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- Record Label: Matador
- Release Date: Dec 8, 2017
- Summary: The first of a planned trilogy of EPs for the Scottish indie band was produced by Leo Abrahams.
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- Record Label: Matador
- Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 9
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Mixed: 3 out of 9
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Negative: 0 out of 9
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Dec 8, 2017If they’ve been treading water for the last ten years, then How to Solve Our Human Problems, Pt. 1 is the sound of them emerging--refreshed, invigorated, and ready to return to the hearts and ears of fans across the world.
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Dec 6, 2017The first five songs could be mistaken for unreleased tracks from an earlier era, but they are a bit more knowing.
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Dec 8, 2017The music draws on two decades of musicianship to showcase the indie veterans’ trademark versatility. Anthemic “We Were Beautiful” melds euphoric horns with programmed drum machines; elsewhere, “The Girl Doesn’t Get It” floats its lyrics across a sea of synths. Best of all is delicate opener “Sweet Dew Lee,” on which Stuart Murdoch’s honeyed delivery posits him as the missing link between Simon and Garfunkel.
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Dec 8, 2017What stands out about the first entry in Belle & Sebastian’s three-part EP series How To Solve Our Human Problems is how much it, like 2015’s Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, sounds like the work of an out-and-out band.
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Dec 8, 2017How to Solve Our Human Problems, Part 1 is the sound of a band deploying its full arsenal of bells and whistles to seize your attention, even when the songs themselves aren’t always strong enough to retain the grip.
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Dec 6, 2017The true standout of the EP is Fickle Season. ... The other three tracks are inoffensive but somewhat forgettable
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Dec 6, 2017The EP opens with the lovely “Sweet Dew Lee”, a genial pop strummer in the manner of early Orange Juice, its buoyant melody evoking a hill climb to an urban vista as the protagonist daydreams of a parallel world in which he and his departed lover are still an item.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1 out of 1
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Mixed: 0 out of 1
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Negative: 0 out of 1
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Jan 12, 2018
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