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Man Alive
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Man Alive Image
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 19 Ratings

  • Summary: The debut full-length album for the British quartet was produced by David Kosten.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. musicOMH.com
    90
    It's comparable to Late Of The Pier's debut Fantasy Black Channel; a lot on show but with hints of greater achievement. But Man Alive is a step up from that. It could well be their masterpiece; their scatterbrained work of art.
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    That's what they do with pop--layer incongruous harmonies and bastardised riffs to make us look at it anew. If that sounds like too much effort, then Man... isn't for you. If however, the thought of it as a brilliantly unsolvable puzzle appeals, then bow at the feet of pop's new Picassos.
  3. Mojo
    80
    Man Alive is daisy-fresh, and reaching levels of unexpected bliss on the album's three ballads. [Sep 2010, p.99]
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  4. BBC Music
    80
    EE are wilfully eccentric, and endlessly entertaining, but they know more than most how to craft a song, how to make an album.
  5. Drowned In Sound
    70
    This band has a ways to go: they can write more substantial, affecting music than this, their songcraft can indubitably be tightened up. But I think maybe it's Man Alive's sheer confidence that makes me feel alright about saying that: this is a band going places.
  6. The Guardian
    60
    The Manchester-based quartet really do throw everything, but everything, at their music in a laudable bid to sound unique. Inevitably, influences can still be detected, chief among them the Futureheads.
  7. Pitchfork
    38
    Everything Everything's debut LP, Man Alive, is proof that enthusiastic experimentation can't save your end product when the underlying elements are so incompatible and unappetizing.

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User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. chujfugh
    Jan 12, 2013
    10
    An original, experimental debut album from Everything Everything rivals the likes of Coldplay and Radiohead in terms of quality and structure.An original, experimental debut album from Everything Everything rivals the likes of Coldplay and Radiohead in terms of quality and structure. It tries something completely different every 16 bars and yet isn't exhausting to listen too. A very solid album from start to finish.… Expand
  2. choppy
    Oct 12, 2011
    9
    At times it sounds like a combination of Radiohead, The Police, the Futureheads, and Coldplay. I think that's a good thing, personally. IAt times it sounds like a combination of Radiohead, The Police, the Futureheads, and Coldplay. I think that's a good thing, personally. I don't really care for the first 3 songs on the album, which feel throwaway (esp. "My Kz, Ur Bf"), but after that, it picks up and gets really sonically interesting. Clearly not for everyone. If you don't like playfulness and experimentation, it may well turn you off.… Collapse
  4. BrainAndS0ul
    Aug 8, 2017
    7
    It is definetely flawed, a bit lazy at some points, a bit too "art-poppy" at other points, but it shows just so much potential and enthusiasmIt is definetely flawed, a bit lazy at some points, a bit too "art-poppy" at other points, but it shows just so much potential and enthusiasm that you start to enjoy it without even noticing, humming "Photoshop Handsome" on your way home.… Expand