Aviary
by Julia Holter
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 53 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 53
  3. Negative: 6 out of 53
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  1. BrushedRed
    Oct 28, 2018
    1
    Quite the bummer after the superb Have You In My Wilderness. I’ve not been a huge fan of hers in the past, but I loved her catchy and ethereal chamber pop tracks. There wasn’t a single bad song on that album. Here, though, I struggle to even finish a track. All of them are long and drawn out. They’re very sparse and have very little in the way of hooks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying IQuite the bummer after the superb Have You In My Wilderness. I’ve not been a huge fan of hers in the past, but I loved her catchy and ethereal chamber pop tracks. There wasn’t a single bad song on that album. Here, though, I struggle to even finish a track. All of them are long and drawn out. They’re very sparse and have very little in the way of hooks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I want ALL hooks, but I’d like something to keep me around. All of these songs could be condensed down to a minute or less and lose no merit. It seems like she just pranced around a studio in a flower halo while randomly hitting random instruments while quietly whispering over them. After her last album, I couldn’t wait for more material, but as the singles rolled out, I quickly lost hope. I think the only redeeming track here I found was “Another Dream.” It was one of the ones I found less painful. Kinda spacey and engrossing. Can’t say the same for much of the rest. It was way too long.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

84
#84 Best Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. Pitchfork
    Nov 2, 2018
    82
    Aviary ultimately has the effect of looking through a new friend’s bookshelf, accessing the wild particularities of their mind.
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  2. The Quietus
    Oct 31, 2018
    80
    Where Have You In My Wilderness faithfully stuck to pop structures and verse-chorus-verse dynamics, Aviary appears through-composed, as though its songs were written purely according to whatever felt like the right thing to do next, and not dictated by any of Holter’s more traditionalist habits. This doesn’t make it a difficult listen, though--this is an album steeped in beauty, a celebration of sound.
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  3. The 405
    Oct 30, 2018
    75
    Aviary is an incredibly immersive voyage and arguably her greatest achievement. In fact, it wouldn’t be too bold to say this is an Art pop masterpiece via one of the best songwriters alive—it’s just not for everyone, and Holter is ok with that.
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