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Lost At Sea

With its mind-blowing dynamics and wounded memories, bandaged up in affecting, mature lyrics that dissect relationships with a therapist's perspective, the wisdom of hindsight and an artist's touch, Let's Build A Fire is almost flawless.

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Stylus Magazine

One of the better American rock albums of this year.

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All Music Guide

This is by far +/-'s most mature work to date.

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The Phoenix

Several cuts on +/-’s third full-length... feature tunes sturdy (and dreamy) enough to satisfy a Death Cab for Cutie fan. But Let’s Build a Fire is also full of moments that suggest Baluyut has grown tired of the straightforward indie-rock approach.

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Pitchfork

While +/- are sharp songwriters and capable mimics, they've gone through one more transformation as a band without arriving at a destination. That said, they remain a step ahead just by their modest ambitions, impulsively coloring and pushing their songs past the comfort level, always adding some detail to keep the listener's interest.

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Under The Radar

[It] comes across as a mix-tape of unreleased songs by your favorite bands. [#15]

Delusions of Adequacy

One of the most accessible, pleasant releases of 2006.

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Drowned In Sound

[An] inventive, if uneven collection.

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Magnet

Sometimes the gambles pay off... and sometimes they don't. [#74, p.108]

Prefix Magazine

All over Let's Build a Fire, +/- fails to capitalize on the moments of beauty and originality by either doing too much or doing too little.

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cokemachineglow

+/- have abandoned their bipolarity, which I was willing to call “complexity” or “potential” until just now, for a straightforward record that yields none of the possible benefits of a straightforward record.

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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.

Christian R gave it a9:
Really great record..much more organic and a bit mellower than their previous work but to great result.s The songs on Let's Build are catchy, lyrically engaging (dare I say meaningful) and depsite decriptors by others like "pleasant", this is just as subtly subversive as the rest of their catalog and therefore moreso than most other records. Though it may not on the surface seem to tap into the national zeitgeist, can you name a band that makes simultaneously think, feel and bob your head and dance to a song in 7?

Andy D gave it a9:
great record. ignore the clueless morons at pitchfork and cokemachineglow. unlike them, you should actually listen to the record. i agree with sally f that holding patterns is definitely their best release, but let's build a fire is great nonetheless. the important thing is to love is a powerful song. a classic.

Chris G gave it an8:
Good, somewhat quirky dream pop...nice stuff...melodic....and a grower.

Andy gave it a7:
It's grown on me a lot since the first listen, this is one that creeps up on you. It still doesn't match the dynamic sound of You Are Here and they're EP. Go see these guys live, the drummer is outstanding.

Sally F gave it a7:
You get the feeling Patrick Ramos and (esp.) James Baluyut are tired of conventional pop song structure when you hear this. While a few songs made me want to come back for more, as a whole this seemed hollow. Still the best thing they released was theHolding Patterns EP...i miss versus.

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Let's Build A Fire

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