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Dark Matters
by
Dark Matters Image
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The latest full-length release for the British rock band is the last with keyboardist Dave Greenfield, who passed away from COVID-19 in 2020.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. musicOMH.com
    Sep 13, 2021
    80
    Much of what follows is vintage Stranglers, incorporating tributes to their departed friend. These are done both explicitly (the touching song And If You Should See Dave…) and by association (This Song).
  2. Mojo
    Sep 13, 2021
    80
    Critically, Dark Matters evokes, rather than merely simulates, the band's hallmark quirk and strangeness, lending integrity to the ongoing endeavour. [Oct 2021, p.97]
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  3. Classic Rock Magazine
    Sep 13, 2021
    80
    Regardless of the personnel on it, this album sounds like the Stranglers: both nice and sleazy. [Sep 2021, p.81]
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  4. Uncut
    Sep 13, 2021
    70
    fter the snarling insensitivity that once defined The Stranglers, it’s reflective and poignant. Even if you strip away the late touches acknowledging Greenfield’s loss, the mood is suddenly grave and inevitably valedictory. [Oct 2021, p.20]

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. stebai
    Nov 28, 2021
    9
    I've flirted with liking the Stranglers for four decades. For every slice of perfection they deliver I can find an equally dire four minutesI've flirted with liking the Stranglers for four decades. For every slice of perfection they deliver I can find an equally dire four minutes in their back catalogue (5 minutes - that's the sweet spot!) Anyway point is the last time I saw them was at Ally Pally and was the final time Hugh played on stage with them. Afterwards i thought it safe then to consign them to the "meh" bin. Well.. so 2021.. 30 years later(ish) and here I am thinking that "Dark Matters" is the finest LP of the year. What the? This album is absolutely their best since Aural Sculpture and probably in the top 4 albums they have ever produced. After a month with it I even went back to listen to the ones I missed during my hiatus, that was how surprised I found myself. If this is to be the final meninblack release then, kudos, you have gone out on a real highlight here gents.… Expand

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