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9.0
127250
9.0 |
Uncut
Harris makes the most of the means available to her and allows her songs to land the way they need to land. Print edition only
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9.0
127280
9.0 |
musicOMH
Longstanding fans will delight in hearing that these nine tracks, taken from sessions recorded over the last decade and a half at her Pacific Northwest home studio and at various art residencies she’s attended or self-initiated around Mount Tamalpais in the Bay Area
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8.2
127308
8.2 |
Pitchfork
Recorded over the last 15 years, and alternating between stripped-down folk and thickets of distortion, Shade takes Grouper’s careful balance between intimacy and inscrutability to a new extreme
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8.0
127251
8.0 |
Mojo
This album feels personal, contemplative, yet thanks to Harris's blurred vocals, the meaning is never in focus, like notes sent back from the edge of a waking dream. Print edition only
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8.0
127252
8.0 |
The Skinny
Liz Harris's latest album as Grouper contains some of her most and least accessible work, from more simplistic cuts to swirling rave-ups
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8.0
127253
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
While Shade certainly holds no surprise, it’s an album that brims with substance and Harris’ longtime base won’t skip a beat in welcoming these tracks
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8.0
127254
8.0 |
Exclaim
Given time to breathe, to live, to coast, with Shade, Harris has found a new stream to navigate, but with distance, it's clear Grouper doesn't have to commit to one world or another to enjoy their comforts
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8.0
127255
8.0 |
Loud And Quiet
Shade feels like a transitional work, not unlike a far more understated counterpart to Low’s Double Negative. If that’s the direction she’s going, that’s very good news indeed
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8.0
127274
8.0 |
All Music
With its balance of eras, sounds, and short and extended songs, Shade has the depth of a career retrospective and the freshness of a new album, both of which make it especially appealing to new and longtime Grouper fans alike
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8.0
127396
8.0 |
Crack
Within the carefully pared back framework, Harris creates a subtle tension and release that forms the emotional core of the album. And it’s in these moments that Harris demonstrates the height of her powers
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8.0
127462
8.0 |
Clash
As we listen through a time of enforced distance, it is a satisfyingly intimate stance for Harris to assume... and a courageous one, too
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8.0
127483
8.0 |
The Quietus
If Grouper is normally minimalist in her recordings and performances, Shade is like having Harris perform in your living room: it isn’t always flawless, but it is absolutely special
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7.5
127283
7.5 |
Paste Magazine
With its sharp tonal distinctions from track to track, the first Grouper album in three years calls attention to Liz Harris's artistic evolution
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7.1
127345
7.1 |
Beats Per Minute
It’s a little loose, a little shaggy, and sometimes simply unimaginative or rote, but it also provides an intriguing glimpse into the archives of one our most beguiling artists
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7.0
127445
7.0 |
Spectrum Culture
For those that missed Liz Harris’ barren guitar and vocals approach, rejoice
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