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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Van Occupanther's spell finally breaks a little more than halfway through its 11 tracks, when the songs begin to feel more fussed-over and conceptual and less organic, but the warmth never fades.

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ShakingThrough.net

While The Trials of Van Occupanther may never be more than a cult favorite, those seeking to till peculiarly American musical soil will undoubtedly reap a rewarding and plentiful harvest.

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PopMatters

The Trials of Van Occupanther is such a nuanced, finely layered work that Midlake has certainly crafted one of the best releases of 2006.

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Entertainment Weekly

Midlake excel at lush, harmony-laden ballads like "Bandits" and the heart-tugging goodbye song "You Never Arrived." [4 Aug 2006, p.68]

Lost At Sea

The good far outweighs the bad on this lack-of-thread-concept-album, and if you are dying to hear a modern day take on the 70’s soft rock band, check out Midlake.

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Mojo

As with Sufjan Stevens' Illinois, we're dealing with an invigorating, many-faceted work of diverse instrumentation and durability. [Jul 2006, p.106]

musicOMH.com

Compared variously to The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy, Midlake's take on '70s soft rock is actually better than both.

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All Music Guide

Midlake might be stuck in the '70s, but they make it sound like the best place on earth.

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The Guardian

This could well end up one of 2006's best.

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Uncut

Much of it... sounds like the spiritual cousin of Neil Young's After The Gold Rush and Harvest, sharing the same back-to-nature rusticity. [Jul 2006, p.101]

Drowned In Sound

A truly delectably odd album of archaic echoes and future-classic choruses.

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Austin Chronicle

Nostalgic, sure, but comforting, meticulous, and complex.

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The Phoenix

The warmth and the easy familiarity enable The Trials of Van Occupanther to stand on its own.

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Prefix Magazine

I really struggled with whether Van Occupanther's literary, slightly nerdy, Ren-fair-leaning lyrics were more of a help or a hindrance to the album.... But at least Midlake risked the ridiculous.

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Paste Magazine

Van Occupanther feels like a contrarian response to so many bands copping from ’60s psych-pop and ’80s New Wave while leaving out everything in between.

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Under The Radar

The Trials of Van Occupanther is a beautiful piece of moody ambience, and an enchanting album that ultimately continues to reveal itself even after numerous listens. [#14]

Magnet

Seductively strange. [#73, p.98]

Pitchfork

An encouraging but ultimately disappointing contemplation of time's ceaselessness, love's promise, and Harvest-era Neil Young.

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Stylus Magazine

Despite [some] fine moments, occasionally Van Occupanther can feel a little too slick and one-note.

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Q Magazine

Smooth and intermittently sublime it may be, but their previous weirdness is much missed. [Jun 2006, p.117]

Delusions of Adequacy

So while the subdued vocal harmonies and acoustic folk influences of 70s pop bands Chicago and America can be heard, there is enough intricately layered dream-pop floating around the fleshed-out orchestrations to keep indie-rock fans contented.

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NOW Magazine

The uniformity of song structure, tone and tempo, though initially captivating, soon becomes monotonous.

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Tiny Mix Tapes

A painful disappointment.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 27 User Votes

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

M G. gave it a10:
This is a really beautiful collection of songs that must have took real courage to make. There is no filter here, just music made with so much heart and care that it will change you for the better.

Johnny D gave it a9:
Beautiful album, rich in texture and tone. One of 2006's best.

Evan Z gave it a6:
Agree with S Taylor, except maybe The Eagles is being kind. How about America?

matteo f gave it a9:
so romantic, halfway between gloom and joy. "young bride" went even beyond giving plain "chills" : it made my heart soar.

S Taylor gave it a7:
Well, it finally happened. The circle is complete. In the 70's, punk exploded to save rock and roll from progressive rock, singer-songwriters, etc. Now, it has all come back. We have critically acclaimed "progressive rock" (The Flaming Lips), sensitive singer-songwriters (emo, anyone?), and now...The Eagles return!!! Probably the least hip super-popular rock band of the last 35 years has returned as indie pop. Not that I don't like it. But then I like the Eagles, too.

cornelius gave it a10:
certainly one of the most fresh and enlightened album of the year, and maybe for many years... i can't understand some press critic could have given such low rate as 40 to this album ; yes, you could not to be pleased by "The trials...", but you can't say that's not a really good work !

Chris C gave it a10:
best album of 2006

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The Trials Of Van Occupanther

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