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It’s a rare album that is not only great on it’s first listen, but just as remarkable on it’s tenth.
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A great lost album in the making.
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A quantum leap in thought and execution from 2004 debut, These Were The Earlies.
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Not as endearingly obviously pop or as chilled out as their debut, The Enemy Chorus takes some getting used to before it unfurls it pleasures.
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Under The RadarThe Enemy Chorus' depth increases upon each listen. [#16, p.91]
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UncutLike its predecessor, the most impressive aspect of The Enemy Chorus is not so much the breadth of its references as the tumescent, head-spinning harmonies. [Feb 2007, p.74]
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The music on the album sounds muscular, more confident than before.
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New Musical Express (NME)Where the songs were once floaty-light, 'The Enemy Chorus' is anchored in electronic menace and murky krautrock undercurrents that make it throb as much as shimmer. [20 Jan 2007, p.31]
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Q MagazineImagine David Axelrod producing The Beatles, and you get an idea of The Earlies' ambition and musicality. [Mar 2007, p.111]
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Here, on their sophomore LP, these pen pals have dotted their Is and crossed their Ts flowing in and out of tracks that appropriately run the line of both personal and distant.
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The Enemy Chorus is a strangely formidable album, and in its own way, a daring one, too -- these songs of revenge, oppression, emptiness, and despair might puzzle some fans at first, but they certainly are impressive.
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The 11 songs on their second album have their own separate identity, with a diversity of colors and influences putting the Earlies in the company of such contemporaries as Mercury Rev, the Polyphonic Spree, and even, occasionally, Beck.
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Sublime.
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If their debut explored the space within, the Earlies' latest, The Enemy Chorus, peers into the void of the final frontier, with a similar kitchen-sink approach and more of the krautrock sprawl that characterized early singles like "Morning Wonder".
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So what if there are bits of Soft Bulletin and Dusk at Cubist Castle all over the record? At least they managed to choose the bits that fit together well.
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Sure, the horns and strings are nice, but they don't really add anything to the already too-busy song structures.
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It's an engaging enough amalgam of influences, but it would be a lot easier to love the Earlies' head music if it were more obviously coming from the heart.
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While The Enemy Chorus may not launch itself into the night sky and explode like the great big sonic firework it wants be, there are enough bangs on display here to warrant taking it out for the occasional stroll.
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There's wandering to endure, but if you can find the hook, let it grab you.
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Chalk this one up as a failed experiment, albeit one that ups enthusiasm for explorations to come.
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MojoThere's just one heart-grabbing moment. [May 2007, p.120]
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The CD is bound to attract some fans for its unwavering dedication to psychedelic textures, not to mention the number of bodies involved in the logistics of their live show, but this is energy that should have been expended in searching for better sheet music.
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MagnetWhat had been a fascinating display of aural minimalism has morphed into a haphazard, ill-advised mess. [#75, p.96]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 9
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Mixed: 0 out of 9
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Negative: 1 out of 9
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EricCMar 3, 2007
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bobcFeb 14, 2007
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IvanGFeb 9, 2007an amazing album, like love at first sight!!