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May 17, 2011While he's certainly revisiting his familiar aesthetic, VanGaalen has refined his style, resulting in a focused, cohesive album with a rocker's confidence powering through each track.
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Jun 29, 2011While Diaper Island doesn't represent a significant break from VanGaalen's existing body of work, it ultimately haunts and endures in just the right amount--making this one of the strongest entries in an already consistent discography.
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Jun 14, 2011Sure, there are imperfections along the way, but this is an immeasurably intriguing and constantly developing journey that's best experienced alone.
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Jun 6, 2011Sharper production focuses the singer's woozier tendencies, revealing a succession of hooks to adorn his take on Neil Young's grooving folk-rock and Blur's twisted indie.
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UncutJun 3, 2011His fine fourth album sees him thicken his sound a little, layering jazzy brass and full-blooded surf-rock twangs over austere acoustic foundations. [Jul 2011, p.96]
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May 27, 2011Creating such a tightly-knit record is a simple style a myriad of singer-songwriters have lived by, and in that sense Diaper Island feels just as uncompromising, if in a different way, as the equally miserable Blood on the Tracks.
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May 18, 2011He uses his guitar and ghost-like warble to render the ephemeral as concrete as cantaloupe.
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May 17, 2011Hard to imagine any of his future albums beating this one, but it's entirely possible, and all signs seem to point toward this inventive young producer/songwriter being on the rise.
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May 17, 2011It's gritty and honest. Beneath the surface-layer thrill of some of these songs are subtle character shifts and brave one-liners, all of which confirm VanGaalen's status as gripping songwriter as well as a producer.
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Jun 30, 2011It's that subtle interplay between humour and sadness that makes for meaningful, lasting music, and VanGaalen walks the line with the best of them.
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Jun 14, 2011Sweeter than its landfill-conjuring name suggests, Diaper Island supplies the harsh guitar harmonics, reverb and claustrophobic atmosphere VanGaalen does best, but aligns them with some of his prettiest songs.
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May 24, 2011For much of Diaper Island, he hits his sweet spot of raw indie folk-rock, but for others he seems to be bending his personality to fit the demands of guitar noise, instead of the other way around.