• Record Label: Lex
  • Release Date: Apr 30, 2013
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
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  1. Apr 29, 2013
    80
    This is a wonderfully entertaining collection of pop songs that just happen to be well-versed in history and political and economic theories.
  2. Apr 26, 2013
    70
    Lacking both the complexity of the Super Furry Animals' playful psychedelia or the intimate warmth of Rhys’ solo work, it’s nevertheless an appealing curio and trailblazer in the small sphere of biographical concept albums.
  3. Apr 24, 2013
    80
    What stops the record being preposterous, what keeps it charming and fun throughout, what makes it okay for ‘Mid Century Modern Nightmare’ to rhyme “bourgeoisie” with “cups of tea” is the presence of Gruff.
  4. Apr 26, 2013
    80
    Praxis Makes Perfect only suffers in comparison to its predecessor in that it lacks a clear standout track in the same vein as Stainless Style’s ‘I Told Her On Alderaan’, but it works better as a cohesive record.
  5. Apr 23, 2013
    80
    Instrumentally, the record has all the hallmarks of Super Furry Animals meeting Boom Bip--Rhodes and Wurlitzer, squelchy analogue synths, guitars and keyboards, metronomically tight live drums, Rhys’ brilliantly Welsh-accented American falsetto. Musically and lyrically it also possesses all of the keen humour of the former, modest and understated to a tee.
  6. Mojo
    Apr 23, 2013
    80
    Praxis achieves the tricky balancing act between playful and poignant. [May 2013, p.90]
  7. Apr 24, 2013
    70
    Side project, collaboration or fully fledged act, Neon Neon have a Mercury nomination under their belts--and now a follow-up LP that, for better or worse, peddles the same worthy wares.
  8. 70
    Ultimately the confusion and convolution is all part of the charm on this adventure into a world of history and imagination. It doesn't hit the peaks of 'Stainless Style', but is still a record worth investing time in.
  9. May 6, 2013
    70
    The record alone makes for the latest solid effort from these two outsize talents, but the stage show ought to be the ideal way to enjoy it
  10. Q Magazine
    Apr 23, 2013
    80
    Concise at just 30 minutes, perhaps explaining why "the concept" is not fully realised, but it's still unlikely you'll hear a better anti-fascist-Marxist-electro-pop record all year. [May 2013, p.106]
  11. Jun 4, 2013
    80
    Each of these 10 songs is a piece in the Feltrinelli puzzle, resulting in an album whose ambition suitably matches its subject’s big ideas.
  12. Gruff’s gorgeous voice helps humanise Feltrinelli. Never more so than on “Hoops With Fidel”, which, rather than demonising him and Castro, conveys the ideal of international revolution as a beautiful thing. As beautiful, in fact, as this album.
  13. May 21, 2013
    70
    When it's good it's great, and it's never bad; Gruff Rhys' lyrics are mostly thoughtful and tastefully poetic throughout, but Feltrinelli's complex tale perhaps needed to be fleshed out further, with more twists and turns and the peaks more evenly placed.
  14. May 7, 2013
    80
    The appeal of the album lies in its musicianship and perfect production.
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. May 20, 2013
    7
    Decent album that could've been better. Best songs are "The Jaguar" and "Shopping (I Like To)," which is a pretty brainless and sarcastic popDecent album that could've been better. Best songs are "The Jaguar" and "Shopping (I Like To)," which is a pretty brainless and sarcastic pop celebration of commercialism. They played it safe, so I'm giving them a safe rating. Full Review »