Open Season
- British Sea Power
- Band Name: British Sea Power
- Record Label: Rough Trade
- Release Date: Apr 5, 2005
- Critic Score
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By adding textures, piano, acoustic guitars, and restraint, and losing some of the scowling and savagery, BSP have unleashed a truly unique pop creation, one with depth and feeling.
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90British Sea Power are not only the best band around, they’re also the best songwriters.
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90Everything feels bolder than before, more assured of the rightness of singing from places that most lyricists fear to tred. In textures and words alone, 'Open Season' is a country mile ahead of any of the supposedly heroic guitar debuts knocking around in 2005.
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90It's a triumphant lesson in sweeping gracefully towards the mainstream with your imagination and mystery intact.
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84Open Season opts for simplicity, its plainest moments being its most transcendent, and for the most part, it carries you along. [#15, p.92]
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All of this unique oddness would not, of course, mean a thing without the music, and this is an album without a single duff track. More than that, it has plenty of exceptional ones. [2 Apr 2005, p.46]
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Another superb album. [#9]
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80Less chaotic and parochial, more serene and accessible, but no less magical. [May 2005, p.96]
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80Although it's a shame to see eccentrics reining in idiosyncratic impulses,... they've honed their hubris. [May 2005, p.98]
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80Swells with grace and intrigue. [May 2005, p.116]
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80Furthers the high concept lyrical talents of the group with an added twist: a more atmospheric, slightly new wave sensibility.
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This album feels alive and breathes honesty.
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Open Season takes debonair glam flourishes--screaming strings, slow-building lounge-act dramatics--and contrasts them with edgy riffs and subtle hooks. [May 2005, p.172]
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Whether they're prepared for it or not, 'Open Season' is set to transcend indie cliques and hardcore raving mentalist fanbases and blow BSP wide open.
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80Neatly cut and effortless in its melodic simplicity.
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78By maintaining their singular aesthetic while venturing into more inviting pop sounds, the weirdest band from Brighton just might have become the smartest.
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It’s a good record, and doesn’t try to recreate The Decline, but it doesn’t manage to capture its energy, fear and grandeur.
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70Febrile, idiosyncratic, epic yet fun: "Open Season" may not raise eyebrows but it has – thank God - raised the hitherto pitifully low bar for British guitar rock.
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The first few songs are so jaw-slackeningly great, it can take days to get to the album's highlight, the epic eight-minute medley of "Please Stand Up" and "North Hanging Rock."
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For the most part, BSP is successful in their attempt to infuse a britpop sensibility into the otherwise insipid post-punk genre.
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Wickedly infectious and eerily nostalgic. [#16, p.129]
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70Don't look to Open Season to get your heart pounding or your blood flowing; it trades in less cathartic experiences.
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British Sea Power's momentum flags down the stretch, but so long as it keeps generating songs like the hazy "Killing Moon" re-write "Like A Honeycomb," the band can return all it wants to the days of sweet sorrow.
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The smartest thing about Open Season, ultimately, is that these gents tweak their sound with more than a little subtlety and still retain the spirit of the project.
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67Finds these mysterious lads already advancing into their suave Roxy Music phase. [May 2005, p.102]
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60Sadly, Open Season's one-pace '80s guitar rock lags a bit behind the narrative. [May 2005, p.110]
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Despite obvious talent and wit, it fails to leave more than a marginal impression.
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This may be a more mature effort, but in places that sound is ordinary and unadventurous.
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The only real surprise is its wan predictability. [15 Apr 2005, p.77]
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40The potential is definitely there, but I can't help feeling that BSP have taken a step back from the promise of their first outing.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 20 out of 23
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Mixed: 3 out of 23
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Negative: 0 out of 23
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DaveD10Absolutely outstanding album. Brimming with beautiful imagery and stunning settings, the album has a real epic quality.
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TJS10
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SeamusS10A Beautiful Kind Of Effort That Lifts You Away From Where Ever You Are. Alive Beautiful Amazing