Descended Like Vultures
by Rogue Wave
  • Record Label: Sub Pop
  • Release Date: Oct 25, 2005
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. AllMusic
    70
    With Descended Like Vultures, Rogue Wave have become just another indie rock band, one that has delivered a strong album without a weak song on it, but a real band just the same.
  2. Pitchfork
    78
    In the end, it's hard to decide if Descended Like Vultures is better or worse than Rogue Wave's debut.
  3. Uncut
    80
    What elevates Rogue Wave above the pale massed ranks of the wispy and fey, though, are melodies with real muscle, and a muscial ambition that flirts with the experimental, but remains joyously within reach of the FM dial. [Dec 2005, p.112]
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  5. Under The Radar
    80
    A perfect mix of tender melodies and rock and roll. [#11, p.108]
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  6. Drowned In Sound
    90
    It’s full of the minute anxieties of life that keep you awake in the early hours, but set to some of the most life-affirming sounds you’ll have heard for a long time.
  7. Paste Magazine
    70
    For all its efforts to dazzle, Rogue Wave's music rarely engages the emotions the way it ought to. [Dec 2005, p.124]
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  8. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    Rogue's high, gentle vocals and halcyon harmonies mask lyrics that are occasionally dark and cynical--but never mushy. [28 Oct 2005, p.87]
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  9. Slant Magazine
    80
    If not as easy to embrace as its predecessor, the album compensates with a great deal more ambition in its scope.
  10. Prefix Magazine
    70
    The sanitized production can be a bit of a stumbling block, and Rogue occasionally gets ahead of himself with his high-spire vocals, but Descended Like Vultures is by and large not the sophomore slump such and such and so and so were expecting.
  11. Austin Chronicle
    89
    Rogue Wave has reinvented itself with soft-edged, yet masculine, music that's far from fluffy.
  12. Billboard
    90
    One of the year's best. [29 Oct 2005]
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  13. Amazon.com
    90
    A fabulous collection of delirious, dizzy alt-pop.
  14. Almost Cool
    75
    One could argue that it sounds like a different group on this release, and technically it is. Still, if you like the last album from Rogue Wave, I can't imagine you going wrong with this one.
  15. Junkmedia
    90
    Unlike Rogue Wave's timid debut, Vultures blazes forward with the kind of assured bravado not usually seen this side of U2.
  16. Trouser Press
    70
    Some of the bridges still get hazy, and a few songs sound like each other, but for the most part, the guitars revel in their unleashed electricity and the rhythms are layered, propulsive and paradoxically so anchored they seem free.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. MichaelB.
    Aug 15, 2007
    10
    I don't care what some of the critics say, this is some of the most thoughtful, intelligent, and even emotional music being written I don't care what some of the critics say, this is some of the most thoughtful, intelligent, and even emotional music being written these days. This is the album for an autumn drive through the entire length of a flat state when you almost want to wave at any of the four cars you pass. Love. It.… Full Review »
  2. CurtisW
    Jan 25, 2006
    9
    Rogue Wave, the band everybody loves to hate - where everybody is either a) a jackass or b) less than 26 years old. I know! I'm going to Rogue Wave, the band everybody loves to hate - where everybody is either a) a jackass or b) less than 26 years old. I know! I'm going to poop in my pants and call it the Arcade Fire and then rub it in my hair! I get so sick of everyones RW qualifications. It's not easy to make songs like this. Grow up and recognize.… Full Review »
  3. MackB
    Jan 15, 2006
    10
    Wow, this is one amazing album. This one almost slipped past me, unnoticed, until my bro tipped me on to it. Most of the low "professional" Wow, this is one amazing album. This one almost slipped past me, unnoticed, until my bro tipped me on to it. Most of the low "professional" reviews are just lazy...and what's sad is that this is immediate stuff, so why take such a narrow-minded view? The melodies get stuck in your mind easily, yet most of the songs reward the listener on multiple listens, despite their instant catchiness. Oh well, just because some critics want to write them off doesn't diminish the album - it's just too bad these guys aren't quite getting the credit they deserve for writing such wonderful music.… Full Review »
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