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Filter[Van Dyke] Parks' masterful touch transforms the Thrills from barroom favorites to starry-eyed chancers with a shot at the big time. [#12, p.105]
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The Thrills continue to crank out buoyant melodies that keep singer Conor Deasy from downing in his bittersweet lyrics and brokenhearted vocals.
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SpinA moving listen, despite patches of redundancy. [Oct 2004, p.111]
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So, yes, Let's Bottle Bohemia is dizzyingly over-produced, but here it fits.
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It's certainly not a bad second effort; simply they have attempted to downsize the large breast-beating anthems to something a little more crafted and understated, while still retaining their populist nous.
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MojoThere's some startling songwriting on Let's Bottle Bohemia. [Oct 2004, p.104]
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Let’s Bottle Bohemia is a triumph.
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Fans of So Much for the City's warm, Beach Boys-esque charms may be disappointed with The Thrills' musical progression, but most should enjoy Bohemia's varied charms.
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A really good record by a potentially great rock & roll band.
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Even though some of the novelty's worn off with Let's Bottle Bohemia, the hand claps, woo-hoo choruses and wide-eyed lyrics are still undeniably enjoyable.
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Los Angeles TimesToo many of the songs seem undernourished. [3 Oct 2004]
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By third song, "Faded Beauty Queens", the recipe is already stalling, and the harmonies begin to sound flimsy.
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New Musical Express (NME)An older, wiser, more mature and more accomplished Thrills but -- to be honest -- the heart of 'Let's Bottle Bohemia' could quite easily have been made from the leftovers of 'So Much For The City.' [11 Sep 2004, p.54]
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Their forlorn, polished California pop is like the sprawling Valley suburbs: nice enough, if that's your sort of thing.
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Under The RadarNot so much a staler rehash of So Much For The City [as] an exact rehash of So Much For The City. [#7]
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The songs are likable, but lack a core.
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It's trying so hard to impress that it comes off as pushy.
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BlenderA strained, washed-out, sluggish record. [Oct 2004, p.129]
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Q MagazineIt sounds exactly the same as the first record... Another solid, unremarkable effort. [Oct 2004, p.116]
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This album should really have been called Let's Battle Insomnia, in honour of its sedative properties.
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Rolling StoneIts fakeness comes to the fore. [28 Oct 2004, p.99]
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The Thrills still have more musical verve than many other second-album victims, but too much of this album seems as if The Thrills have wearied of their own sunny musical dispositions.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 12
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Mixed: 1 out of 12
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Negative: 1 out of 12
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PatrickOFeb 16, 2006Excellent
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JohnRNov 9, 2005
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CPOct 27, 2005Embarassingly weak songwriting that makes me yearn for Bruce Willis's "The Return of Bruno." It's that bad.