Ah, but there is a huge difference between WWDBTSES's production and TM&A's. While the former's is polished, I can still feel the music. They sound much more organic than the latter's. Antarctica's music felt as if it were synthesized, which, if you're using the cold, desolate environment argument, takes away from the fact that the moon and Antarctica are naturally that way. If I were to represent that coldness, I'd produce the album just as, if not rougher than previous MM records. Part of the wonder of these places is that they are virtually untouched by man. When you think of a wild tundra, you still think of it as wild, and that's what was missing from the album, the wilderness; the powerful, awe-inspiring force of nature.
Or maybe I'm just bitter because I'm a percussionist and thus can't stand drums having no "oomph" (which would also explain my pure and utter hate for synth drum).
WWDBTSES's production is organic, but not primal. It was jarring at first for me, but once I stopped expecting Positive/Negative, I began to enjoy the album. I had to get used to the fact that they aren't being sloppy. Even Brock's vocals, which are arguably his most wild, maintain direction and feel more deliberate. So, the focus is different; it's more about tight songs than cathartic blasts of energy. I don't think it's worse or better...just different.
I'm really enjoying it, despite the synthy-sounding drums on "Fire it Up" (which disappointed me after I had listened to the live version a while ago). "March Into the Sea" and "Invisible" have to be two of the best songs the band has recorded, and I am addicted to "Dashboard."
