- Critic score
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Nextdoorland is a more than worthy addition to their catalog, and proves that two decades apart has not diluted their remarkable chemistry.
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It's unquestionably one of the best rock albums of 2002.
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The disc makes so few concessions to current trends that it sounds like something dug up from a time capsule, in the best sense.
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For the people who love this band, their sound, and Hitchcock's songwriting, this album will definitely not disappoint.
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Q MagazineThis is witty English guitar rock of the highest calibre. [Nov 2002, p.114]
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BlenderSounds like the work of musicians who've spent just half an hour apart, not 20-odd years. [#11, p.143]
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UncutDefinitely a return to psyche splendour. [Oct 2002, p.122]
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Nextdoorland is one of the rarest of things: a reunion album that captures the spirit of what made the band special in the first place.
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Hitchock's hand is fairly evident on here, and it generally sounds a bit more early-Hitchcock than it does late-Soft Boys.
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Nextdoorland finds the band's old chemistry in full effect, and Hitchcock's songwriting seems re-energized by the presence of his old mates.
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It wouldn't be difficult to pass off as a mildly disappointing unreleased Soft Boys album from 1981.
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The WireThe somewhat dated style and sound of Nextdoorland gives it a charm wholly unaffiliated with any current scene or trend. [#225, p.77]
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The psychedelic underpinnings of old are cleaned up a bit and the anger and bile that lay beneath the surface of the earlier material has been calmed, but there is still much to be enjoyed.
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Alternative PressOddly, they sound more now in 2002 than they ever have. [Dec 2002, p.96]
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MojoA worthy addition to the small Boys catalogue. [Dec 2002, p.122]
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It definitely doesn't disgrace the Boys' past, but that might be because Hitchcock's wise enough not to try to upend his classic material.
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While the band revisits and expands upon musical ideas from its past, Nextdoorland never seems like warmed-over Soft Boys history; the arrangements are exponentially deeper, the playing is energetic and economical, and the songwriting has clearly benefited from Robyn Hitchcock's twenty-year career.
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Even without a surplus of terrific songs to launch the affair into orbit, the band still knows perfectly well how to lock into each other and stay that way.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 8
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Mixed: 2 out of 8
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Negative: 0 out of 8
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HJSSep 1, 2005Finally something special. Too many mainstream groups in the market. This one sounds fresh.
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JasonNov 6, 2002
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BretB.Oct 25, 2002brilliant.