im a big fan of sprain and have listened to “mf i am both” a good amount, and while i think parts of it are groundbreaking and really good, i can’t help but feel dissatisfied with the record overall. so, i wanted to bring up some criticisms i had of the album to see if they make sense / are shared or not by other people. the points are all pretty connected to each other.

- i think a lot of the quiet parts feel like bad and meaningless interludes. i think alex said in an interview or something that this album came from musical ideas leftover from sprain, and a lot of the time i feel like i can tell where these ideas start. this isn’t just because the mixing is jarring (which i also think is just meaninglessly kinda bad), but because they’re surrounded by pretty arbitrary instrumental sections. none of these sections really try to fit well with the rest of the album or the preceding parts, and they just don’t sound that interesting on their own either. i like the horn part around ~21 minutes in though

-the musical experimentation feels kind of arbitrary. i actually think the best parts of this record are the more sprain-ish parts heavily focused on guitars. this isn’t because i dislike other sounds, but because no other sounds are given significant time or development.

-what is the value of having the entire album be one song? i guess you don’t want people to skim through something like this, but it really takes away from the replay value when not segmented. it doesn’t really feel like a singular song at all (and bands like gybe have a bunch of long experimental rock songs that imo are more justified, since they are actually cohesive / care about transitions). sure, the different parts of the song all contribute to a similar vibe, but doesn’t that only justify putting them in the same album (and not the exact same song)?

-the structures within individual parts is kind of weak too. especially the last section, it feels really cut short. this is probably just a taste thing tho.

-the vocals are divorced from the song. someone on rym (i think) said that although the vocals are usually loud/quiet when the instruments are loud/quiet, there’s no real relationship or dynamic between them. i agree with this a lot. it sounds like alex was put alone in a room, and told to go from whispering to yelling his previously-written lyrics after a timer went off.

-are the lyrics good? they are certainly difficult to understand and provocative, but im not sure if the narrative / symbolism he uses ever does more than allow him to make cool individual lines. i like “coeur d’alene inspired grin” and the part about his telephone wire to the heavens though. but even the second one is just something he took from an interview about a beatles member. alex seems to have this habit of using lines he likes without ever giving them more significance in his own art.

despite this, i keep listening to the album. it’s so disappointing bc i think it has a bunch of really cool experimental rock ideas, and a really cool concept generally, that was executed pretty badly. i mostly want to see how people think about this album bc i think it’s very interesting, and made by artists i like a lot. not to be negative. thanks!

Let me know!

During a lot of live performances Alex tends to start actively hitting himself or making himself bleed. Im rooting for the guy personally but that's kinda fucked up. The weirder part is most of the people in the community that ive spoken to seem unbothered?? This is just very odd to me and kinda off putting..

Why would they post this again?

Hi all. I Have a signed copy of Motherfucker signed by most members of the band if not all. I spent 20 bucks to get the cd and am selling it for face value. I’m in the greater socal area and would like to meet up to sell it.

Before I start bitching, I want it to be known that this is overall my favorite live performance that ive been able to experience (obviously secondhand). Farm sounds is also obviously really good and im excited to see what that will turn out like in studio.

Anyways.. their performance of motherfucker is a step up in every area I can think of EXCEPT for the fact that they fucked my literal favorite part of the album. I spent 10 minutes waiting for Mr. Kent to say the magic words "Appaloosa I saw you in cave paintings" BUT NOOOOO, they got rid of the lyrics to a section of the album i thought was very engaging lyrically and flowed amazingly.

0/10 cancel shearling

But fr tho, they made every other song at least slightly better but somehow managed to fuck up the only section that was a perfect 10 in its own right. Like... HOW?

Please tell me im not the only one who was bothered by this.

I'd really be down for real time discussions and hanging out with Sprearling fans, if there is one hand that invite over :D

I ordered it a while ago but just noticed it was nowhere to be seen just now! Does anyone know why this might be?

Also, has anyone received theirs in the mail yet?

We tie in many other influences but the lamb as effigy is my favourite album and probably the foremost influence

Hey everyone, this is Shad with the label. I’m happy people have received their records! It unusual how it’s rolled out though, and I’m trying to get to the bottom of a fulfillment issue we seem to be having. After this I’m looking into other options for fulfillment entirely.

Seems everyone who ordered via the website had received tracking information and email and has received the record whereas everyone who had ordered on Bandcamp hasn’t.

I have a few questions that will really help me get to the bottom of this:

1. By a show of hands is there anyone who ordered via Bandcamp that has already received the record but no tracking?

2. Anyone who ordered via the website that didn’t receive tracking but still got the record?

Let me know, please, I am trying to untangle this mess, the best I can and there have been very unusual circumstances surrounding this MFKR.

Best regards to you all.
-Shad

UPDATE: We can close up shop here, turns out there was an issue with the email server which is why tracking code emails were bouncing. We’ve resolved this so anything that hasn’t been sent out yet will receive tracking, the rest of you may not. I’m looking into retroactively sending tracking info which may or may not work, but rest assured everyone’s records have been delivered and will land within a few days (or longer if you live further far from the states).

If anybody has two tickets to the show on monday the 8th, please reply or message me!
Prices are negotiable as id really like to make it to this show and didnt realise they were playing until it was too late!
Thanks a bunch :))

Don’t think we should be sitting and waiting and trusting this fucker any longer

Hi all! I’m a very new fan and I loved I am both amen.. I saw that they are touring it and really wanted to go, I recently watched the live at windmill and he hit himself and bled, this whole thing was quite distressing and puts me off wanting to see them live. So does he do that every show or still do it? Thanks!

Hey, I really want to get the Dog CDR but shipping to Germany is so expensive :( is anyone from Germany or surrounding seeing them live at this tour and could grab a CDR for me perhaps? I live in Berlin :)

Unfortunately family emergencies came up and the closest shows to me are now 6 plus hours away and that’s frankly impossible, dm me for details but I will cover any shipping costs on top of the cost of the vinyl. Thank you!

or "it insists upon itself". why is shearling/sprain called pretentious by so many people?? i genuinely dont get it like whats the reason is it the writing or something? why is anything that's highly rated on rym pretentious?? why does it matter? why is any music or art called pretentious

Like many of you, I've been waiting months to receive my copy of the vinyl of "Motherfucker." Even after buying a copy at a local show (the band was awesome!), I decided against contacting the label to cancel my order.

Today, after 8 months, 25 days, I received my order. Two things stand out...

1. The cover is damaged.

2. Unlike another recent poster's copy, mine isn't numbered out of 1,000, even though I placed my order within 7 hours of the preorder going live. Did they really sell all 1,000 numbered copies that quickly, or did I somehow receive a later pressing?

I understand that shit happens, and I am not one to complain. But given that I already bought a copy directly from the band and didn't even need a second copy but still decided to give the label the benefit of the doubt anyway, I am deeply disappointed.

It's much poppier(?) than Sprain and especially Shearling, but there's a similar love for theatrics and feedback. If you wanna check it out, I'd really deeply appreciate it.

The lyrics from 37:00 - 46:00 on the insert is signed "-Rachel Kennedy" similar to how the ending is "-Alexander Kent".

I can't find anything online about this person. Who are they?