NEW ALBUM

[Flyingmerpa]

The span of time between Self-Titled 2010 and Self Titled 2018 is basically the same amount of time between Core and Shangri.  It only feels like yesterday the 2010 album was released and I heard Between the Lines on the radio.

[seattlesound]

Just for a summary here. I will try and digest the album a bit more as some tracks still need a moment with me. In general, the softer songs these guys are doing are really great. Art of letting go & thought she’d be mine are the standouts on this record.


“Thought she’d be mine” makes me think the song is almost a distant relative of something from SLDD. I just catch moments where I’m thinking about “hello it’s late” mixes with a few other things. This track is really good. Really good.


“Art of letting go” deserves to be a mainstream hit. That melody is magic.


I really am not a fan of the rockers the guys have recorded in the last 10 years. I don’t know musically how to say it, but the chords and progressions seem so so far from the vibe of some things early on. I just feel the deleos finally found a way to loose me with their personal progression in how they put something together. Ain’t no complaints, it’s been what? 25 years.


I just don’t like the rockers they seem to go for now. The last really good one was probably Between The Lines


Overall great work though. Gutt is great to listen to.

[Flyingmerpa]

Just for a summary here. I will try and digest the album a bit more as some tracks still need a moment with me. In general, the softer songs these guys are doing are really great. Art of letting go & thought she’d be mine are the standouts on this record.


“Thought she’d be mine” makes me think the song is almost a distant relative of something from SLDD. I just catch moments where I’m thinking about “hello it’s late” mixes with a few other things. This track is really good. Really good.


“Art of letting go” deserves to be a mainstream hit. That melody is magic.


I really am not a fan of the rockers the guys have recorded in the last 10 years. I don’t know musically how to say it, but the chords and progressions seem so so far from the vibe of some things early on. I just feel the deleos finally found a way to loose me with their personal progression in how they put something together. Ain’t no complaints, it’s been what? 25 years.


I just don’t like the rockers they seem to go for now. The last really good one was probably Between The Lines


Overall great work though. Gutt is great to listen to.

I think as far as the rockers go there are a few issues with the new stuff:


-Too much going on
-Not keeping it simple
-No Hook


I'm have a really hard time remembering how the music in these songs go and I've listened to it multiple times now.

[VeiledTrickerySTP]

Seems like the majority of the negative reviews on here are picky AF because they are mad STP is being led by someone other than Scott.

[Plushman]

Just finished the third go around of the album....here I go...

- This album is stronger that 2010 release

- This album does not have a bad song

- This album does not have a top, classic, game changing song

- This album is loaded, top to bottom, front to back, with really solid rock n roll songs...in the 6 to 8.5 out of 10 range

- This album is indeed an album, which means it should be reviewed as an entire entity..not song by song...no song really stands out, its greater than the sum of its parts....its a complete rock album.

- Brendan O'Brien is truly the 5th pilot...the production is fine on the album, but it is missing the O'Brien touch. I hope they are open to asking him to produce the next record.

- My first listen of the album...I was laser focused...until halfway through Finest Hour....I cracked a smile...and got kinda emotional. I was missing Scott.

- Roll Me Under and Never Enough are legit. For those who don't enjoy them, our taste must be different, which is totally why STP is so awesome.

Enjoy all. Gonna give it a 4th listen tonight!

[Dudertron]

Here is my thoughts on STP 2018


Album is great. This is the best instrumental the boys have had since Shangri. Jeff is a great replacement for Scott, even sounding like him some of the tunes. Every track is killer with the exception of Middle of Nowhere and Guilty in my opinion. Those two songs do not do this album justice and weird that they open the album because they sound like filler.


My only qualms are two things. 1. The lyrics can be very generic. This was a worry of mine from when they announced the singer search. I enjoyed many of Scott's weirder lyrics (Even the ones that he admitted had no mean ie Between the Lines). It may not have made sense to the masses, but it was unique and made me think. Also, many of the past STP songs have a tragic element to them where we know what Scott has been through and were able to connect to his troubles through his lyrics (Adhesive, Wonderful, I Got You, Circles, etc). We don't know Jeff and this does make a slight difference.


My other qualm is also with Jeff. While his melodies are interesting and fit the songs, he plays it a little too safe in my opinion. Scott was a chameleon vocally and melodically (Remember that Down and Atlanta were on the same album, and notice how different vocally they were).


I do wonder if they used any of the songs they were working on with Chester and if they used any of his melodies. I doubt it but some of the songs do have a hint of Chester's input on High Rise.


Overall, it is a superb album and happy it is in the STP catalog. STP 2010 still holds more of a special place in my heart and I'm not sure it could overcome that but it is a damn good album and STP is back. Hopefully we get more albums from these four.


Top 2 Tracks (This was tough): Thought She'd Be Mine, Just A Little Lie (Favorite Dean Solo on this album)

Same two qualms here. But for me they are pretty big ones.


I’d also add that I can barely understand what Jeff is saying most of the time.

[takauya]

- Brendan O'Brien is truly the 5th pilot...the production is fine on the album, but it is missing the O'Brien touch. I hope they are open to asking him to produce the next record.

A great point! I truly miss Brendan. Maybe he is too expensive though! lol

[Lazy Divey]

Just finished the third go around of the album....here I go...

- This album is stronger that 2010 release

- This album does not have a bad song

- This album does not have a top, classic, game changing song

- This album is loaded, top to bottom, front to back, with really solid rock n roll songs...in the 6 to 8.5 out of 10 range

- This album is indeed an album, which means it should be reviewed as an entire entity..not song by song...no song really stands out, its greater than the sum of its parts....its a complete rock album.

- Brendan O'Brien is truly the 5th pilot...the production is fine on the album, but it is missing the O'Brien touch. I hope they are open to asking him to produce the next record.

- My first listen of the album...I was laser focused...until halfway through Finest Hour....I cracked a smile...and got kinda emotional. I was missing Scott.

- Roll Me Under and Never Enough are legit. For those who don't enjoy them, our taste must be different, which is totally why STP is so awesome.

Enjoy all. Gonna give it a 4th listen tonight!

I agree with all these points.  It's a solid album and I'm not sure how I would rank it yet...my one major gripe with it is the fact that a lot of the songs sound kind of the same instrumentally and sort of bleed into one another.  I'm no musician but its just what my ears are hearing...generally a stp album would go all over the place with different sounds and genres...this album seems to pick a key and stick with it or something.

It's not a bad album at all...I would kind of call it Army of Anyone 2.0...which is a good thing.

[EyesOfDisarray]

Just finished the third go around of the album....here I go...

- This album is stronger that 2010 release

- This album does not have a bad song

- This album does not have a top, classic, game changing song

- This album is loaded, top to bottom, front to back, with really solid rock n roll songs...in the 6 to 8.5 out of 10 range

- This album is indeed an album, which means it should be reviewed as an entire entity..not song by song...no song really stands out, its greater than the sum of its parts....its a complete rock album.

- Brendan O'Brien is truly the 5th pilot...the production is fine on the album, but it is missing the O'Brien touch. I hope they are open to asking him to produce the next record.

- My first listen of the album...I was laser focused...until halfway through Finest Hour....I cracked a smile...and got kinda emotional. I was missing Scott.

- Roll Me Under and Never Enough are legit. For those who don't enjoy them, our taste must be different, which is totally why STP is so awesome.

Enjoy all. Gonna give it a 4th listen tonight!

I agree with all these points.  It's a solid album and I'm not sure how I would rank it yet...my one major gripe with it is the fact that a lot of the songs sound kind of the same instrumentally and sort of bleed into one another.  I'm no musician but its just what my ears are hearing...generally a stp album would go all over the place with different sounds and genres...this album seems to pick a key and stick with it or something.

It's not a bad album at all...I would kind of call it Army of Anyone 2.0...which is a good thing.

I'm on my second spin, and I totally agree with all of this. It doesn't have any real standout songs; the next Sour Girl or ILS isn't on this album. But the album flows really well from song to song and feels cohesive as a whole, which STP have always been really good at.

I loved Army of Anyone, and I totally agree -- this feels like Army of Anyone 2.0, but with more classic STP feel and classic rock swagger. It's intricate, complex, and chock full of really cool moments that make me smile. But instead of Richard Patrick's airy melodies and industrial edge and Ray Luzier's technical prowess, Jeff brings a fresh, melodic, almost Beatlesque flavor to the vocals, while still heavily honoring Scott both in tone and in melodic sensibility, and Eric's drums fit the songs like a glove. Listening to these songs just reinforces the thought that Eric Kretz and the DeLeo brothers are a match made in heaven. Eric's attention to dynamics, tone, and nuance work so well with the DeLeo's music and should never be separated.

Overall, I love the album. I see now why they named it self-titled again... because it feels like the album we were all hoping to get back in 2010.

[seattlesound]

^^^ funny also when I had scanned the album into iTunes, clicked “get album artwork” it pulls up the 2010 peace cover.

[Plushman]

Same happened with me on the artwork....tracks from new album went to 2010 album file and the rest scattered throughout library.

I have the best buy bonus edition fyi.

So I deleted the new material, then reimported. While that was happening, I clicked edit album info and labeled album Stone Temple Pilots 2018 so it didnt merge with 2010. Then after that album existed, I was able to edit info again and find the butterfly. Still need to add track titles though.

[SuperFan99]

Did anyone notice that in the band photo that is in the CD gatefold (and on the home page on this site) that Jeff appears to be holding a cigarette?  This is the first time I've known if him smoking and I always hate when singers do.  The only reason I bring this up is because he has a kiler voice and I really hope he takes care of it as he gets older.

[Blue]

I've had the album for about a day, wanted to give it a little time before I wrote a few. Overall I see this as a continuation of the direction the band went in Tiny Music and Talk Show, with Gutt's vocals resembling Scott's in Happy in Galoshes and Blaster. I know other have compared this album to SLDD and AoA, but I really don't hear that connection. Those albums were more experimental and hard rocking, this tends to have more of pop/jazz sound with some Aerosmith thrown in.


I'd say Gutt's vocals are great. His melodies fit every song like a glove, and while he's not Scott at his peak he certainly has some good lyrics. Dean's playing is also really strong here. I has been worried he had lost his edge, but the licks and solos here are off the wall. in some ways the guitar work is reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age in it's oddness. It's anything but generic.


On the negative side, I feel like at times Kretz drumming is too busy (I never thought I'd ever say that), and Rob's bass is burried way too deep in the mix. There are also a few too many where the main riff is simply repeated ad nauseam through the verse. I also would have maybe reworked the song order, starting with Roll me Over and Six Eight, and ending on Thought She'd Be Mine.


Overall, I'd say this doesn't quite live up to the original five records, but it certainly stands shoulder to shoulder with Talk Show and AoA. In the future I'd like to see them work with an outside producer, because all the flaws of this album could have been fixed with a little self-editing... But it's all really just nitpicking, in the end it's a damn fine record without as single "bad" track on it.


Highlights for me:


Guilty: Great flow and composition on this one, love hearing Kretz playing a drum riff.


Just a Little Lie: IMO the best guitar riff in the record. Fantastic solo too.


Six Eight: Great rocker, like the slow pace. Again, great solo.


Thought She'd Be Mine: Classic STP ballad. Should have closed the album with this one IMO.


Roll Me Under: This one has really grown on me. Best rocker we've heard from the DeLeos since AoA. I find this song sticking in my head more than any other on the record.


Art Of Letting Go: Reminds me of "The Man I Didn't Know" in a big way.


Finest Hour: Gutt really reminds me of Chester in this one. A fantastic song and really fitting tribute to both previous singers. I believe this has Gutt's best lyrics on the album.

[Pingfah]

I really enjoyed it.

It would be expecting a lot for them to make an album to rival any of the original run, but this is better than ST1 and High Rise, and really to get an album of this quality from them after everything is really an achievement. It's got a good flow and feels like a real album unlike ST1 which was a hotch potch.

[seattlesound]

I see a lot of echos about the deleos sounding similar to something Aerosmith would do... that is probably right, and I’m not the biggest fan of their work as a “whole”. Some of the rockers I feel will grow a little.


I actually thought “guilty” is a good track. I don’t think it has the power to be a single for them, but I enjoy it enough.


Just a little lie is also neat in its own ways.


Not a fan of six eight. I see many really enjoy that one. It hasn’t started to come around on me yet.


The record does get a little more comfortable each time I’m hearing it. A lot of stuff takes time with me.


I think someone said it best. Brandon o Brian is probably the 5th pilot. I feel if this has his stamp on the album, it might push it further.


Either way. Considering what these guys have all been through this is a fantastic piece of work.