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Aug 10, 2016BBNG have always been fluent and sonically articulate, but enlisting the talents of suitable vocalists to thicken their smokescreen strengthens their suit.
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Jul 21, 2016There’s a richness to IV which was not present on their last record, and it revolutionises their appeal.
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Jul 19, 2016BBNG can still be frustrating, but IV is a sign of a band hitting its stride. It’s their most jazz-forward album, and it’s filled with some markers of magnificent growth.
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Jul 19, 2016From the moment that crystalline keyboard riff and sparse drum machine open the first track, “And That, Too,” it’s clear the band has raised the stakes to match the talent they’ve been hanging out with.
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Jul 18, 2016IV marks a refinement of the BADBADNOTGOOD sound and as ever is filled to the brim with gorgeous melodies and impressive digressions.
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Jul 11, 2016Innovative and imaginative, IV overflows with ideas throughout.
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Jul 8, 2016IV is perhaps a little too ambitious for its own good. Grandiose aims are never to be scoffed at, but considering that IV's highs are so remarkably high and its lows are so forgettable, one cannot help but wish that BBNG had smoothed out the product.
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Jul 8, 2016IV sounds as timeless as the instrumentation itself. BadBadNotGood’s work with Ghostface Killah will have drawn in more listeners, but what they’ll find on IV is so much more than they might have expected.
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Jul 8, 2016Five years on, BBNG stand poised to write jazz standards for the next generation. In some circles, you’d call that progress. But for folks that turned to BBNG as infiltrators, rebels, the razor edge of the new--in those circles, you’d call that a sell-out.
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Jul 7, 2016While IV is extraordinary for delivering fresh music that elaborates on their past work, it feels particularly exceptional because of its forward momentum.
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Jul 6, 2016While IV shows a progression, it lacks the progressiveness that would keep BBNG in a league with their aforementioned jazz/hip-hop predecessors and peers. However admirably, it stays in its own lane.
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Jul 5, 2016They blend numerous influences and don't conform to any traditions. More than anything, their music is exuberant and immensely enjoyable.
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Jul 5, 2016IV feels subdued and professional, something you would never expect to associate with the quartet.
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Jul 5, 2016Fiery hip-hop instrumentals, creamy rhythm and blues balladry and classic lounge vibes are explored with equal excitement--and pulled off with equal panache.
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UncutJul 5, 2016"Time Moves Slow" is gorgeous Muscle Shoals soul with a killer turn from Future Islands' Samuel T Herring, while "In Your Eyes" with Charlotte Day Wilson is lush orch jazz with shades of David Axelrod. [Aug 2016, p.71]
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Jul 5, 2016Taken on their own, each track solidifies the group’s wild imagination, but IV is tough to stomach as the free-flowing, full-bodied juggernaut that it is.
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Q MagazineJul 5, 2016This is a set which pushes boundaries with a gripping sense of adventure. [Aug 2016, p.108]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 34 out of 36
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Mixed: 2 out of 36
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Negative: 0 out of 36
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Jul 8, 2016
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Jul 19, 2016
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Aug 12, 2023I am listening Cashmere right now and literally want to cry for how beautiful it is. Great album