Albums to watch

Wild Flag

Wild Flag

Wild Flag

Debut long-player from the all-female US indie rock supergroup comprising members of Sleater-Kinney, Helium and The Minders

ADM rating[?]

8.0

Label
Merge
UK Release date
10/10/2011
US Release date
13/09/2011
  1. 9.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Wild Flag would undoubtedly be an excellent debut album, even without taking the players’ all-star pedigrees into consideration. As it stands, supergroups rarely have any business sounding this good
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  2. 9.0 |   Prefix

    Wild Flag is the creator of an absurdly good album, one of the most vital of 2011
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  3. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Whether or not you’ve got an eye and an ear for what’s romance, Wild Flag is the best rock album of 2011. It’s that simple
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  4. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    It's apt that the youthful ideal of playing in a band keeps cropping up in the lyrics: these songs are infused with a joyous enthusiasm more befitting of a group twenty years Wild Flag's junior. A teenage dream of a record
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  5. 8.5 |   BBC

    They imbue this gloriously raucous debut with infectious energy, astonishingly intricate musicianship and savvy melodic know-how throughout
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  6. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    Considering the personnel involved, it’s no surprise Wild Flag works as well as it does, or that it picks up in a familiar place. It’s just nice when a super-group actually lives up to the title
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  7. 8.2 |   Beats Per Minute

    They’re not reinventing the wheel, hell they’re barely even reinventing themselves, but that’s a good thing on this occasion
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  8. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Throughout you’ll find yourself thrilled skinny about many things. The mad, thumping melodies. The hard-ass guitar riffs. The superb dynamic screams and shrieks. The tunes that keep coming back for more
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  9. 8.0 |   Q

    This band want to you have as much fun as they so clearly are. Print edition only

  10. 8.0 |   Q

    A new band with an average age of around 40 and a sound raging around 19-and-a-half. Print edition only

  11. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Proof that punchy three-minute declarations of desire don't belong exclusively to the under-20s. Print edition only

  12. 8.0 |   Blurt

    These four riotous women, no longer riot grrrls, sound energized and inspired, happy to work with one another, happy to ride a riff and to rock unrepentantly
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  13. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    The eventual sound is not far off a ‘Gigantic’ style, Deal led, Pixies set up
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  14. 8.0 |   Spin

    They're the band that you've been waiting for, but guess what? They're even better than you expected. Brownstein, Timony, Weiss, and Cole honor an already staggering two-decade legacy by simply starting a new one
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  15. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    Vibrant, essential music on par with anything else these four women have done before
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  16. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    It’s when Brownstein more or less takes the reins halfway through on Wild Flag that the album begins to gel and the band makes a mark all its own
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  17. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    There are no wasted moments here – these are lifers who know exactly what they're doing
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  18. 8.0 |   Pitchfork

    Rock'n'roll fun
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  19. 8.0 |   Paste Magazine

    These songs are like shit-eating grins from ear to ear, and you can simply feel that they’re played with such happiness
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  20. 8.0 |   Bowlegs

    There’s warmth and joy in ‘Wild Flag’ that clearly comes from the band doing exactly what they want
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  21. 8.0 |   NME

    It's a thrill to be able to pop an ear in their direction and listen in. Print edition only

  22. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Every moment gives the impression that its makers are raiding their record collections for favourite sounds and having an absolute blast
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  23. 8.0 |   The Fly

    Woozy keys, punchy riffs and insanely complex rumbling rhythms collide infectiously over ten tracks of super smart indie rock. Delish!
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  24. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    A fun-loving, tune-heavy indie/punk/pop romp
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  25. 8.0 |   The Observer

    This post-riot grrrl super-group offering is as cohesive as it is exuberant
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  26. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Whether you come to this album fresh, or as a former fan of some other bands the members used to be in, Wild Flag offers a lot to the listener
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  27. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Some may describe this album as too raucous and little more than a racket, but it's a glorious racket
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  28. 8.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Young guns go hang. These ladies got you beat. The coolest band in the world just arrived. What you gonna do about it?
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  29. 7.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Beyond comparisons to Sleater-Kinney's past work, the album functions as an intriguing first effort, jagged but routinely promising
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  30. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    What it lacks in ambition being more than compensated for by an endearing sense of fun and immediacy
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  31. 6.0 |   Rave Magazine

    A solid indie rock record, nothing more, nothing less
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