React, Respond - Ed's vocal delivery is perfect when he's singing "don't react, respond..." chorus. It's as if there's genuine fear in him and it fits the vibe of the song perfectly.

Ed, in general, deserves a ton of praise for this album. He's gotten a lot of criticism in recent years - much of it has been justified. It's easy to forget that he's one of the greatest rock singers of all time. I think even he at times has forgotten. But on this album, it's like he's reminding all of us that he's still here. Maybe even reminding himself.

My first impression of this when I heard it was it’s predictable. Not entirely in bad ways just you could sense what was gonna happen with that turn left in this guitar bit or in that vocal. (Or lyric).
Overall it sounded kinda energised and new to an extent. but forgettable. I couldn’t remember it next day. (I had lost a friend few days before so my head wasn’t in the game tbh)

I’ve given it a fair amount of few spins now (a lossless version) and it just isn’t there for me. There’s some great stuff and great parts, in some songs, but not enough to carry the whole song. Feels like the interesting part is just turning up at the end of the song and then it’s over.

I’ll still try to see them this summer in the hope these come off better live, and in saying that I don’t see how playing any of these live will be possible never mind will help improve the view.

Another time another place along the way maybe

Anyways hope you’re all loving it. Great to see so much enthusiasm on here for once and sorry to be the bum note in the chorus.
Enjoy.

I listened again to both atmos and Spotify versions and tried to compare parts of songs to each other. Overall I hate that I have preferences with certain things in both versions. Within the same songs, there are parts of them I prefer in atmos but other parts I prefer in Spotify. Some songs are totally elevated by the atmos mix (Won’t Tell), some have specific parts that are better in each (Waiting for Stevie, Scared of Fear), one preferable in Spotify (Dark Matter), and few that are equal. It’s frustrating.

Atmos:
- drum and bass forward
- More spacious, more echo
- More fidelity/clarity
- More distinction between channels
- Cool effect with AirPods Pro where hear directional sound depending how you turn your head. Does not seem to matter in some songs.
- Overall I think I prefer atmos version. Generally feels less ‘loud’ than Spotify version, but there are parts of songs where everything is ‘pushed up the center’ and it becomes equally loud.
- Downside is some guitar parts are lower. Most noticeable on Scared of Fear.
- I’m hearing things Jeff is doing for the first time. There are also so many more vocal harmonies on several songs that I had not heard before!

Spotify:
- More guitar forward than atmos. The scared of fear verses and Waiting for Stevie guitar parts sound better, or at least, more pronounced, in the Spotify versions.
- Surprisingly softer than the atmos version. This I think works to the benefit of the slower and softer songs in the album. The flip side of the softness is a slightly more dampened effect on everything.
- More compressed. Interestingly, this works on some songs better than atmos. The more muffled sound accentuates the fuzziness of some guitar parts. This is evident on dark matter most; I prefer the Spotify version. But that may be due to how that song was specifically mixed.
- Overall a bit ‘brighter’ than the atmos version. I wonder if long term that will work against it.

Waiting for Stevie:
- clear distinction between the two versions with the drums and bass. I love hearing the bass line so much better. The guitars are crisper too. On the flip side, i like the loudness of the guitars in the Spotify version, and I can hear the single notes in the second guitar in the bridge much better in the Spotify version.

Upper Hand:
- something clicked for me with the atmos version. I’m really enjoying this one more now. I think quieter parts of songs do better in atmos. I mean, this is meant to be an atmospheric feeling song and the atmos version elevates that feeling. It’s really cool to hear the different instruments distinctly. Except at the end; it’s all up the center again (I don’t know if I’m using that term correctly; I’m just describing how it feels)

Dark Matter:
- I prefer the Spotify version! It’s meant to be loud, and that allows the guitars to take center stage. I thought I would prefer the atmos version because I expected the drums to sound better, but they don’t, they sound equally compressed.

Running:
- I prefer the atmos version surprisingly! I thought i would prefer the Spotify version like dark matter because of its mixing. But here I can hear the claps, backing vocals, and bass much better, and the drums are way more intense.

React, Respond:
- it’s a tie. I like that i can hear each instrument more distinctly in the atmos version, but the plinky guitar part before the chorus is lower, and the Spotify version feels more intense.

Scared of Fear:
- Overall I think I prefer atmos version. I enjoy the main riff and guitar parts on the Spotify version much more, but having the bass and drums accentuated on the atmos version is worth the trade off. They are fantastic. Jeffs work on this song is incredible.

Wreckage:
- I like the softer verse parts in Spotify better, but I like the louder parts and outro in atmos. Go figure. Or I’m just going deaf from listening to this song much and can’t really tell what I’m listening to anymore.

Setting Sun:
- very little difference that I can tell between the two. But I prefer the atmos version due to the directional effect.

Fuck off I'm getting emotional

Gigaton kinda started to heal RM but DM brought us together right?
RM is united at least.