]

12 hours ago, Crazysam said:

I had a hard time listening to this one, between the vocal effects and the poor job mixing/mastering of the album it started giving me a headache towards the end.  If you can get passed the overall sound issues there are a few solid tracks, but overall I just didn't enjoy this 

I have to agree, listening to this felt like a chore (despite the short 38 min run time). Especially towards the end cause most passable tracks are around the middle part of the record. 

[Geoff]

On 4/8/2019 at 10:31 PM, Geoff said:

Not sure about the new vocalist yet. A bit more subdued than the original fella, but I'm on board. Can't wait for a few album. 

I was just thinking back to a comment I made in April when I first heard a sample from the album. As per above, I was under the impression that the other three guys maintained the band name and that they had a new vocalist. Stefan quickly pointed out it was the other way around and that Archie was the only remaining member.

But funny how I didn't recognise him at first listen, and after a few spins of the full album, I still struggle to believe how it's the same guy. I know it is, but man, what a change. 

[Gotthardline]

So after listening to this a bit more I can agree that there are some good songs here but as already pointed out the production is pretty poor 

It pretty much ruins it , Bang bang being the most obvious example for me 

Good song but the production on that one is horrendous

[mrbandwidth]

Santa Cruz has become Santa Cr-U2...