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Pale Young Gentlemen - Pale Young Gentlemen
Metascore
80 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
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  1. Lost At Sea
    88
    Thoroughly theatric, Pale Young Gentlemen's measured approach is channeled by the bricolage upshot of their composition.
  2. Stylus Magazine
    83
    It's a classic first album: A band unpretentiously tangling various genres they--or even listeners--thought would never sound so brilliant together.
  3. No Ripcord
    80
    Overall, a fine album, self-released or not.
  4. Drowned In Sound
    80
    Pale Young Gentlemen–-as an album--is musical theatre. Switching between moments of mid-tempo melancholy to upbeat cabaret, they strike a perfect juxtaposition.
  5. Delusions of Adequacy
    80
    The band's eponymous debut is a classy, memorable, and swooning collection of sophisticated pop.
  6. Prefix Magazine
    80
    There's a refreshingly human scale to everything on Pale Young Gentlemen--the songs are so strong that the crack of a snare drum and the bowing of a cello, simple gestures as they are, can achieve the band's grand theatrical ambitions.
  7. cokemachineglow
    75
    The Gents waltz their way through these ten sturdy, mid-tempo numbers rarely striking a bum note.
  8. Tiny Mix Tapes
    70
    This music on this self-titled release is perfectly and tightly composed and arranged.
  9. Almost Cool
    70
    As a whole, the release is a bit stronger on the front end, but it's charming enough for the duration that a couple weaker (and somewhat repetitive, given the bands thus-limited oeuvre) tracks don't hold it back too much.
  10. Pitchfork
    69
    While Pale Young Gentlemen is frontloaded and slightly naïve like a record of this sort should be, there's more than enough reason to anticipate what they're capable of when they decide to get darker, older, and less gentle.
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User Reviews

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User Score
9.6 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. m_elders
    10
    My favorite album of all time. The lyrics are clever, and the music is addicting to say the very least. The vocalist's voice changes perfectly with the music, and his singing style is so unique that it never gets old. It's a crime that this band isn't more popular.… Full Review »
  2. DavidG
    9
    This album will eventually go down as among the year's 10 best albums. The Pale Young Gentlemen execute the inspired, fresh song-writing of Mike Reisenauer brilliantly. I can't help echoing the sentiments that Pale Young Gentlemen have been unfairly ignored by a music industry (labels, media outlets, radio) too rigidly self-satisfied to recognize a new talent unbelievably still under the radar. If music industry hype magazines and websites truly want to seem like cutting edge journalism uncovering "lost gems," they should take note. What could attend to your media's credibility moreso than the initial recognition that opened up your grateful audience's attention to a great band? Some of the alleged influences given by various websites seem forced. But I will echo a few: the comparison to a young Randy Newman (the songwriter) is apt -- the lyrics often ring bittersweet and ironic, while the music is varied, well structured, with alternating touches of the melancholic and the madcap. The band is more interested in great music than hype. Also, I cannot help likening them to a couple of my favorites: The Kinks and Nina Simone. Both examples performed compositions from various genres, making something new and timely out of older forms. Furthermore, it's probably fair to say that Pale Young Gentlemen will be similarly misunderstood by the same media outlets that try to pigeon-hole musicians into a marketable commodity. Unfortunately, this leads to everyone losing. Check these guys out and you'll, no doubt, want to purchase this self-released album. Unlike all of the musicians that their music is compared, all of your purchase dollars will go directly to the band and their musical growth instead of into the pockets of one of the major labels. With this debut record, they have emerged as a real artistic presence into the world of music.… Full Review »
  3. FarisR.
    10
    Pale Young Gentlemen are a pleasure to listen to. Really, what beats "Clap Your Hands"?
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