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Valhalla Dancehall

British Sea Power

Valhalla Dancehall

Fifth album from the Brighton-based indie rock band

ADM rating[?]

6.7

Label
Beggars
UK Release date
10/01/2011
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  1. 10.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    British Sea Power are bravely bringing beauty into an increasingly ugly world, whether that world wants it or not
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  2. 9.0 |   DIY

    The band have mostly left the bombast of 'Rock Music' behind, but that's not to say they've forgotten how to pack a punch
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  3. 9.0 |   God Is In The TV

    One of the first great albums of the year
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  4. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    Sends the Brighton eccentrics’ arena-rock aspirations heavenward
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  5. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    Valhalla Dancefloor confirms British Sea Power's status as cast iron national treasures
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  6. 8.0 |   FasterLouder

    Delightfully arch, primal in their own perverse manner and rousing in it’s intention, Valhalla Dancehall is the work of a band reconciling its many diverse strands and ending up all the stronger for it
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  7. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Music of exquisite, luminous beauty
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  8. 8.0 |   The Fly

    A triumph of ambition and eccentricity
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  9. 8.0 |   Q

    It's time to laud British Sea Power for attaining greatness on their own terms. Print edition only

  10. 7.1 |   Beats Per Minute

    What’s missing here that made their last few records great is a sense of purpose. Valhalla Dancehall is a solid album, but it begs the question: so what?
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  11. 7.0 |   AU Review

    Another very good album from a band perhaps designed for grand gestures on a localised level
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  12. 7.0 |   Rave Magazine

    Rock & roll fun at work
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  13. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    A tidy step back from the awesome arena rock of Do You Like Rock Music?
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  14. 7.0 |   NME

    Their most pessimistic and perversely cheery record yet; an epic, hour-long set that sees recession and public service cuts at every turn but determines to get its freak on anyway. Print edition only

  15. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Some will decry Valhalla Dancehall's essential familiarity, but ... British Sea Power are a band unique, complex and confident enough in their own right to remind us why we loved them in the first place whilst making modest refinements to their sound
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  16. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    Enough of Valhalla Dancehall's moments work surprisingly well, that despite its breadth and occasionally aggravating density, it becomes a spectacle worth experiencing
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  17. 7.0 |   BBC

    An album that neither treads water nor reinvents the wheel. Instead, it sees BSP continue their stately, unruffled progress
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  18. 7.0 |   The Digital Fix

    The album may occasionally fall a bit flat, but the songs are engaging, Yan's vulnerable vocals endearing and the music at times inspiring. Party on
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  19. 7.0 |   Clash

    Irrefutably declares we are onto a new addictive page with British Sea Power
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  20. 7.0 |   No Ripcord

    A monumental mess of unfocused talent
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  21. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    They're beginning to add colour to a pallet which has threatened to remain uniformly grey
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  22. 6.0 |   The Observer

    British Sea Power have undone the top buttons of their military tunics and – finally – have let themselves go, a little
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  23. 6.0 |   Uncut

    Print edition only

  24. 6.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Finding a style and sticking to it isn’t bad per se, especially for a band who enjoy carousing across a welter of influences, but ... it seems a little like getting stuck in a groove for want of better ideas
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  25. 6.0 |   Mojo

    There's little here to frighten Coldplay fans. Print edition only

  26. 6.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Valhalla Dancehall is more of the same from British Sea Power, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the band has done most of it before in a more memorable fashion
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  27. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    Diverse enough to hold the interest of the previously apathetic
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  28. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    Valhalla Dancehall feels like a predictable and not entirely satisfying return to form
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  29. 6.0 |   The Scotsman

    It is surely no accident that Valhalla Dancehall has been released at the calm-before-the-storm time of year when it is guaranteed to garner some attention. Otherwise, this passable album would be in danger of getting lost in the shuffle
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  30. 6.0 |   Entertainment.ie

    Despite a certain amount of likeability, so many of these tunes are still somewhat underwhelming
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  31. 5.5 |   Pitchfork

    I worry that their wit was obvious from the start when they named their debut The Decline of British Sea Power, which is proving its clairvoyant gallows humor with every album
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  32. 5.0 |   Tiny Mix Tapes

    A ship lacking a steady compass
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  33. 5.0 |   Bowlegs

    There’s less urgency, less edge than you’ll find in the band’s earlier releases. The song-writing is solid and the lyrics are, as you’d expect, clever, occasionally witty and often affecting
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  34. 4.0 |   Scotland on Sunday

    Strangely reminiscent of late unlamented post-punks Dead Fingers Talk
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  35. 4.0 |   The Independent

    There's an air of the over-familiar about this fourth album, without any notable standout tracks offering a hook to catch one's interest
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  36. 4.0 |   The Skinny

    The Brighton outfit is still exploring off-kilter themes, but the musical invention that glued them together isn’t as cohesive as before
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  37. Back to main chart

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British Sea Power: Valhalla Dancehall

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Who’s In Control £0.89
  • 2. We Are Sound £0.89
  • 3. Georgie Ray £0.89
  • 4. Stunde Null £0.89
  • 5. Mongk II £0.89
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  • 7. Baby £0.89
  • 8. Living Is So Easy £0.89
  • 9. Observe The Skies £0.89
  • 10. Cleaning Out The Rooms £0.89
  • 11. Thin Black Sail £0.89
  • 12. Once More Now £0.89
  • 13. Heavy Water £0.89
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