The Warning - ERROR (2022) Album Breakdown
My deep listening observations of ERROR (V0 Analysis)
Track One
=Some distortion with a cinematic feel
==Feels almost Hans Zimmer X Trent Reznor-esque
=There are some distant vocal harmonies
==Distant sirens too
Track Two
+Those bass chords are an excellent way to set up the explosion
==They also drive the first verse
+++Some cool on and off guitar chords during the verse
=That pre-chorus felt like a hook (in the best way possible)
+Nice change of pace by having the 2nd verse shorter than the first while mirroring the composition of the first
=Interesting choice to have a quieter moment with spatial guitar chords
==Bass comes back
+++Ooh, those chords are cool too
=This pre-chorus feels like a pre-chorus even more
++They do a great job of buildup and pausing before the chorus explosion
===Very blink-and-you’ll miss it, but they do the pause differently (or don’t pause at all, in the case of the second hook/pre-chorus)
+They do a great job of layering instruments, vocals, and vocal harmonies
=The bass lines almost hold things steady
Track Three
=Starts a BIT calmer before the instrumental explosion
=Including the pre-chorus after the signature chord changes of this track
+Ooh, making more of a spatial sound for the 2nd verse is interesting
+Those drums are excellent for buildup
++Those fills right before the chorus are excellent
+Dany’s delivery during the chorus is ESPECIALLY infectious
=Full on spatial chords for the first part of the third chorus
++Lots of punch whenever the guitar(s) go full for the chorus
+++Pau’s fills were smooth too
+It’s such a compelling idea to start off calm before the full on explosion
+The transitions from loud/louder to quiet/quieter are SUPER smooth
+The vocal harmonies for the first two lines of the final/longest chorus are excellent
=I’ve heard that Paulina and Daniela generally say that Alejandra is the “grounding one” (or something), so it’s fitting how the bass lines almost hold things steady
Track Four
+Ooh, I’m intrigued by starting with bass, but even faster paced
++Cool cymbals too
+The bass is going crazy and reminds me of something I can’t put my finger on right now
++I also like the light touch of the cymbals too
+Some pretty solid songwriting for the choruses so far
=The tempo slows down for the post-chorus chord changes too
=Still driven by bass, but it feels like the guitar is showing up a bit more now
+The songwriting for the chorus is very good tbh
+The arrangements are SUPER creative so far
==The spatial and more atmospheric moments are very cinematic whenever they show
+The girls’ sense of harmony is honestly impeccable so far
+The tempo shifts are excellent on this track as well
+The cymbals X bass harmony during the intro is impeccable
=“Alive means to be dead / A bullet to the head”
+The tempo switches are excellent, if I didn’t already mention
+That bridge is impeccable because the (almost dark) ambient moments on this album are very overlooked imo
Track Five
+Dany’s delivery is quite excellent
=Ale’s keeping things steady with that bass, Pau’s keeping things rhythmic
+The arrangement on this track is super infectious
+Those chord changes for the chorus are excellent
+Cool choice of having Dany’s vocal harmonies for the final chorus to back her delivery
+This mix is excellent
+The spatial guitar chords play off Dany’s vocals excellently—almost like they “sang a duet” for a brief portion
==Same thing happens for the 2nd verse
+The little “Heyyyyy, woah-oh-oh-oh” honestly reminds me of Lady Gaga and is super infectious
=Interesting how the climactic/“chorus” moment on this track is instrumental with the main chord pattern that sort of drive the rhythm
==They generally do have a chord pattern for each track that serves a similar purpose to “home shots” in cinema/tv—(save for ANIMOSITY)
=There’s a post-chorus here
==The main chord pattern is paired with Dany’s hook (“Heyyyyy, woah-oh-oh-oh”) on this post-chorus
+++The structural concepts are impeccable
Track Six
=Starts with drums this time
+Ale brings the heat with the bass
=Using the lead (guitar) for space in the moments they do on this record is a very interesting choice
++It makes their mixes super dynamic and interesting
+The atmospheric qualities during the pre-chorus feel like an even greater element than the atmospheric qualities during the verses
+I like that lower energy level during the bridge
+The loud-quiet structure moments feel like Pixies, but on steroids
+Those atmospheric, ambient guitar chords for the first part of the pre-chorus are awesome
=The loud-quiet structure concept was popularized by Pixies, but this album feels like it’s turning any perception of what a loud-quiet structure could be on its heads
+The main chord patterns for each track are super catchy and infectious
==This track has “Would you die for me?” almost as support for the main chord pattern as the chorus
=More atmospheric, ambience during the French portion at the bridge
>>>>>>>Side note: is it just me, or does it seem like the girls haven’t had the best luck with guys?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>They also could be echoing themes other artists have, but I don’t find that as plausible tbh lol
=This album feels like we’re taking a trip down multiple roads of things that we need to/should unlearn as a society
==Being reminded of Ex Machina was an interesting thought wave of mine when that occurred
Track Seven
=Guitar intro this go around
=Tempo’s not as fast as ANIMOSITY, but it feels faster than the others, for some reason
-The instrumental structure felt a little awkward between the chorus and the 2nd verse this go around, for some reason
+The little motif of “I’m not in danger, I’m the danger” is cool
=Quieter and atmospheric for the instrumental bridge
++Cool chord changes though
=Doesn’t feel as harmoniously fluid as the other tracks, but it’s still a fun one
-Hmm…the main chord pattern doesn’t feel as fluid
+Pau provides nice fills and cymbals for a dynamic sound
=Bass lines take center stage during the instrumental break
=This is probably the “least” complicated song structure so far, but the ambience of the instrumental break is another excellent contrast to the punch of the hard rock portions
==The distant-sounding sirens from the intro also appeared here
Track Eight
+Those light, spatial chords to start are very interesting
==Almost feels like someone’s creeping up or something
+Once again, the drift between atmosphere and hard rock is impeccable
=This track has more of a modest tempo
+They also do an excellent job with the instrumentation post-chorus/pre-verse throughout this record (for the most part, anyway)
+That was a creative post-chorus that fits into the album’s theme nicely
=That little instrumental break had to be included lmao
=During the bridge, it was almost as if they were creating some tech failure
>>>>>>reminded me of Ex Machina for some reason
+The “Zero, one” thing was interesting
=Very ambient guitar to start
==This track definitely starts ambient and spatial
-Idk how to feel about the “zero, one, one, zero, zero, one, one” part tbh
—Sonically, it felt off in the mix
=This track has such a climactic feel to it
=This is almost like Ambient Hard Rock
+Pau’s fills at the end of the Pre-Chorus are great
+The chord patterns for the chorus are great
+Holy shit, this one of the best moments of structural songwriting I’ve heard in quite some time
=The Muse influence is pretty obvious when you consider the themes of these songs
Track Nine
=High energy, quick tempo open
=There are lots of moments where the drums and bass take center stage and drive the song
+Awesome bass for the pre-chorus
=It’s almost as if this song has an instrumental chorus (similar to Just by Radiohead)
=The chords are a little different for the 2nd “pre-chorus”
+Those chord changes I’m labeling as the true chorus (because I feel like it for my sake lmao) are great
+Cool instrumental intro
=Yeah, the main lead guitar chord pattern feels like the “real” chorus since it’s more climactic than what feels like the pre-chorus
+The tempo shifts on this track are excellent
=Bass lines hold things steady
=They do this thing where they make slight compositional changes for the 2nd “pre-chorus” compared to the first one
Track Ten
=This is interesting—this album feels like Ex Machina in music form
>>>>>>>Funny saying that since I haven’t seen that movie in a while lmao
=Another moment where it feels like the post-chorus/pre-verse instrumentation is the true “chorus” of the song
=This track feels like the most atmospheric and cinematic tbh
+The song structure is incredibly creative for this one
+They’ve done an excellent job of picking their spots of when to give a song “space” for lighter instrumentation so far
=Super ambient and spatial instrumentally from the jump
==That aesthetic remains for the verse before the main instrumentation
>>>>>>>Now, I know I’ve said that a few tracks use instrumentation for the chorus, but I think another way to look at it is that they use…anti-choruses, I guess?
=In the case of this track, the buildup nature of it is impeccable and YET ANOTHER strong, gripping structural songwriting moment
Track Eleven
=Nice and steady pace with this one
+Great chord changes between Verse 1 and Verse 2
+Great bass
=Oh damn, another moment where they go atmospheric for a verse after going full for the others
=Tell me why I’m feeling yet again that the post-chorus/pre-verse chord changes feel more like the chorus (or hook) than what’s labeled as the chorus?
=Almost feels cyberpunk, apocalyptic which is why I felt like this could be a final track or 2nd-to-last track
+Pau’s fills were great that moment again
=Ambience for the third verse (in contrast to the mixes up to that point)
+The ascending bass line during the chorus is impeccable to pair with that infectious lead chord pattern
+Once again, the mix of atmosphere and high energy is magnificent
>>>>>>>Considering where we are as a society, I think the fact that people don’t think for themselves is why things will get VERY bad sooner rather than later
Track Twelve
=Super soft cut here
==Acoustic guitar
+Those spatial bass chords that show up are splendid
=This almost feels like a folk song with punch and atmosphere
+The usage of vocal harmonies and spatial guitar chords make for excellent atmosphere
=It’s getting higher and higher octane, holy fuck
+Those backing vocals give such a fitting climactic point
+That outro is a perfect punctuation mark
=This almost could’ve been the final song
+The fact that this song isn’t the closing track speaks volumes in the sense that this album is super adventurous
+This mix is fantastic
==It’s almost as if it’s Ambient Folk Rock or something
+Oh, those vocal harmonies….
=Super steady aesthetic, but the contrast is how the energy level differs from the rest of this LP
Track Thirteen
=More space and atmosphere to start things off
+HOLY FUCK that pivot from quiet to loud
=Similar to CHOKE in how they start with a quieter intro (though, this one was much quieter)
==In fact, it’s very similar structure-wise to CHOKE
+We already know the instrumentation is spectacular (because it better be), but this group’s sense of harmony is impeccable with how incredibly the arrangements/mixes are
++The instrumental structure of these tracks is impeccable
+Those bass fills after the bridge were nice and smooth
+This is such an epic way to follow up after the sort of…fall out of the previous tracks, I guess
=Ambient intro
+Holy fuck, that high octane pivot
>>>>>>>You’ll miss a lot of excellent musicianship and the girls’ impeccable sense of harmony if you only listen to this group casually
=Goddamn, this mix has so many layers
Track Fourteen
+There’s something so endearing about this distorted piano
++It honestly adds a different atmospheric element
>>>>>>Hmm, there’s something that reminded me of that one Cure song on Disintegration I can’t remember the name of right this second
+Pau killed it vocally
>>>>>>It’s back again, it’s interesting
=Holy fuck, this was some journey
+++Atmospheric Qualities
+++Sense of Harmony
++Cinematic Nature
++Sound Layering
++Songwriting Creativity
++Hard Rock X Ambient Nature
++Main Chord Patterns
=Cookie-Cutter Production
Ratings
Intro 404 ++
DISCIPLE +++
CHOKE ++
ANIMOSITY +++
MONEY +++
AMOUR +++
EVOLVE ++
ERROR +++
Z ++
23 ++
KOOL AID KIDS +++
REVENANT +++
MARTIRIO +++
Breathe ++
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