Cannibal Sea
by The Essex Green
  • Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Mar 21, 2006
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Under The Radar
    60
    Seems just a bit empty. [#13, p.91]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Slant Magazine
    60
    Cannibal Sea is a mellow concoction well-suited to fans of cerebral indie pop.
  3. PopMatters
    60
    What we’re left with is an album that retreads a lot of familiar ground, but does it well, exploring a narrow but richly developed arc of ‘60s-influenced indie-pop.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. time
    Mar 10, 2007
    7
    They have good songs but they can't even be spoken in the same sentence as Camera Obscura. In fact their more Incubus than anything. Of They have good songs but they can't even be spoken in the same sentence as Camera Obscura. In fact their more Incubus than anything. Of course they're better than Pavement. Listening to actual Pavement being demolished by construction workers is better than listening to Pavement.… Full Review »
  2. mikeys
    May 5, 2006
    9
    An excellent cd to get for summer, I love it!
  3. TheBigCrunch
    Apr 29, 2006
    9
    A nearly flawless piece of sunny and sophisticated pop. Of the fifty to sixty albums I've heard that have been released in 2006, this is A nearly flawless piece of sunny and sophisticated pop. Of the fifty to sixty albums I've heard that have been released in 2006, this is easily in my top five. Critics who have dismissed Cannibal Sea for simply being a reappropriation of previously used pop tropes have completely missed the point. Pop/rock endlessly recycles itself, and pure originality is extremely rare, and frequently results in some fairly awful music. When judging a a straight ahead pop album like this (or the new Belle and Sebastian, or Gulliemotts, Elbow, etc...) the measure should be on how originally and effectively the band has reappropriated the core elements inherent in almost all pop/rock. In that regard, this album is something of a mini-masterpiece of sunny, breezy, excellently written guitar/bass/drums/synth pop music. If a better "summer" albums is released this year, I'll be shocked.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »