Someone must.

I downloaded the single but haven't listened to it yet. I'm pretty skeptical that it'll be good.

I just got it, I can upload it if you're interested.

i am interested in hearing it...

They have one truly magnificent song:
"Cartoon"

Other than that, they write decent pop/punk and mined a vein that The Replacements did much better. Although they are a killer live band.

Uploading right now; I'll send it to those who have already mentioned wanting it. Anyone else, just pm me.

One of those great live bands who never got it really right on record. Pirner had flashes of goodness.

If we were talkin' about the Goo Goo Dolls I'd agree...even though they come from roughly the same place, I don't think SA sounds that much like the Mats.

I'll probably buy the new album cuz I'm a fan, but I don't expect it to be much better than "Candy From A Stranger". Maybe I'll wait for it to hit yourmusic for $5.99.

I would like to see them live again, though.

i have just started listening to the replacements in the last month. when i saw soul asylum last week, i was amazed at how similar some songs sound to the replacements. soul asylum has their own style and there're a lot of songs that don't sound anything like the mats, but that sound has to be a product of the region.

I thought I'd find Opa in here.

There was a guy in the subway playing "Runaway Train" the other day. He was pretty good, and REALLY into the song.

is this thread a portal to 1994?

that being said i really liked let your dim light shine back in the day. completely forgot about that album

I think it's really underrated, myself...that album got absolutely SHITHAMMERED when it came out.

And Z - I agree...I think it's "something in the water" more than an outright similarity between all the MN bands of that era.

Saw them perform last night on Leno...I am deeply underwhelmed.

"Stand Up and Be Strong" was played, and it was awful. It sounded like a rejected theme for a Budweiser commercial.

Their new drummer was dressed in black and white, and I'll be damned if he didn't look a bit like Shamu playing back there.

The allmusic.com review hits the nail on the head insofar as my brief exposure was concerned:

But the sad truth is Dave Pirner's songs ultimately sink this album — his rock gestures sound a bit rote, he seems most interested in sunshiny numbers that just don't suit the group's sound, and his lyrics are as clichéd as titles like "Crazy Mixed Up World," "Success Is Not So Sweet," and "Bus Named Desire" would lead you to expect (the fact he sings them with such passion and sincerity somehow makes them sound even worse).

Yeah, "Stand Up" is the main reason I'm not expecting the album to knock me off my feet...pretty weak single.

But that drummer you mentioned - I'm assuming it was Michael Bland. That dude is a fucking drumming MONSTER.

I stopped hoping new SA albums would be good with Strangers With Candy. I probably won't even visit the myspace page. Loved LYDLS though.

I didn't see them on Leno, but I saw them at Summerfest last Sunday and Michael Bland was playing with them. So I'm guessing he was on Leno with them also.

I don't have high hopes either. That's why I'm definitely downloading this before buying it.

But I do like Candy and Dim Light well enough. And I love their Best Of.

Yeah, that was a horrible album relative to LYDLS. So far, this new one is miles better than Candy. I rather like it after my first listen, it's nothing grand or particularly special, it's the same mid-tempo guitar pop they did right in the mid-late 90s, but it's got a few hummable tunes over the whole record.

That was the last one I bothered with. Total Pirner: some great songs, but some real turds there, too.

Distant cousin of FT?

The love for Dim Light Shine in this thread is funny because, just looking up the band on AllMusic, that's their lowest rated album out of their entire career.

Brothers From Different Mothers?

alongwaltz - yeah, "LYDLS" definitely suffered from some kind of backlash. I dunno why...it's no less "arena rock" than "Grave Dancers Union" was ( shrugs ) . I saw them on the "LYDLS" tour ( still have the "Caged Rat" shirt, lol ) with Matthew Sweet opening. Great show.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest it was because LYDLS lacked any decent songs even by Soul Asylum's low standards.