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Considering at least part of the groups charm was their ability to surprise, there's simply not enough of that here as a whole, and In Arm's Way suffers because of it.
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Alternative PressThis collection comes together in a much more cohesive and fluid sense [than their debut.] [June 2008, p.131]
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The Pulp frontman embodies entertainment, presenting pop anthems as masterpieces, and Thorburn pours just such confidence into Arm's Way.
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This Montreal band's Anti- debut is a far more calculated, robust affair than its first album, 2006's "Return to the Sea."
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Arm’s Way is an exceptional album in its own right that serves as overwhelmingly convincing evidence that Islands is no one-hit indie-wonder and still has enough talent to get them exactly where they want to go.
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It is a towering, complex achievement and startling progression to boot.
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FilterThis is freaky, transcendent stuff. [Spring 2008, p.94]
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A long swim from the mainstream mainland, Islands has made an album that's slow to unravel and difficult to grasp. It's best enjoyed as it was most likely written: in small pieces.
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Arm's Way is a masterful and intricate offering progressing from their debut to create a new vision mixing a banquet of sounds and tempos to create an accomplished peace of musical craftsmanship.
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The title track and opener has a huge sound, but it’s the simple yet infectious guitar riff that keeps it together.
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As is typical of Thornburn's music, Arm's Way must be approached with an open mind.
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These songs may be less immediately catchy, but all of them have a moment in which they break away from their straightforward guitar-rock underpinning and allow strange, spacious moments to burble up from within.
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Arm’s Way represents a step forward from "Return to the Sea" creatively if not as an artistic whole.
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As a fully realized, bombastically confident artistic statement, Arm's Way is Nick Thorburn's "69 Love Songs." Hereafter we will only seek to understand him according to his own pop- and violence-addled logic, mapped perfectly on this thrilling album.
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Whenever it seems that Islands are losing you, Arm’s Way coughs up a moment so beautiful it might make your heart swell and burst into a bloody, disgusting mess.
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Islands produced an adventurous and daring record with Arm's Way, an adventure many bands are afraid to attempt.
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Islands doesn't seem to fully grasp its own strengths yet on Arm's Way. Still, it's better for a band to get lost on its own terms than to stagnate.
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Arm’s Way is a detailed, richly-rewarding album. These are undeniably melodramatic AOR songs--but they’re nuanced in form, graced with melody, and any obvious tropes are usually subverted.
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Under The RadarBy now, Thorburn has established himself as one of indie rock’s most fearlessly imaginative songwriters, so how are we to take Arm’s Way’s appropriation-happy aesthetic? None too seriously, I’d say. [Summer 2008]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 19 out of 22
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Mixed: 2 out of 22
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Negative: 1 out of 22
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Aug 17, 2014
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May 17, 2020