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Grand Archives
by Grand Archives
The rock band formed by Band of Horses' Matt Brooke releases its debut album.
| LABEL: |
Sub Pop |
| RELEASE DATE: |
19 February 2008 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock, Indie |
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
Drowned In Sound
Grand Archives offers an impressively alternative take on American indie; blending a number of interesting influences to create a fresh and airy project.
78
Pitchfork
The insularity of "Cease to Begin" certainly has its merits, and it's pointless to argue about who comes out on top here, but the way Grand Archives come forth with arms outsretched results in a debut that likely exceeds most expectations.
78
Austin Chronicle
Singer Mat Brooke, formerly of Band of Horses and Carissa's Wierd, embraces the sunlight so rare to his home base of Seattle, leading his merry quintet on a journey to the happy place with a peaceful, warm, and affecting debut.
75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Much of the band's material has a lightness of touch that works as a welcome contrast to Band Of Horses' more searching aspects.
70
Tiny Mix Tapes
But even with Brooke’s uncharacteristically romantic epiphanies, The Grand Archives still occasionally tends toward predictable sentimentality.
70
Delusions of Adequacy
Grand Archives is still an impressively modern take on American indie; taking the best from Southern Indie rock and tossing over some modern effects and innovative musicianship to create a genuinely genre bending project.
70
All Music Guide
Adding harmonies from Curtis Hall, Ron Lewis, and Jeff Montano helps to thicken the melody, and Grand Archives revolves around the strong singalong hooks that turn this debut into a soft rock record for the indie crowd.
65
Prefix Magazine
Grand Archives ought to be more than a library of dusty riffs and Beach Boys records; Brooke's work succeeds where it adds fresh material to the shelves.
63
Almost Cool
Great in moments and undecided in others, The Grand Archives show hints of promise here, but don't really have enough to set them apart.
60
Under The Radar
The effort is palpable, but the songs never quite get off the ground. [Winter 20008, p.82]
60
Q Magazine
Grand Archives have been together for less than 18 months, but their polished debut suggests a far longer gestation period. [Apr 2008, p.107]
60
Mojo
Grand Archives are a modest outfit, never as anthemic as Bridwell's widescreen My Morning Jacket-lite, but with a celestial line in harmonies. [May 2008, p.114]
50
PopMatters
They’ve got all the elements; they just need to find the right balance for them.
The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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