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Owl Splinters Image
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The second full-length release from the Norwegians duo of Erik Skodvin and Otto Totland is the first in over five years.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Aug 4, 2011
    81
    OS's greatest feat is in its restraint. The urge to collapse into all-out roaring is there for the whole forty-three minutes, but Skodvin and Totman have made a sort of pact: you stay feathery on the piano, I won't go to Hades in the mix.
  2. Aug 4, 2011
    80
    Owl Splinters is a testament to what practiced musicianship, studio know-how and an ear for textured complexity can accomplish.
  3. Aug 4, 2011
    70
    Texture is ultimately the dominant force on the album, no matter the volume or source, and hearing how the possibilities are explored song for song within the context of contemplation and hunkering down against a kind of impending threat can be very rewarding.
  4. Aug 4, 2011
    70
    Owl Splinters has the veiled optimism of an overcast sky with just enough clear areas to allow rays of sun to shine through; it brings the duo's cacophonous fusion of horror and romance to its most fully realized incarnation yet.
  5. 70
    I've put it on many times, but this is a record that takes a while for the memory to map, so smoky are its landmarks.
  6. Aug 4, 2011
    60
    The dull interludes and derivative sound of "Close Forever Watching" prevent Owl Splinters from achieving the promise intimated by its standouts. It's a noticeable improvement over Pale Ravine, but perhaps not what one might expect after six years of hibernation.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of