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100

Alternative Press

As edgy as singer-songwriter pop gets. [Oct 2005, p.158]

Prefix Magazine

Between his willingness to experiment and a bountiful arsenal at his disposal, a spectacular range of dreamlike moods and sounds are created across Infiniheart's sixty-five minutes.

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cokemachineglow

Infiniheart is too bright, too beautiful, and almost too good to be believed.

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Entertainment Weekly

An excellent new-school Neil Young for the Garden State generation. [26 Aug 2005, p.61]

Paste Magazine

VanGaalen stuffs these frequently breathtaking songs with death and paranoid visions of dystopias and bad dreams. [Oct/Nov 2005, p.125]

Under The Radar

These are really, really beautiful songs. [#11, p.116]

Magnet

At an hour long, Infiniheart occasionally feels infinite, but moments of perfection make VanGaalen's meanderings seem a necessary part of the whole appealing coincidence. [#69, p.110]

The Guardian

Contains some of this year's most original and moving songwriting, and displays a breathtaking virtuosity and inventiveness on the part of its creator.

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Lost At Sea

Rife with contrast and irony, Infiniheart plays like a series of short stories or films, somehow interwoven to a common conclusion.

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Pitchfork

That's ultimately the sticking point with Infiniheart: VanGaalen's songs tend toward folly, yet it's impossible to discount his commitment to the material.

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Neumu.net

Melding big, weary Fleetwood Mac-esque emotion to stretched-out arrangements, both electronic and folk, the Canadian singer/songwriter's power lies in his dedication to his own individuality.

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New Musical Express

[An] impressive lo-fi debut. [27 Aug 2005, p.74]

Tiny Mix Tapes

With 16 thoroughly-developed tracks, clocking in at a little under an hour, Infiniheart is a tedious listen. Though its moments of faltering are few, it's a lot to digest.

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Uncut

The only consistent thing about Infiniheart is its inconsistency. [Sep 2005, p.116]

Delusions of Adequacy

Although annoyingly inconsistent, Infiniheart contains enough interesting tunes with odd arrangements and instrumentation to convince us that Chad Van Gaalen is a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and is capable of producing engaging, lo-fi, ambient pop.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes

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

Jere W gave it a9:
I like him better than Sufjan (they are often compared for reasons unknown to me). His second effort will do much better!

T-WiLL gave it an8:
The single "Clinically Dead" will linger in your mind for years. The rest of teh album is a grower. If given the time, a rewarding listen.

matt a gave it a9:
Very impressive lo-fi album. All the tracks work pretty flawlessly together but I would be interested to see what some studio production would do to his sound. Still, stunning first proper debut and one of the year's ten best.

Nathan M gave it a10:
For 10 years, Chad VanGaalen has been toiling away in obscurity, producing his own brand of spacey folk music from his basement. His first commercially available album - Infiniheart is a manic flight through sonic prairie wastelands. Mr. VanGaalen acts as singer, songwriter & producer on the album - a true renaissance man. Energetic, yet restrained.

Matt K gave it a10:
This is second only to Sufjan's "Illinois" in my book - spectacular song writing of the darkest variety. Great and extremely unique sound you will not find from your generic pop artists - very much a ground breaker.

jah gave it a10:
been listening to this for a year and a half without a break, just great

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Infiniheart

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