House on the Hill
by The Babies
  • Record Label: Woodsist
  • Release Date: Nov 13, 2012
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Under The Radar
    Jan 3, 2013
    60
    Our House On The Hill is easy, accessible pop fun. [Jan-Feb 2013, p.93]
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  2. Blurt Magazine
    Dec 6, 2012
    70
    Sure this House on the Hill could be more soundly constructed, but one suspects that ricketiness is part of the appeal.
  3. Beats Per Minute
    Nov 26, 2012
    70
    What results is a more even effort, a more accomplished record, by all stretches of the imagination, but one that lacks a single truly brilliant track to elevate it above the legion of Brooklyn guitar bands.
  5. No Ripcord
    Nov 26, 2012
    70
    While it's hard to say whether or not Our House on the Hill is truly a great album, it's clear that with this record, The Babies have defiantly surpassed the less-than-lukewarm expectations geared towards them to create a pop record ripe with personality and flavor.
  6. Pitchfork
    Nov 15, 2012
    78
    Though imperfect, Hill's intensifying sonic clarity presents the Babies as a group that still believes in rock'n'roll as a powerful language, one that can help sort out mortal complexities and say something about the way we live.
  7. NOW Magazine
    Nov 15, 2012
    60
    Many of Morby's tunes sacrifice his twangy, down-home warmth. Luckily, both still write simple, timeless hooks.
  8. CMJ
    Nov 14, 2012
    70
    The sound is more refined without completely losing what many listeners initially loved about the band: its natural and unstructured approach.
  9. AllMusic
    Nov 14, 2012
    70
    Though front-loaded with its most energetic and moving songs, Our House on the Hill is an intriguing statement from a band shedding their better-known affiliations for a whole new ideal.
  10. Filter
    Nov 13, 2012
    78
    Fuzzy while never saccharine, Our House on the Hill dispels any notion of a sophomore slump.
  11. DIY Magazine
    Nov 13, 2012
    70
    Our House on the Hill' is at least a welcome addition to their lexicon; its 50s-tinged 'woah-oh' backing vocals and neo-retro chord changes just wistful enough.
  12. The Boston Phoenix
    Nov 13, 2012
    63
    The songs are what we've come to expect--approachable slacker jams mixed in with cursory love songs, and the occasional guitar solo that proves reverb and washed-out colors don't have the monopoly on nostalgia--but production is cleaner and energy levels are lower.
  13. Consequence
    Nov 13, 2012
    50
    A sophomore effort that sounds largely indistinguishable from the debut in its strengths and weaknesses.
  14. Exclaim
    Nov 13, 2012
    80
    Freed from the confines of their regular gigs, Morby and Ramone go for broke, creating a record with hooks that just won't quit.
  15. Paste Magazine
    Nov 13, 2012
    68
    These are songs written simply and genuinely, and in a city and a scene soaking in irony and image, they are a refreshing change.

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