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Octopus

EMAILPRINTby The Bees [Band of Bees]

The Bees [Band of Bees] reviews
70
8.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Virgin

Release Date: 26 March 2007

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Indie, Rock

Summary

The eclectic UK band self-produced this third album in their Isle of Wight studios.

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...

80

Dot Music

Not sure what you'd file it under, but while that may worry some, for The Bees it's yet another triumph.

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80

Drowned In Sound

The Bees have made a record sparkling with enough wit and ingenuity to make the past seem an undiscovered country well worth visiting.

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80

musicOMH.com

Outlandish and of infinite humour, Octopus is an LP to die for.

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80

New Musical Express

On 'Octopus' The Bees find their groove and sound blissfully unaware whether anyone else is listening. You should, they've made their best album yet.

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80

PopMatters

This rampant eclecticism has drawn comparisons between the Bees and the now-defunct Beta Band, but the Beta Band was never this much fun.

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70

Spin

The product of a joyously short attention span. [Jul 2007, p.92]

70

Uncut

The Bees have a nose for sniffing out fine pop melodies. [Apr 2007, p.93]

70

BBC collective

At the heart of this album is a trio of absolute killers.

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60

Q Magazine

A mixed bag. [Apr 2007, p.117]

60

The Guardian

The Bees are clearly excellent musicians able to adopt styles at will, but have sacrificed their identity to offer an alternative to compilation albums at this summer's barbecues.

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60

Hot Press

Although combining an assortment of sounds may seem risky, they’ve managed to produce a solid album, fusing jazz, soul, ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll and playful lyrics into a tight 10 tracks.

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60

Mojo

A little too relaxed for its own good. [Apr 2007, p.108]

40

Playlouder

Staunch fans won't be disappointed, but it's hard to envisage new ears pricking up on hearing 'Octopus' woeful musings.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

juan z. gave it an8:
They made a step forward in my opinion, so cheers for that!!!

Thomsa B. gave it a10:
Genius songwriting with stellar vintage production. Hommages to all that is good in music. Best band in the UK.

Phillip Van Wagoner gave it a10:
While "Free the Bees" conjured images of a Beatles' reunion, 'Octopus' calls upon a wider variety of influences, and fits them all together beautifully. A solid '10', albeit to it's predecessor's '10.5'

Jack V gave it a4:
Compared to its predecessors, this album unfortunately has gotten rather boring.

Serj S gave it a10:
awesome

Les H gave it a9:
A wonderful CD full of irreverent borrowings, fused together in a wonderful pop offering that's right at the top of the tree, where the sweetest honey is. Hope the next CD comes real soon.

Read more user comments >

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