- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Jun 6, 2013Occasionally a lick of whimsical Irish poetry sneaks in (Earthly Pleasures), but lyrically O’Brien’s going for something more vague and profound.
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Jun 4, 2013It’s when Villagers are at their most pure--be it on the brilliant chamber pop of Northing Arrived or the pure, instrumental pastoral of the title track--that {Awayland} is strongest; as opposed to when it’s trying to outsource itself to stylistic whimsy or fad.
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May 29, 2013A musician capable of creating lush if sometimes unlikely arrangements, he uses his particular prowess as a means of fashioning spectacular soundscapes.
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Apr 9, 2013On “Jackal,” O’Brien’s digressive songwriting was held together by a unifying palette. Here, he’s all over the place.
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Under The RadarMar 22, 2013The songs are well and good, the lyrics phenomenal at times, and the music solid. Yet there are enough moments when the album falls flat to deflate the impact of those golden moments. [Mar-Apr 2013, p.96]
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Jan 18, 2013Villagers ought to be applauded for their ambition to heave themselves away from expectation, and then mourned for their lack of conviction which discards them back into it.
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Jan 14, 2013To its credit, {Awayland} rarely comes across as false, but O'Brien's affinity for cleverness over clarity ensures it rarely comes across in any real way.
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Jan 14, 2013O'Brien's voice is beautiful and his songwriting often adventurous, but there are times when the aim isn't as true as it could be.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 17 out of 18
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Mixed: 1 out of 18
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Negative: 0 out of 18
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Jan 30, 2014
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May 1, 2013