Album
by Girls
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 22
  3. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. The Guardian
    100
    Studio majesty be darned, this could prove a modern classic regardless.
  2. Pitchfork
    91
    The canniness of Album's production choices and the scuzzy depression of the lyrics and the gut-level songwriting instincts, along with everything else about the record, add up to something elusive and fascinating--maybe even heartbreaking.
  3. The New York Times
    90
    Album is one of the year’s most bracing pop releases, and one of the best, a devastatingly fresh reframing of the pop songbook.
  5. New Musical Express (NME)
    90
    Girls are genuine drop-outs, bona-fide freaks who’ve made a record far removed from the predictable cycles of the music industry. Now that’s a real story.
  6. musicOMH.com
    90
    Created by two genuine outsiders and made with a refreshing lack of irony, Album is a welcome addition to the very best albums of 2009.
  7. Billboard.com
    86
    Girls are poised to take their rightful place as one of the blog-crossover bands of 2009.
  8. The A.V. Club
    83
    It’s better to approach Album not as what its title offers, but a collection of singles. These are the new rock ’n’ roll 45s, variations of the same sad pop song shone through the prism of a guy who’s survived his own unique heartache.
  9. cokemachineglow
    81
    Despite having ties to shitgaze, this isn’t a record obsessed with that aesthetic, and this works to its advantage, since these songs clearly aspire to be bigger than that and have very real potential to be.
  10. AllMusic
    80
    Girls' 2009 album (simply titled Album) actually proved itself worthy of the hype upon its release.
  11. Drowned In Sound
    80
    Its their frivolous experimentalism and willingness to toy with all aspects of the past that make Girls such an invitingly warm and honest proposition
  12. Dusted Magazine
    80
    What makes Album so good, however, won’t be a consensus opinion on whether or not it’s culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. It’ll be the personal associations brought to it by each person encountering Girls for the first time.
  13. Uncut
    80
    Album lurches bizarrely from the heart-rending to the goofy to the simply spaced-out, but what it lacks in polish it makes up for with buckets of charm.
  14. Tiny Mix Tapes
    80
    Even if Album doesn’t turn out to be all it’s been made out to be by the reams of hype already bestowed upon it, it’s certainly working at the moment.
  15. Lost At Sea
    80
    While not as fleshed out as some other remarkable debuts, Album is a fully realized personal vision.
  16. Mojo
    80
    Realised with friend Chet JR White in San Francisco on reel-to-reel tapes, the songs grab from Phil Spector, Beatles, Beach Boys, JAMC and Spiritualized, and are all the more enticing for it. [Jan 2010, p. 103]
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  17. Rolling Stone
    70
    On Girls' debut, Christopher Owens' made peace with his past and crafted ace tunes to go with his tales of redemption.
  18. Prefix Magazine
    70
    Girls are, at their most basic, a solid band of rock ‘n’ roll reappropriators.

Awards & Rankings

93
#93 Best Album of 2009
78
#78 Most Discussed Album of 2009
30
#30 Most Shared Album of 2009

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 64 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 64
  3. Negative: 6 out of 64
  1. ChristianP.
    Sep 26, 2009
    3
    Embarrassingly overrated. one great song, and even that is about twice as long as it needs to be. What a bore.
  2. BouchetSmith
    Feb 25, 2018
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Definitely overrated. All the songs sound pretty similar, with a similar chord progression, similar lyrics, similar sound overrall. A few songs stand out, like Lust For Life, Hellhole Ratrace and Morning Light, but overall it's a pretty average record. What they do, they do it well, beach boys-inspired heartbreak songs, but it doesn't go much further than that. I can't believe Pitchfork gave this 9.1...… Full Review »
  3. jacknife45
    Mar 24, 2017
    9
    Girls masterfully accomplished to compress the feelings of a lost youth in a single album. From stat to finish, Album is wholeheartedly honestGirls masterfully accomplished to compress the feelings of a lost youth in a single album. From stat to finish, Album is wholeheartedly honest and self-aware.… Full Review »
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