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...

100

The Onion (A.V. Club)

It's Never Been Like That has the necessary edge of real art, but it's approachable right down to the final song, "Second To None," with its deep echo and thin lines.

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Austin Chronicle

Like That gives new meaning to the word "alive."

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cokemachineglow

This is the sort of record you’re gonna put on when the sun’s shining and you just need some good old pop-rock.

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Pitchfork

The interplay between lazy strumming and everything-in-its-right-place arrangements effectively rewrites the history of the garage-rock revival, drawing a line between "Last Nite" and Tom Petty and erasing the denial that "Maps" was the biggest song that scene's brief heyday produced.

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All Music Guide

Their performances sound more confident than ever.

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Billboard

This is the kind of record the Strokes and countless other newfangled pop/rock groups have been trying to make over the first half of the decade. But nobody's done it with such effortless flair as Phoenix.

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Dot Music

Its charms sink their teeth in fast and deep.

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Observer Music Monthly

It's Never Been Like That reunites the quartet with the kind of jubilant, foot-pumping power-pop that, at best, is informed by the brevity of new wave and the breeziness particular to pre-punk West Coast rock.

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Prefix Magazine

A concise killer of an album.

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Slant Magazine

This too-brief set of 10 songs is both a break with the past and a fervent glance toward the future.

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Urb

Like a walk through an alternative music encyclopedia. [Jun 2006, p.113]

NOW Magazine

Though you might have pangs for United's enjoyable weirdness, It's Never Been Like That is serious fun.

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Stylus Magazine

The excessive genre-bending of their debut has been exchanged for a dilettantism honed to a much sharper point.

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Entertainment Weekly

One wonders if the qualities that make Phoenix appealing--breeziness, insouciance--will ultimately translate into enduring music. [26 May 2006, p.105]

Delusions of Adequacy

If there were ever an album that fulfilled the requirements for a “summer album,” this is it; Phoenix offers songs that offer little in the way of innovation or substance but a wealth of top-notch musicianship, catchy melodies, and transcendent choruses.

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Paste Magazine

A lively album with a strong melodic sense. [Aug 2006, p.90]

Under The Radar

Phoenix still hasn’t overcome the faults of their previous efforts. [#14]

Q Magazine

If It's Never Been Like That sees them rocking out by their own standards, they're still a sweat-free prospect by most others. [Jun 2006, p.118]

The Guardian

All that's standing in the way of a major breakthrough is a certain facelessness, exacerbated by Mars's reticent style.

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Uncut

The overwhelming sense is of a group needlessly hobbling themselves. [Jun 2006, p.110]

New Musical Express

If 'It's Never Been Like That' is a failure, at least it's not a boring one. [20 May 2006, p.31]

PopMatters

If you enjoy the genre and can stand the glare bouncing off the album’s shiny surface, you’ll likely find plenty to like in It’s Never Been Like That.

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Mojo

For all the frenetic energy, lush orchestration and earnest vocals, however, It's Never Been Like That has the feel of the work of a hollow band. [Jun 2006, p.110]

Tiny Mix Tapes

A change in demeanor accompanies this change in style, however, and it's a turn for the worse: Phoenix now gesture at being a Serious Group with Something to Say.

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Dusted Magazine

A puny, ill-conceived record in comparison to both Alphabetical and its predecessor United.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes

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

Shane L gave it a10:
I just came across this bank on XM Radio, XMU. I can't quit listening to it, and its the first time a cd's been good enough to buy off i-pod just because I can't wait to get to the store. I love cool new music, just rare to find anything mainstream anymore.

Seamus S gave it a10:
An inescapably catchy album filled with some of the most brillaint and fast hooks in my knowledge of contemporary pop. The album flows without one week track, paced out beautifully without filler. The second best album of 2006 by far.

Andy gave it a7:
I dig it, but its nothing we havn't heard before.

Chris gave it a10:
Their best work since United, this is an album by a band truly maturing both as songwriters and musicians. They rely a lot less on studio trickery and pull off a confident live act feel.

Alex A gave it an8:
This album should've been recorded by The Strokes right after the success of their "Is This It". It would have been a perfect sequel! However, Phoenix made it and it sounds simply great. The parish boys

mikey j gave it a10:
A perfect pop-rock album. The best of this genre (thus far) in 2006. It's outright anthems grab you initially... but it's the less immediate and more patient tracks that reap the most reward later on. No guilt pour moi.

kevin k gave it a10:
Phoenix started as a guilty pleasure - pop with a delicious twist. Like all my favourite things this last album took time but the investment paid off. They've got a heart and lives worth knowing.

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