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9.1
43909
9.1 |
A.V. Club
By the dazzlingly innovative and heartfelt record’s end, the band has worked in a bit of everything it has to offer, and offered it with winning sincerity
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9.1
43968
9.1 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Longstreth and his Projectors are having a great time, and they’re making incredible music in the process
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9.0
43880
9.0 |
Spin
It's a far more comforting concept than we're used to from him, but still far from predictable: The Dirty Projectors' best album by a mile holds that balance, all magnificent wobble, no collapse
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9.0
44026
9.0 |
No Ripcord
The album is a melting pot of so many brilliant musical perspectives, which could only be channelled by a band with a gleeful, wide-eyed fascination with the possibilities of their music. And they succeed in their knowing but expertly-delivered goal: to sound like no other band out there
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9.0
43703
9.0 |
musicOMH
In reigning in the more unpredictable aspects of his music, Longstreth has managed to retain the essence that has made Dirty Projectors such a continually challenging and invigorating creative outfit over the years
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9.0
43858
9.0 |
Slant Magazine
Wild, wooly, and willfully chaotic, Swing Lo Magellan thrives on this postmodern assessment of its own parts, identifying its inherent artificiality through jerky transitions and purposeful gaffes
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8.9
44154
8.9 |
Beats Per Minute
Dirty Projectors have made an album intimate enough to bring you into the recording studio with them to experience all their idiosyncrasies. But it is also important to stand back and realize that one of our best bands is still on top of their game
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8.8
43870
8.8 |
Pitchfork
A confident step into the spotlight that neither depends upon public expectations nor shies away from them. It's well-made but certainly not over-produced, idiosyncratic and intricate but very rarely obtuse
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8.5
43590
8.5 |
Bowlegs
One of the albums of the year
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8.0
43591
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Aimed equally at the head and the heart, and hits a near-bull’s eye in both categories
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8.0
43576
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Deadly serious even at its most eccentric, wilfully awkward even at its most accessible, dense and intricate even at its most freewheeling
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8.0
43583
8.0 |
BBC
His imagination, it seems, has never been so fertile
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8.0
43587
8.0 |
The Guardian
The best moments of Swing Lo Magellan transcend whatever intentions their author may have had, as amazing songs are wont to do
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8.0
43871
8.0 |
PopMatters
No matter how weird and challenging things might get, there’s a feeling of joy that’s palpable in the songs here that’s intrinsic to and inseparable from Longstreth’s wide-eyed imagination
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8.0
43874
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Packs as many different ideas as ever into a new set of songs while offering perhaps the clearest and most satisfying picture yet of what the band is about
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8.0
43793
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
The melodies and lyrics keep yielding more with each listen
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8.0
43811
8.0 |
The Irish Times
With Dirty Projectors you never get the same song twice and, while parts of this album may be challenging, there’s a pop heart still beating at their core
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8.0
43826
8.0 |
Evening Standard
By keeping still for a few minutes he’s made some of his most affecting songs
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8.0
43844
8.0 |
The Fly
If you’re gonna like the Dirty Projectors’ sixth album, then you’re gonna have to make a few concessions. Mainly, you’ll have to entertain the notion that band leader David Longstreth is New York’s most plausible heir apparent to Talking Heads’ David Byrne
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8.0
43855
8.0 |
The Observer
They still crackle with that antic energy, but melody prevails over arrangement and everything seems driven by humility
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8.0
44225
8.0 |
State
At times it could be called meandering, but when music sounds this good, you won’t be in a rush to go anywhere
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8.0
43883
8.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
An album that will break hearts, bring joy, and deliver emotional notes that few others could
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8.0
43984
8.0 |
DIY
It’s the sound of Dirty Projectors just being themselves and fully justifying the royalty status Longstreth and Co. now enjoy
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8.0
43996
8.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
One of the most intriguing listens of the year
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8.0
43651
8.0 |
Uncut
A relentlessly novel album that's generous with its wisdom and often exhilarating in its execution
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8.0
43962
8.0 |
Paste Magazine
The source of Swing Lo Magellan’s charm, for it truly is a charming collection, is that it’s a record that doesn’t try be anything other than exactly what it is
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7.5
43707
7.5 |
The Quietus
The highlight by far though is 'The Socialites', a hipster-baiting ballad with a gorgeous lead vocal by Amber Coffman. It's so rare to come across genuine originality in twenty-first century that when it happens it can be quite shocking
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7.0
43732
7.0 |
NME
Amid all the brains and ambition, Brooklyn's eclectic progsters prove that their simplest moments can be their most engaging
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7.0
43861
7.0 |
The Digital Fix
A record with immediate thrills but also, like Bitte Orca, one to savour and explore with a keen ear
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7.0
43915
7.0 |
Blurt
It is instantly likeable. It makes perfect sense, but unravels into nonsense and complexity on second glance. Like a dream, really
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7.0
43922
7.0 |
All Music
While some listeners might find the Projectors' rather knowing idiosyncracy off-putting and smug, there are songs here that suggest the band has finally found the formula that finely balances its well-meaning musical intellectualism with actual pop songs
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7.0
44080
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
The ripe alto of Angel Deradoorian, on hiatus, is missed, although oddball harmonies still carry the day
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6.0
43615
6.0 |
Mojo
Works best at arm's length, admired like a diamond rather than held like a carbon-based life-form. Print edition only
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6.0
43623
6.0 |
Q
They often flex their muscles without feeling the need to land a killer blow. Print edition only
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