Albums to watch

180

Palma Violets

180

Debut album from much-hyped South London indie rock quartet produced by Pulp's Steve Mackey

ADM rating[?]

6.5

Label
Rough Trade
UK Release date
25/02/2013
US Release date
19/03/2013
  1. 9.0 |   PopMatters

    This will likely be 2013’s most necessary debut and will undoubtedly stand as one of the year's best ten months down the line
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  2. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Much-hyped Lambeth quartet deliver in spades. Print edition only

  3. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    As long as you don't ask too much of it, it's good knockabout rowdy fun
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  4. 8.0 |   BBC

    With the ceaselessly inventive, engagingly cocksure 180, Palma Violets have given themselves a base to build a career
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  5. 8.0 |   NME

    You're struck by the strength of the songs, and the roguish, self-assured charm with which they're delivered
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  6. 8.0 |   Q

    An explosive part-crazed sound, which evokes the fieriest bits of The Strokes and The Libertines. Print edition only

  7. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    It doesn't need work and time and fine tuning; it needs to be a lovable, dizzy, bedheaded romp. And it is
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  8. 8.0 |   DIY

    Palma Violets' deliciously raggedy rock is enveloping. If scratchy guitars and lolloping drums could give hugs, these would be the sweatiest, messiest, yet most kind-hearted type
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  9. 7.0 |   Pitchfork

    Palma Violets are reminiscent of what it’s like to hear rock music for the first time, and not have anything clever to say in response. Sometimes a good racket speaks louder than words
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  10. 7.0 |   All Music

    Sometimes the looseness that makes 180 so charming borders on unfocused rambling, but for the most part, the Palma Violets keep it in check on this entertaining, promising debut
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  11. 7.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    These aren’t weak songs in the slightest, they just feel toned down, restrained, or just waiting to explode
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  12. 7.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    180 is unlikely to prompt mass backtracking and mumbled apologies from the naysayers – neither will it reinvent music as we know it
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  13. 7.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    ‘180’ feels more like four 20-year-olds mining their record collections and thinking, we should do this, it’d be fun
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  14. 6.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Palma Violets get a pass this time, their lack of focus and their naivety balanced by their charm
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  15. 6.0 |   Uncut

    Reveals a talent for taut, punkish, pivot-on-a-penny songs. Print edition only

  16. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    Only time will tell whether the quartet’s knack for a begrudging toe-tapper will blossom into something better than just average
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  17. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    There’s talent here but it needs more time
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  18. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    While Palma Violets have certainly got talent, their debut falls just short of the expectations that’s been ladled on it
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  19. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    180 isn't a bad album: there's something there, but it needs time to develop. Whether they'll get it is another matter entirely, which seems stupid.
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  20. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    Much of the album musters an organ-soaked and entertaining amalgam of The Clash and The Velvet Underground
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  21. 6.0 |   The 405

    180 will be a personal triumph for the band, something they'll treasure, but ultimately not something that is enormously accessible outside of their clique
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  22. 6.0 |   God Is In The TV

    There are signs that this lot could develop and step up to a different level. But someone should have told them to maybe wait a while before putting an album out
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  23. 5.4 |   The AU Review

    Palma Violets have the style, they have the ideas and heck they’ve got the talent but they’ve certainly got a long way to go
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  24. 5.0 |   No Ripcord

    While the good outweighs the bad, the downright ordinary outweighs them both
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  25. 5.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Despite flashes of greatness, 180 feels like a band still trying to find its feet
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  26. 4.5 |   Under The Radar

    It's not the terrible record to be savaged that an army of hipsters hoped for, just a very plain one that sounds like it was made by 14-year-olds, for 14-year-olds
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  27. 4.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    So, there you have it; young lads just starting out make poor-to-average debut record. Not an unusual occurrence, and no doubt a thousand other albums released that day were no better or worse than 180
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  28. 4.0 |   The Observer

    Notable mainly for its crushing ordinariness
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