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9.0
40226
9.0 |
Slant Magazine
A singular experience and one of the best albums of the year so far
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8.3
40230
8.3 |
A.V. Club
With diverse styles and an array of instrumental tricks, the record is interesting and ambitious, without feeling trapped in a nerdy niche
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8.0
39831
8.0 |
The Skinny
With Beware & Be Grateful, M&A have created their most rewarding effort to date. Their transformation is nearly complete
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8.0
40148
8.0 |
The Fly
Perfectly combining the mathy oddities of old with ‘Perch Patchwork’’s lush Grizzly Bear-isms, ‘Beware & Be Grateful’ propels the quartet into their own, unique niche
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8.0
40642
8.0 |
Spin
A seamless, sleepless avant-indie night of math terror, slinky syncopation and pop epiphanies
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7.7
40335
7.7 |
Paste Magazine
The band’s catchiest, slickest, most focused effort to date
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7.0
40415
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Those hoping that this might be the record that propels Maps & Atlases further into public consciousness might be somewhat disappointed
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7.0
40493
7.0 |
DIY
The band have worked hard on all levels, including tracklisting, to create something special
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7.0
40636
7.0 |
No Ripcord
Beware and Be Grateful is still worth a listen (or two or three) if only to familiarize yourself with the band’s compositional style. It’s truly exceptional when paired with emotional panache
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7.0
39830
7.0 |
musicOMH
A collection of tracks that needs proper digestion in order to pick through the intricate layering and amalgam of styles that mix the band’s longstanding math influences with a clear inclination towards African rhythms
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6.0
40284
6.0 |
Clash
The melodies are strong and the balance between seriousness and nonchalance has been well struck, resulting in an honest and admirable collection that merits some attention
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6.0
40333
6.0 |
Blurt
Pulsating tempos at odds with quirky off-kilter pop
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5.1
40167
5.1 |
Beats Per Minute
Maps & Atlases have yet to decide if they’re a pop band with unusually lofty artistic aspirations, or art rockers with pop sensibility
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5.0
40166
5.0 |
Bowlegs
For all their efforts to sound more care free, they’ve arrived at the exact opposite, sounding like more care has gone into this record than anything they’ve done previously
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5.0
40050
5.0 |
NME
What's missing is any emotional contrast to stop all the cleverness from sounding overwhelming
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5.0
40249
5.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
It is hard to hate such harmlessly light music. Beware and Be Grateful, as pleasant a listen as it may be, carries with it a feather’s weight, and that usually equates to an album with little staying power
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5.0
40766
5.0 |
The Digital Fix
The riffs are neat and the melodies catchy, yet singer David Davison sounds like he is suffering from a case of awkward autotune. At times his voice is like a sponge, sucking the energy out of what could potentially be crushing anthems
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4.0
40070
4.0 |
Drowned In Sound
There’s undoubtedly some clever stuff going on under its surface, but when it makes you feel nothing you have to wonder, what’s the point?
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4.0
39835
4.0 |
Q
What's missing is the smart subtlety of their previous efforts. Print edition only
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