These guys definitely have an annoying sense of humor — that awful and awkward kind where the joke is only funny to the joker. When I last saw them in LA, they took time and money out to shit all over GnR — with people coming out in mock mascot/cartoon heads and performing “Sweet Child” . Despite the coolness of making fun of a nearly irrelevant band that had no beef with them, that gesture won them no fans in the hometown crowd.
But their music is indeed awesome. They’re certainly to blame for an entire generation of neo-folk acts who overindulge in earnest lyrics, offbeat instrumentation and group harmonizing. It’s not hard to see why they wanna switch it up now. But I can’t really think of any beloved act to change their sound yet the fans still embrace “the new stuff.”
