Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Music

All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000

Upcoming &
Recent Releases

sort by namesort by score

62 50 Cent
70 AFI
65 Air
70 Alice In Chains
53 Kris Allen
78 Amerie
79 Annie
76 Anti-Pop Consortium
75 Arctic Monkeys
82 Atlas Sound
77 The Avett Brothers
67 Backstreet Boys
59 Bad Lieutenant
68 Devendra Banhart
71 Lou Barlow
88 Baroness
69 Basement Jaxx
81 David Bazan
72 Beak>
84 Biffy Clyro
72 The Big Pink
95 Big Star
46 Billy Talent
75 The Black Crowes
72 The Black Heart Procession
68 Blitzen Trapper
75 BLK JKS
53 Bon Jovi
76 A.A. Bondy
65 Boys Like Girls
76 Brand New
73 Tyondai Braxton
83 Brother Ali
72 Ian Brown
75 Michael Buble
77 Built To Spill
61 Colbie Caillat
78 Califone
69 Mariah Carey
81 Brandi Carlile
72 Julian Casablancas
83 Rosanne Cash
71 Castanets
82 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64 Exene Cervenka
79 Vic Chesnutt
81 Circulatory System
67 The Clean
84 The Clientele
72 Cold Cave
85 Converge
76 The Cribs
79 Cymbals Eat Guitars
62 Dashboard Confessional
71 Datarock
59 Dead By Sunrise
76 Dead Man's Bones
77 Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
73 Do Make Say Think
63 The Dodos
77 Drive-By Truckers
67 Bob Dylan
58 Echo & The Bunnymen
61 Electric Six
44 The Entrance Band
69 Fanfarlo
71 Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63 Felix Da Housecat
68 Fink
66 Orenda Fink
79 The Flaming Lips
66 Flight Of The Conchords
79 Florence And The Machine
67 John Fogerty
83 Fuck Buttons
71 Nelly Furtado
47 Gary Go
68 Ghostface Killah
79 Girls
69 Gossip
62 David Gray
66 David Guetta
65 Calvin Harris
79 Richard Hawley
74 Mayer Hawthorne
66 Headlights
79 HEALTH
67 Hockey
67 Whitney Houston
80 Hudson Mohawke
68 Imogen Heap
59 Jack Ingram
79 Islands
74 Jamie T
65 Jay-Z
51 Jet
68 Daniel Johnston
76 Norah Jones
77 Karen O And The Kids
72 Toby Keith
69 Kid Cudi
75 Kid Sister
66 Kings Of Convenience
62 Sean Kingston
64 KISS
63 Mark Knopfler
73 Kris Kristofferson
68 KRS-One & Buckshot
76 La Roux
85 Miranda Lambert
71 Sondre Lerche
56 Juliette Lewis
62 Leona Lewis
82 Lightning Bolt
74 Little Dragon
44 Pixie Lott
83 Patty Loveless
73 Lyle Lovett
79 Lucero
75 Baaba Maal
77 Madness
84 Madonna
85 Manic Street Preachers
61 Maps
73 Mario
55 Massive Attack
57 Matisyahu
62 John Mayer
66 Tim McGraw
65 Brian McKnight
79 Mew
75 Mika
68 Amy Millan
76 Mission Of Burma
75 Molina And Johnson
80 Monsters Of Folk
66 Morrissey
76 The Mountain Goats
62 Múm
72 Muse
66 Willie Nelson
82 Nirvana
96 Nirvana
80 No Age
71 Noah And The Whale
75 Noisettes
79 Nudge
64 OneRepublic
47 Dolores O'Riordan
74 Os Mutantes
78 Osso
67 Alec Ounsworth
81 Owen
73 Paramore
78 Pastels And Tenniscoats
80 Pearl Jam
69 Jemina Pearl
65 Phish
61 Pitbull
79 A Place To Bury Strangers
79 Polvo
72 Porcupine Tree
72 Port O'Brien
79 Q-Tip
79 R.E.M.
88 Raekwon
69 Rain Machine
75 Dizzee Rascal
74 The Raveonettes
79 Real Estate
81 Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78 Russian Circles
69 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78 Say Anything
61 Sally Shapiro
78 Shudder To Think
70 Simian Mobile Disco
58 Simple Minds
80 Slayer
61 The Slits
58 Spiral Stairs
55 Steel Panther
75 Sufjan Stevens
52 Rod Stewart
68 Joss Stone
83 Barbra Streisand
77 A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74 Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79 The Swell Season
80 David Sylvian
83 Taken By Trees
80 Tegan And Sara
68 The Temper Trap
78 The Dutchess & The Duke
71 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74 Them Crooked Vultures
72 Themselves
82 They Might Be Giants
66 J Tillman
69 Times New Viking
57 Tokio Hotel
67 Trey Songz
73 Frank Turner
71 The Twilight Sad
60 Carrie Underwood
56 The Used
68 Various Artists
69 Various Artists
77 The Very Best
70 Kurt Vile
65 Vivian Girls
71 Volcano Choir
73 Rufus Wainwright
78 Wale
57 Weezer
81 White Denim
76 Why?
83 Wild Beasts
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
69 Robbie Williams
59 Andrew W.K.
65 Wolfmother
84 The xx
79 Yo La Tengo
83 Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52 Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59 Zero 7

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

The Sun And The Moon

EMAILPRINTby The Bravery

The Bravery reviews
62
8.4 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 33 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Island

Release Date: 22 May 2007

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Alternative, Rock

Summary

Brendan O'Brien produced this second album for the New York band.

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...

90

Boston Globe

This easily ranks among the top rock records of the year.

Read Full Review >
83

Entertainment Weekly

Too sappy for the cool kids, sure, but still a fine pop record.

Read Full Review >
75

The Onion (A.V. Club)

The Sun And The Moon might be as essential as another Kajagoogoo album, but on its own modest terms—meaning appealing to those who guiltily loved The Bravery—it's a minor success, brimming with hooks nicked from Duran Duran and Naked Eyes, as well as few of their own.

Read Full Review >
70

Billboard

The overall mood is a bit more pensive and solemn. [26 May 2007]

70

NOW Magazine

By no means a terrifically unique or fantastic sophomore album, it still manages to avoid mediocrity, and not just because our expectations were so low to begin with.

Read Full Review >
70

The New York Times

The Bravery is a pop-rock band and glad of it. That means plenty of nonsense syllables to invite singalongs, and utter shamelessness about borrowing other bands’ sounds and tricks.

Read Full Review >
70

Blender

[An] album of sharply assembled rock & roll. [Jun 2007, p.105]

60

Dot Music

The Sun And The Moon", The Bravery's down-to-earth approach ought win them a second chance.

Read Full Review >
60

PopMatters

The group’s first album had hooks in abundance, and they are only slightly less plentiful here. These hooks are the source of the pleasure, while Endicott’s sometimes questionable lyrics give us our feelings of guilt for being drawn in, in spite of ourselves.

Read Full Review >
50

All Music Guide

The Bravery are an easy target -- after all, they were often seen as also-rans even when their kind of music was the hot new thing -- but, unfortunately, The Sun and the Moon's hesitant, unfocused feel doesn't do much to dissuade that notion.

Read Full Review >
50

Rolling Stone

They get halfway to a hot neo-New Wave record. [14 Jun 2007, p.102]

40

Spin

Zoom in on this overproduced second album, dripping with newly emboldened lyrical pretensions, and you'll find cracks in the enjoyable cliches. [Jun 2007, p.91]

18

Pitchfork

As annoying as Endicott's mascara-tainted bellyaching was on the Bravery's debut, his histrionics-for-the-masses commandeer the group's stylistic direction on The Sun and the Moon, cheapening already trite regurgitations of Robert Smith confessionals by bloating them to anthemic proportions.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes

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

Amurabi M. gave it a4:
What is this? A collection of pop songs without a minimal sign of authenticity? A mix of overproduced songs with ridiculous lyrics and poor musical development? An album that tries to be the next step from an act that is just a bad copy from the 80s new wave bands? The Bravery released an album that it feels mediocre. It´s a shame for Brendan O´Brien, but this is not his fault. The sin is over the band´s shoulders. This is just an exercise of bad rhymes, few original melodies, tired vocals (it feels that he tries too hard to be Robert Smith) and really ludicrous and annoying lyrics. It seems to me that they lose the battle between all the other bands form its caliber. And that´s not a great battle to fight.

Stirling NC gave it a10:
I really don't understand the low metascore, the best album ever released.

Heather C. gave it a9:
Ok, stop with your hating. I am sure that if the Bravery came out before the Killers, we would all be hating the Killers. These boys are creative. Sure I could go without "Every Word In Your Mouth" (worst song off the album and the only reason why I'm not giving it a 10) but it is so... great. A departure of the computer made stuff. Smart boys and really worth it. But they have evolved... and for the better.

Natalie P gave it a10:
Easily my favorite album of the year. The synths from the first album are still present, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the more vocal feel of this album. Endicott continues to shine, and the guitars were phenomenal.

Dino M gave it a7:
I came across The Bravery while watching The Edge Video Podcast, which is available free on iTunes. Their video for "Time Won't Let Me Go" instantly drew me in with its catchy hook and indie vibe. After getting the album based on that one video, I am surprisingly impressed. "Believe" is a great album opener and single, and a sign of things to come on the album. "This Is Not The End" is my personal favourite, with hints of reggae making it a flowing song. The rest of the album doesn't live up to the previously mentioned songs, but is definitely listenable, from beginning to end. Not a bad song on this album, and I am very grateful for albums like this. Even the import bonus tracks "Rat In The Walls" and "Faces" fit perfectly at the end! I will definitely get the debut album and look to them in the future.

Lauren C gave it a10:
I don't understand the low metascore- this album was a great follow-up. Their sound has changed a bit, but you definitely still get that warm feeling inside after hearing one of their songs. Great, great album. Go listen to it!

Derrik R gave it a10:
Easily a good cd! the bravery nailed it with split me wide open and bad sun

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy (UPDATED) | Terms of Use