- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Alternative PressUnbelievably catchy hipster synth-rock. [Sep 2004, p.136]
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BlenderThese songs create a series of vivid but minimal soundscapes. [Sep 2004, p.140]
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Full of heat haze lethargy and sun scorched sing-alongs, it’s a resolutely romantic vision of the all American singer-songwriter as viewed through unmistakably French eyes.
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The most sophisicated, deliciously out of step pop album of 2004.
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FilterDespite the '80s tag and influences worn plainly on sleeves, Phoenix always come across strangely earnest and never cheesy. [#11, p.98]
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New Musical Express (NME)As airbrushed as an Athena poster, 'Alphabetical' is nonetheless an emotional experience. [19 Jun 2004, p.57]
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There's something admirable about a record that proves it's possible to remove grit from adult contemporary pop.
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Chock full of songs that are lounging rather than strictly loungey, cosmpolitan-sounding in a wearing-aviator-shades alongside a large-haired lovely kind of way and blessed with harmonies that fall narrowly on the breezy side of melancholia.
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SpinImagine if N.E.R.D... were from France and used to make house music before going soft rock. [Aug 2004, p.108]
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Its airily liquid, peculiarly French dance-pop is crafted to be almost entirely unmemorable at first, but upon familiarity grow into a wonderfully subtle, hook-laden album of continent-hopping (sub)urban pop which makes an ideological virtue of its superficiality.
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Somehow they straddle the line between fluff and absolutely essential hipness that few attempt, and even fewer succeed at.
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UncutLike Bread produced by The Neptunes. [Jul 2004, p.110]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 28 out of 34
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Mixed: 4 out of 34
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Negative: 2 out of 34
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PhoebeOMar 30, 2005I adore this album...and this band...this weekend I am seeing them in concert in Philly! I'm so excited!!
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Apr 5, 2012
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Mar 13, 2012