Hey Bryan! Thanks so much for doing this album! It's become my most listened to album since I discovered VOLA back in 2019. I think it's so brilliant in its simplicity and the production quality is sublime. Your reaction to this was exactly what I was hoping, in regards to being surprised about the sound. All you've been shown of VOLA so far has been quite heavy, but I really love them for their atmospheric side as well, so I was looking forward to how hearing that would change your perception of them as a band. It was also hilarious how you titled this video, as Vertigo actually happens to be my favourite song of them. It just resonates so deeply with me on an emotional level, and it's interesting how it is also quite the antithesis to their heavier and djenty sides. It being your highlight made me really happy! I wanted to quickly comment on your thoughts about the popularity of the album. I'll have you know it was all the rage in the prog community back when it dropped, which is also why I discovered VOLA in the first place. I think reacting to it works best as a full album reaction, rather than singular songs, which is why at least I have actively avoided suggesting anything of this before you got to listen to the whole thing. I'll be honest, I was a bit amazed about how you never seemed to properly grasp what I personally thought was a quite obvious theme throughout the record, and I got a hypothesis while watching that it might be revealing your age a bit? I don't know, let me know what you think! It was funny, because you seemed to have all the puzzle pieces as well, except the most central one that would help all the other pieces fall into place. The recurring theme seems to be struggling to relate and connect to other people in light of living in modern times. A lot of our lives are lived through a screen these days. The poppy and bright sound in many songs represents the seemingly positive dopamine filled vibes of scrolling on your phone, but the dark tones and sounds underlining the tracks suggest a different story. You talked about the vocals being quite digital, which makes sense in relation to this theme. The narrator passively and distantly describing someone's behaviour, often in bewilderment, makes sense when it is understood as reading what someone is writing or communicating through a screen. In Alien Shivers for instance: "Why are you so certain?" "Why do you defend?" I interpret as describing someone making bold (probably dangerous) statements, perhaps in some sort of political/religious/etc. debate online. We are seeking "applause of a distant crowd" when we post on social media in hopes of getting approval or being valued. We are doing all this stuff to get attention, but in the end: when will you actually see me? Like: the real me. "Smartfriend" is quite an on the nose play on the word smartphone (I thought for sure you would get it at that point, and that it would set you on track to understand the context of a lot of the lyrics) - being presented as a friend, but is actually a traitor when it lets you down. Ruby Pool is also a metaphor of a screen, where the lost and lonely generation of kids aimlessly swim around (or potentially drowning?), just wanting rest, or an embrace, or peel their face off in doubt - because let's be honest, a lot of what kids get from living online is sending them into doubt spirals. You sort of already got Vertigo, but I understand it is about watching the profile picture of someone you used to have a relationship with and wondering where they are now and whether the person is still the same person you once knew. Anyway, yeah, the examples are many. A lot of what you thought were metaphors within metaphors aren't metaphors at all - just pointed descriptions of our online behaviour, with the intention of highlighting the absurdity of what we're doing on social media. For instance, the line "I will praise your chin" in We Are Thin Air is probably meant to be just that - a comment from a stranger on how nice some person on Instagram's chin is. I think a lot of the lyrics on this album is in the same vein, very poetic renditions of very literal behaviour. And I think that encapsulates a lot of the genius in the writing, particularly when it is woven together with super poignant displays of emotion. A lot of it is cryptic as well, for sure, I'm not gonna pretend I get it all, but that you didn't catch this vein of thought at all until the eighth song really fascinated me. Made me realize it maybe wasn't as obvious as I thought, and why I started wondering if it might be a matter of age. Maybe those of us who are younger than 30 let's say, are more naturally resonating with the messages within these songs? Hope this helped you connect some of the dots, would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks again for the reaction - I had a blast! -Nessa
ohhh seeing you doing a full album review makes me so happy. probably your community is more progressive-metal people like me(opeth,tool etc.) do you consider doing a full album review on opeth’s last album? (I remember you saying you waited for full album release to react to Paragraph-1 single). thank you ❤️
Oh wow! This album is definitely the least heavy of theirs. I'm a big fan of VOLA, and honestly don't enjoy the first album at all. The other ones are a blast.
Hey Bryan!
Thanks so much for doing this album! It's become my most listened to album since I discovered VOLA back in 2019. I think it's so brilliant in its simplicity and the production quality is sublime. Your reaction to this was exactly what I was hoping, in regards to being surprised about the sound. All you've been shown of VOLA so far has been quite heavy, but I really love them for their atmospheric side as well, so I was looking forward to how hearing that would change your perception of them as a band. It was also hilarious how you titled this video, as Vertigo actually happens to be my favourite song of them. It just resonates so deeply with me on an emotional level, and it's interesting how it is also quite the antithesis to their heavier and djenty sides. It being your highlight made me really happy! I wanted to quickly comment on your thoughts about the popularity of the album. I'll have you know it was all the rage in the prog community back when it dropped, which is also why I discovered VOLA in the first place. I think reacting to it works best as a full album reaction, rather than singular songs, which is why at least I have actively avoided suggesting anything of this before you got to listen to the whole thing.
I'll be honest, I was a bit amazed about how you never seemed to properly grasp what I personally thought was a quite obvious theme throughout the record, and I got a hypothesis while watching that it might be revealing your age a bit? I don't know, let me know what you think! It was funny, because you seemed to have all the puzzle pieces as well, except the most central one that would help all the other pieces fall into place. The recurring theme seems to be struggling to relate and connect to other people in light of living in modern times. A lot of our lives are lived through a screen these days. The poppy and bright sound in many songs represents the seemingly positive dopamine filled vibes of scrolling on your phone, but the dark tones and sounds underlining the tracks suggest a different story. You talked about the vocals being quite digital, which makes sense in relation to this theme. The narrator passively and distantly describing someone's behaviour, often in bewilderment, makes sense when it is understood as reading what someone is writing or communicating through a screen. In Alien Shivers for instance: "Why are you so certain?" "Why do you defend?" I interpret as describing someone making bold (probably dangerous) statements, perhaps in some sort of political/religious/etc. debate online. We are seeking "applause of a distant crowd" when we post on social media in hopes of getting approval or being valued. We are doing all this stuff to get attention, but in the end: when will you actually see me? Like: the real me. "Smartfriend" is quite an on the nose play on the word smartphone (I thought for sure you would get it at that point, and that it would set you on track to understand the context of a lot of the lyrics) - being presented as a friend, but is actually a traitor when it lets you down. Ruby Pool is also a metaphor of a screen, where the lost and lonely generation of kids aimlessly swim around (or potentially drowning?), just wanting rest, or an embrace, or peel their face off in doubt - because let's be honest, a lot of what kids get from living online is sending them into doubt spirals. You sort of already got Vertigo, but I understand it is about watching the profile picture of someone you used to have a relationship with and wondering where they are now and whether the person is still the same person you once knew. Anyway, yeah, the examples are many. A lot of what you thought were metaphors within metaphors aren't metaphors at all - just pointed descriptions of our online behaviour, with the intention of highlighting the absurdity of what we're doing on social media. For instance, the line "I will praise your chin" in We Are Thin Air is probably meant to be just that - a comment from a stranger on how nice some person on Instagram's chin is. I think a lot of the lyrics on this album is in the same vein, very poetic renditions of very literal behaviour. And I think that encapsulates a lot of the genius in the writing, particularly when it is woven together with super poignant displays of emotion. A lot of it is cryptic as well, for sure, I'm not gonna pretend I get it all, but that you didn't catch this vein of thought at all until the eighth song really fascinated me. Made me realize it maybe wasn't as obvious as I thought, and why I started wondering if it might be a matter of age. Maybe those of us who are younger than 30 let's say, are more naturally resonating with the messages within these songs?
Hope this helped you connect some of the dots, would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks again for the reaction - I had a blast!
-Nessa
We are thin air is legendary, man. Just beautiful.
ohhh seeing you doing a full album review makes me so happy. probably your community is more progressive-metal people like me(opeth,tool etc.) do you consider doing a full album review on opeth’s last album? (I remember you saying you waited for full album release to react to Paragraph-1 single). thank you ❤️
I absolutely love this album.
They're working hard to make you unexpect 😁
I wonder how many times I said "I didn't expect that" in this video 😂
This album is so good. I really loved inmazes for specific songs but this album was a whole was a complete knockout for me
After InMazes, which is in my top 5 favorite album ever, this album disappointed me so much. It’s my least favorite Vola album. 😢
This will be a great reaction since I love this album but not listening to the new Opeth one is disappointing
I’m sure he will dude.
Oh wow!
This album is definitely the least heavy of theirs. I'm a big fan of VOLA, and honestly don't enjoy the first album at all. The other ones are a blast.
why no enjoy first album :( gutter moon is probably my favourite VOLA song