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Entertainment Weekly

Is it cheesy? Kind of. But sometimes your musical diet can use a little extra dairy.

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All Music Guide

Calling the World might not be radically inventive, but its solid songcraft and playful shout-outs to rock history are a lot of fun.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Tossing aside the overbearing Weezer influence from Rooney's debut, singer-songwriter-Hollywood kid Robert Schwartzman -brother of Jason, cousin of Nicolas Cage - adopts the "poor me" lyrical stance perfected by the likes of The Eagles and Toto on Calling The World.

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Billboard

There aren't enough original ideas here to know if Rooney can shine as a relevant, modern rock band.

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Rolling Stone

It's even more hook-slathered and fetchingly tuneful than the first.

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Paste Magazine

Things get slightly clunky when the tempo slows and they stretch for drama, but there’s a growing self-awareness here that keeps Rooney within its comfort zone, which, refreshingly, is comforting more often than not.

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Q Magazine

A radio-friendly collection of feel-good summer pop alongside teen-angsty ballads. [Nov 2007, p.147]

PopMatters

It’s all very sweet and likeable, too much in fact. The shtick is so cloying that its sentiments melt on contact. This is the fundamental flaw of Rooney’s work on Calling the World - the effect of their craft, delivery, and emotion disappears as soon as it arrives.

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Prefix Magazine

In the end, Calling the World left me bored as hell.

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Drowned In Sound

There’s just very so little of merit here--glazed pop-rock staggers into itself as the whole album washes past without you realising.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes

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

Jose G. gave it a1:
Ick.

Kait gave it a10:
The first will always be better but Calling the World is growing on me. Rooney is just...fantastic.

Chris W. gave it a9:
A highly addictive album. At my first listen, I wasn't that impressed, but give it a couple of spins and now I can't stop. There are many catchy songs that won't let you feel all cheesed out in the end. Many of these songs could get radio play, but are edgy enough that they won't sound like Coldplay or Train. this album is good... it's just the right length to leave you satisfied, but wanting a little bit more.

otho s gave it a7:
Like the debut, CALLING THE WORLD is catchy as hell, but Schwartzman's lyrics straddle a very fine line between romantic and insipid. You would think that Francis Ford Coppola's nephew would have a bit more literacy in his genes.

Ellen gave it a6:
The album is enjoyable but I feel like it's kind of a step down from there first album. Rooney kinda lost some of their edge with this one. A little less witty, a little more desperate.

Neil S gave it an8:
Its a little different from the debut, but I think its just as good. Calling the world could be my favorite pop record of the year.

Leif S. gave it a7:
Album was decent, I felt as if their debut cd was better. I would still recommend purchasing this album.

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Calling the World

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