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Jul 17, 2015Though the new Magnifique--the band’s first album in five years--doesn’t reinvent the Ratatat wheel, it revisits the status-quo thrill of those first two albums, while sprinkling in the hammock-swaying, breezy tropical vibe of both LP3 and LP4.
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Jul 17, 2015While the midtempo tracks veer into the noodle-sphere, the lush Magnifique proves they’re not a dance-floor novelty.
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Jul 9, 2015The precise beauty of their production work, specifically the refusal to dump gratuitous instruments into the mix, places Magnifique at the top of Ratatat’s catalogue. Stroud and Mast let guitars beat at the album’s heart, and their balance of bubbly and peaceful elements ushers a return too fluid to ignore.
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Jul 17, 2015Magnifique doesn't show a ton of artistic growth or progression; it's more of a rebranding that tightly focuses on their strengths and passes them to the consumer like a sharp, swift punch to the brain and feet.
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Jul 15, 2015On album five, they still manage to experiment and sound as fresh as they were when they spat out 'Seventeen Years'.
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Jul 15, 2015This melodic emphasis, combined with a clearer compositional vision, is a welcome return to the style that made their earlier work so captivating.
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Jul 9, 2015It's dramatic, emotive, a little cheesy, but magnificently good fun.
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Aug 3, 2015It’s unlikely there was any desperate clamour for a new Ratatat album during the duo’s prolonged absence from the scene. Nevertheless, Magnifique is a nice reminder of the band’s command of their tiny, unfashionable corner of the music world.
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Jul 20, 2015Within its perameters It’s an inventive and carefree album, a joyful re-engagement with a well loved sound, one that will undoubtedly remain fresh for as long as its creators are happy to stir the electro-rock-cauldron.
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Jul 17, 2015Ratatat have done a fine job narrowing in on their strengths on Magnifique, and in doing so, have crafted their best record since LP3.
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Jul 9, 2015the New York duo have shown that they indeed own that genre because well, it’s their own genre. Thankfully, the same feelings are still mustered with new offering Magnifique--and then some.
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Jul 15, 2015Individual melodies may not stick in your head, but Magnifique, as a complete work, offers a musical experience unavailable beyond Ratatat’s veteran production table.
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MagnetAug 12, 2015Overly busy.... They're best when they act just like Ratatat. [No. 123, p.58]
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Jul 17, 2015What makes Magnifique work best as album experience, rather than a collection of individual songs; any shapeless moments are grafted onto the studier elements in the listener’s memory, leading to a rewarding overall experience in spite of the lulls in the action.
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Q MagazineJul 30, 2015Opting to name your album Magnifique certainly suggests a renewed confidence and the music here largely supports that. [Sep 2015, p.115]
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Jul 29, 2015As with every Ratatat record, Magnifique leaves you wondering what they could do if they fleshed these out into actual songs with real singers.
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Jul 22, 2015Songs are summery and bright, a more apt soundtrack to a road trip across Prince Edward County than to a night at an underground club.
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Jul 16, 2015Magnifique drags a bit, as can often be the case with instrumental tracks centred on repetitive patterns, but it demonstrates the band’s commitment to their oddball signature style.
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UncutJul 9, 2015Their syrupy soft-rock instrumentals, here in abundance, stacked like fluffy breakfast pancakes, are moreishly, but the gimmick wear thin pretty quickly. [Aug 2015, p.78]
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Jul 16, 2015It’s not that the album is bland, it’s that it doesn’t really do anything or go anywhere.
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Jul 13, 2015Magnifique is less than immersive.
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Jul 20, 2015There is some charm in the Brooklyn duo’s method but, after five albums, it’s running thin.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 24 out of 31
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Mixed: 6 out of 31
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Negative: 1 out of 31
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Jun 8, 2016
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Sep 22, 2015
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Aug 21, 2015