Albums to watch

Fading Frontier

Deerhunter

Fading Frontier

The indie rock/ambient rock quartet from Atlanta release their seventh studio album, and first since the near-death of frontman Bradford Cox

ADM rating[?]

7.7

Label
4AD
UK Release date
16/10/2015
US Release date
16/10/2015
  1. 10.0 |   State

    Fading Frontier is a distillation of the best of Deerhunter: a culmination of their strengths, a band at the apex of their musical journey, constantly surpassing themselves and solidly building towards perfection
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  2. 10.0 |   NME

    The most direct, unflinching album Deerhunter have ever made
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  3. 9.1 |   A.V. Club

    There’s a confidently dreamy quality running through most of the songs on Fading Frontier that gives off the impression of a group at peace with both itself and its place in the musical world
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  4. 9.0 |   Spin

    It’s a portrait of the young men as adult artists; it’s the closest equivalent to a major-label debut for an era when a band might as well stay independen
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  5. 9.0 |   Under The Radar

    Fading Frontier, which is both a giant step sideways and a giant step forward
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  6. 9.0 |   Uncut

    Unexpectedly uplifting
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  7. 8.8 |   Paste Magazine

    Instead of trying to make an experimental oddity for music nerds, he made an indie pop album for music fans
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  8. 8.4 |   Pitchfork

    Deerhunter's most content, warm and plainspoken work to date
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  9. 8.3 |   Consequence Of Sound

    At nine songs and just over 36 minutes, Fading Frontier is a filler-free opus of experimental rock splendor that never lags and always intrigues
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  10. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Represents a conscious retreat from the scuzzy claustrophobia of ‘Monomania’ and a surge towards considered, contented songcraft
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  11. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    "I lost my marbles all over the pink, pink cage," Cox laments over a cocksure strut, doing as he always has, looking back to progress
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  12. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Deerhunter’s most accessible songs yet are also their most affecting
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  13. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Bradford Cox's poppiest album yet
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  14. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Sensitive production and contributions from members of Stereolab and Broadcast help these songs to shine
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  15. 8.0 |   All Music

    Musically and emotionally, this is one of Deerhunter's most powerful - and delicate - albums
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  16. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Given the strength of Deerhunter's back catalogue, Faded Frontier has the potential to be taken for granted. It's as professional and polished an album as this band has produced, running the risk of being labeled safe or predictable
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  17. 8.0 |   The 405

    The music is calmer, but his flare hasn't left with his anger, thus solidifying the album into the band's pristine legacy
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  18. 8.0 |   NOW

    In terms of brightness and accessibility, the album feels like an extension of their breakout record, 2008's Microcastle
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  19. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Fading Frontier is another superlative achievement from a band who are, unfailingly, one of life’s great mysteries
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  20. 8.0 |   DIY

    Draws a new line in the sand, and it could be the beginning of a more direct and big-thinking Deerhunter
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  21. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Deerhunter prove again that they have far from exhausted their potential
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  22. 8.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    Quite possibly Deerhunter's most accessible album to date
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  23. 8.0 |   Gig Soup

    If there's one certainty with Deerhunter, it's that you can expect each album to be different from the last
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  24. 8.0 |   Art Rocker

    How refreshing that with its headline set worthy collection of luminous songs, Fading Frontier is also a record where the carefully chosen lyrics stick!
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  25. 7.9 |   Earbuddy

    Like Monomania, Deerhunter's latest offering is similarly "not bad", in fact it's good. But it's not great
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  26. 7.5 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    This is the first Deerhunter album where a lot of the lyrics are emphasized in the mix
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  27. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Atlanta's best psychedelic crew makes a wide-ranging, elliptically pretty LP
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  28. 7.0 |   FasterLouder

    For the most part Fading Frontier is a rewarding immersion in diverse layers of melody and meaning. But there’s still a nagging spottiness that keeps it from reaching its full potential
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  29. 7.0 |   Crack

    Cox’s lyrics are fleshed with a range of electronic twitches and warped synths, adding to the altogether sinister tone
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  30. 7.0 |   Tiny Mix Tapes

    A remarkably consistent album that somehow joins a finely tuned pop sensibility with a crudely wayward adventurousness
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  31. 7.0 |   Exclaim

    On Fading Frontier, Deerhunter focus on their ability as a band to hypnotize and confound, which make the explosive moments here stand out that much more
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  32. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    Fading Frontier is probably Deerhunter’s fourth best album. It’s still an excellent record, but it’s just ever so slightly underwhelming
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  33. 7.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Make no mistake, Fading Frontier marks the end of a chapter for Deerhunter. I don’t think we could ever hear the outsider art of Weird Era again
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  34. 6.0 |   The FT

    Cox’s vocals are more decipherable than previously, yet the words he sings in his washed-out slacker’s croon are about feelings of loss and solitude
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  35. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    Coming after the progressive and corrosive Monomania, Fading Frontier feels like a slight step back
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  36. 6.0 |   Q

    Psych-rock chameleon sheds another skin. Print edition only

  37. 6.0 |   The Music

    Whether the magic happens this time around is debatable
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  38. 6.0 |   Clash

    By no means a poor album, and truth be told really doesn't possess a bad number on it; the real issue is that in a genre filled with imitators we need a bit more bang for our buck
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  39. 6.0 |   The Observer

    The best is saved until last
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