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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Much of Grrr...ventures pretty far into the cutesy—as the album’s title suggests--but more often than not, Rice and Rudder’s strong rock-sense gives Bishop Allen’s songs enough kick to overcome their cloying elements.

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Paste Magazine

Perfectly enunciated lyrics, layered instrumentation, infectious melodies, rinse, repeat. The sound wasn’t broke, so Bishop Allen didn’t bother fixing it.

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Under The Radar

The band is at its peak on Grrr..., sticking to basic guitar pop with occassional embellishment in arrangements. [Winter 2009, p.70]

All Music Guide

Repeated listens help to sort things out, though, and the subtle shadings of Grrr... do become more apparent the more you listen--in fact, the album is a perfect example of the old rock crit cliche "The Grower."

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Austin Chronicle

Simply put, Grrr ... is a fantastic follow-up, "Dimmer" serving as a perfectly springlike starter, dripping with charm.

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PopMatters

Simplifying things is fine, of course, and Bishop Allen does quite a bit with a little on Grrr..., but there are small moments when it feels like the band is putting a glass ceiling on these songs.

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Slant Magazine

It's hard to criticize an album that feels so good-natured, especially when unoriginality is hardly a mark against this kind of pop, but the band misses again with its lyrics, which, while generally clever, often stray into the realm of overstructured precocity.

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Drowned In Sound

Twee without being cloying, Bishop Allen have dropped any signifiers that might make us think Tilly & the Wall (the clattering percussion, and urgent male/female vocals), and manage to present their light-hearted lyrics as sincere.

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Spin

aside from the nicely scuffed 'Dirt on Your New Shoes,' a general lack of spark or lyrical acuity makes even the album's catchiest songs of predestination ('The Ancient Commonsense of Things'), passive-aggression ('Don't Hide Away'), and whimsy ('Cue the Elephants') register as little more than charming diversions.

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Rolling Stone

Songwriters Justin Rice and Christian Rudder are fluent melodists, but the hooks can't redeem a peppy preciousness that veers into indie self-parody--the sound of post-collegiates far too convinced that they're clever and quirky.

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No Ripcord

The album is not an abject failure however, as there are bits, just tiny bits, of it that give off the faintest wisps of something more.

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Pitchfork

Grrr... seems transcribed from a distant memory or read from the pages of a script.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes

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

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