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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Hats Off To The Buskers
by The View


6.5

based on 17 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 33 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Official Artist Site

The very young Scottish four-piece shot straight to #1 on the UK charts with the release of this Britpop-flavored debut album, produced by Owen Morris (Oasis, The Verve).

LABEL:	Columbia / 1965 Records
RELEASE DATE:	13 March 2007
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Alternative, Rock, Britpop

NOTES: Original UK release 22 Jan 2007.

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...

Playlouder

The View are a study of all the essentials of British rock & roll.

Mojo

[It] burns with pop ambition. [Feb 2007, p.105]

musicOMH.com

There's enough talent here to suggest that the hype around The View at the moment is thoroughly justified - hats off to them indeed.

New Musical Express

If 'Hats Off...' is slightly too much, too soon, they've still done enough to impress.

Observer Music Monthly

It would be disappointing if this turned out to be the best debut album of 2007 - there's nothing particularly original here - but Hats Off to the Buskers is nonetheless a record that re-energises melodic guitar music in the most irresistible fashion, recalling the euphoric punch of Oasis' Definitely Maybe or the Strokes' Is This It as it does so.

Uncut

Their lack of artifice is a godsend. [Feb 2007, p.81]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

[The] good half is legitimately exciting.

Blender

The quartet has the virtues of youth... and some of the drawbacks. [May 2007, p.106]

BBC collective

A cannily considered, thoroughly de nos jours mix of punk, skiffle and music hall-bred power pop which fizzes with energy and affects a brash charm, but adds little to Barat’s and Doherty’s original blueprint.

PopMatters

It’s nowhere near as definitive a piece of work as the Arctic Monkeys’ debut—to which it will inevitably be compared—but neither is it an empty product fuelled by baseless industry hype.

Filter

Hats of to the Buskers has a few top-notch tunes up its sleeve, but it generally fails to match the thrilling energy and shambolic charm of the [Libertines]. [#24, p.94]

Spin

These young Scotsmen have grime to spare, along with a belief in rock's power to rescue them from it. [Mar 2007, p.99]

Prefix Magazine

In a vacuum, Hats off to the Buskers exists as a charming, innocuous piece of work, perfectly fine for mass appeal; in the real world, Falconer and company are gonna have to grin and bear just a few more Arctic Monkeys references.

Pitchfork

Like so many debuts, Hats Off to the Buskers is ultimately a document of a band searching for their own voice in those of others.

The Guardian

They're not without their charms.

Sputnikmusic

For the most part Hats Off To The Buskers is second-tier British post-punk.

Under The Radar

The View isn't bad, it's just that it's almost completely indistinguishable from countless other post-Pete Doherty, '60s-inspired Brit-rock bands. [#17, p.88]

The average user rating for this album is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

J J. gave it a1:
This album is pure crap. British "rock n roll" is officially dead.

paul gave it a9:
Ignore the jaded 'experts'. It's interesting and different enough. They can probably do better, but this is good listening until they do. What kind of criticism is 'they can do better' for a debut album anyway?

Martin F. gave it a10:
This is an amazing album. Truely inspirtional and has brung rock music back to life. Great stuff guys!

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
crackin little album perfect pick me up for a boring drive to work. oh and Maddy H "the best english band since the arctic monkeys..." are from dundee, which is in scotland.

Beans OnToast gave it a3:
A terrible result, despite the all-star production treatment, and misguided media preference as the latest indie wannabes. Shameful and massively inferior attempt to capture the Libertines sound. If there is anything else around which sounds as contrived and plasticy as this, then I'm yet to hear it (thank f**k). What next, an album of motown covers or the beatles perhaps ? Anyone who appreciates good indie, don't waste your money or your bandwidth

asdsad asdsad gave it a10:
great

a a gave it a10:
excellent

Hats Off To The Buskers by The View

Hats Off To The Buskers
by The View