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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Hyacinths and Thistles
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Merge
Release Date: 05 September 2000
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Alternative, Pop, Indie, Rock
Summary
The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt returns with a second disc under The 6ths nameplate (following 1995's Wasps' Nests). Like its predecessor, this album features original Merritt compositions sung by guest vocalists, including Gary Numan, Sarah Cracknell, Marc Almond, Bob Mould, and Sally Timms.
Also On Metacritic
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What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Wall of Sound
These 14 tracks forego the polish that distinguishes today's chart-topping fare, but each one bristles with a frisson in which honesty and artifice fuse, fashioning an enduring mini-masterpiece of pop.
Read Full Review >Mojo
As with all Stephin Merritt productions, the real stars are Stephin Merritt's wonderful songs, and the 14 love songs on Hyacinths And Thistles are as sweet and prickly as the title suggests.
Read Full Review >Select
With only the occasional flawed moment and the cast list up a definite notch or two from previous 6ths album 'Wasp's Nest,' this is a delicate jewel. (Oct 2000, p.104)
Spin Cycle
In contrast to the 6ths' blissed-out "Wasps Nests," which included indie credibles Lou Barlow and Georgia Hubley, "Hyacinths" mines cabaret territory.
Read Full Review >Armchair DJ
The first album from The Sixths was a dirge-like affair, but the new one's delightful.... The maturity of Merritt's songwriting lends emphasis to the singers' voices and interpretive powers; more often than not, they avail themselves capably.
Read Full Review >Splendid
Picking up where Wasp’s Nest left off, Hyacinths and Thistles finds Merritt constructing a complex sonic playground in which a host of guest vocalists have come to frolic. While the songs might initially be Merritt’s, each vocalist manages to transform each piece into something uniquely personal.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
Confidently ridiculous and matter-of-factly wise, the 6ths record is a lovely collection of songs about pining, yearning, coveting, aching, "kissing the bottle wishing it was you." Needless to say, it's also quite funny.
Read Full Review >CDNow
Hyacinths and Thistles takes a grab-bag approach to whisper-soft pop, though, at times, the lullaby vibe dangerously teeters between being appealingly fey and overly precious.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
While memorable tunes abound, and at least one left-fielder scores (Sixties folk-pop singer Melanie returns, singing like Tom Waits channeling Lotte Lenya), the 6ths largely seem inclined to preach to the converted.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
The 6ths is all about incongruity (where else could you find Gary Numan, 70-year-old folk diva Odetta and Sarah Cracknell sharing space?) and as such it`s an eclectic affair.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
The biggest difference between the two 6ths records is obvious: Wasps' Nest allowed some of indie rock's finest vocalists to lend their talents to a grade-a batch of Merritt tunes; Hyacinths and Thistles pairs remarkably average Merritt songs with largely substandard vocalists.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Stephin Merritt's the 6th's second album isn't nearly as dynamic as his Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs, nor is it quite as good as the first 6th's album, Wasps' Nests. It is, however, another crowning achievement for Merritt.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
[Merritt] leaves vocal duties entirely to his guests here, an impressive group that includes new-wave forebear Gary Numan and '70s warbler Melanie alongside an all-star collection of indie-rock fixtures. Unfortunately, he's given them some of his weakest material to date, delicate but forgettable songs that often sound like discarded leftovers from 69 Love Songs.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
Dominated by sparse instrumentation and lyrics that are merely good... relatively lifeless tunes. [12/2000, p.115]
Spin
Hyacinths and Thistles is not even a 6th as good as Wasps' Nests.... these vocalists have two things in common: a cold demeanor and a predilection for high drama.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Fred B gave it a 9:
As always, Stephan's songs are sad and funny and beautiful. Each song is a discrete unit and the individual singers breathe life into each, like cpr for a stranded starfish. The stark production only highlights the strength of the songs and the delivery.
Tim T. gave it a 9:
Hard to fault the songs--the finest, most-sustained collection of Merritt's work. The only shortcoming I can see is the writing style forces the singer to adopt Merritt's own vocal delivery. To be honest this is so minor a criticism as to be almost pointless Hyacinths & Thistles is what they are listening to in heaven
