No Coast
by Braid
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Jul 8, 2014
    91
    With No Coast Braid has changed, but it’s retained the identity it established all those years ago, making for a return that’s not only welcome, but one that’s wholly necessary.
  2. Alternative Press
    Jul 7, 2014
    90
    Braid have delivered a record as nuanced, vitalizing and brilliant as anything in their already storied back catalog, reemerging as strong as any of the numerous bands that have popped up to critical notice in their wake.
  3. Paste Magazine
    Jul 8, 2014
    88
    Yes, Braid is still a guitar-forward post-punk powerhouse, and No Coast is a great addition to its catalog, even possibly containing some of the best material the band has ever written.
  5. Boston Globe
    Jul 8, 2014
    80
    Despite the time away, it sounds like the band has emerged with all of their tricks intact.
  6. Punknews.org (Staff)
    Jul 8, 2014
    80
    No Coast is a record that encapsulates their evolution pretty well, as a record that allows space to let the music dig in to your skin, and also, as one to show that there's no need to fear change.
  7. The Line of Best Fit
    Jul 7, 2014
    80
    While No Coast is more resurrection than reinvention, hearing new Braid now after 15 years without drums up the realization that nothing has sounded quite like it since.
  8. Pitchfork
    Jul 8, 2014
    77
    Braid don’t have the athleticism or explosiveness of their earlier days, but in a Tim Duncan way, they’re craftier, better about picking their spots.
  9. Spin
    Jul 11, 2014
    70
    No Coast is the work of a proud scene divorcée declaring his allegiance to nothing but verse and chorus. And that's a beautiful thing that too few punks understand.
  10. AllMusic
    Jul 7, 2014
    70
    Braid continue their story here, branching out in new directions and leaving room to wonder what comes next.
  11. Consequence
    Jul 7, 2014
    67
    On No Coast, Braid let themselves grow independently of trends of music, and that will be their saving grace, even if it does mean they’ve sanded down and hidden the rough spots that distinguish us all as humans.
  12. Magnet
    Jul 18, 2014
    60
    Though No Coast possesses its vivifying moments. It's pretty clear not all the organs made it back after the post-Frame And Canvas autopsy. [No. 111, p.52]
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  13. No Ripcord
    Aug 12, 2014
    50
    It needs a more tangible emotional charge. What it most sorely lacks is spontaneity.
  14. PopMatters
    Jul 28, 2014
    50
    No Coast isn’t bad. It’s just--what was it, again?
  15. Exclaim
    Jul 7, 2014
    50
    Unfortunately, the band play it safe on No Coast.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. cwindt
    Jul 9, 2014
    7
    This isn't a review on No Coast, I say refer to the professional reviewers...but I can tell you, after one full listen to No Coast, I say goThis isn't a review on No Coast, I say refer to the professional reviewers...but I can tell you, after one full listen to No Coast, I say go back to Braid's Frame and Canvas, released in 1997 if you want to experience this band in it's heyday. Frame and Canvas was a perfect stop and go, youthful scream for transcendence, uplifting melody and captured the time in which it was created in perfect relevance; a soundtrack for a time, at least to this once 20 year old college student. That album was all I listened to that senior autumn year. Fast forward 17 years, the inspiration found in their fledgling youth is still there, but it feels recycled, less sincere, more playing by the numbers, trying to capture something that was once pure. The lyrics seem really contrived, and immature, perhaps aimed at an immature audience. Look, I'm now 36, I'm assuming these guys are about the same age...to be wearing your heart on your sleeve at this age with cliché sentiment isn't complimentary to your age demographic, the lyrics on past albums were actually much more poetic, less obvious. No Coast is unmistakably a Braid album, maybe it will grow on me in time. I think its worth a listen for longtime Braid fans, but if you want the real deal, an album I consider an essential classic, give Frame and Canvas a listen instead, more worthy of your money.… Full Review »
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