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Repave
by
Repave Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 46 Ratings

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Top Track

Comrade
Like I didn't know it Choking on the pulp of it Semper Fi You kept me on your long line Tugging in the whole time Keep shining on And that silent... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Pretty Much Amazing
    Sep 3, 2013
    91
    Volcano Choir’s second album is filled with memorable hooks, hummable melodies and arena-worthy choruses.
  2. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Sep 4, 2013
    83
    Repave is integral to retroactively understanding Vernon's canon and also establishes a path forward from the runaway success of his past.
  3. Slant Magazine
    Aug 29, 2013
    80
    It's an abstract and occasionally disjointed album that ultimately finds a rewarding balance, both sonically and lyrically, between the obscure and the deeply personal.
  4. The New York Times
    Sep 23, 2013
    80
    Volcano Choir puts Mr. Vernon’s voice and words up front and builds something like songs around them, often with crescendos marching toward full-scale choruses--enough to make the often inscrutable lyrics sound passionate enough to be worth puzzling out.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    Sep 11, 2013
    75
    Repave rallies Vernon's swelling heartbreak, wind-chime wanderings, and nutty lyrics into robust, chorus-and-all songs. [6 Sep 2013, p.75]
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  6. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 3, 2013
    70
    Apart from the weirdly out-of-place vocoder moment on ‘Comrade’, it’s a layered, lush and lovely eight-track affair.
  7. Rolling Stone
    Sep 9, 2013
    50
    Highlights "Comrade" and "Alaskans" are abstract but inspiringly muscular, while other songs drift into panoramas of tentative guitar lines, distant whooshing sounds and Vernon's wounded falsetto singing couplets not even he would dare make sense of.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. isatler3
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was fourteen when I got my first listen of Bon Iver. Their self entitled album took my brain for ransom. 'For Emma, Forever Ago' made me cry like a little girl. Front-man Justin Vernon's latest work as Volcano Choir did both of the aforementioned, and then some. Each song is its own story, its own emotional journey. Go buy this album so that people like Justin Vernon and his fellow Volcano Choir-er's never stop doing what they do.… Expand
  2. SimpleMethod
    Sep 5, 2013
    9
    Repave is a great album. I really enjoyed hearing Justin Vernon again after being deprived of Bon Iver for so long. The best tracks areRepave is a great album. I really enjoyed hearing Justin Vernon again after being deprived of Bon Iver for so long. The best tracks are Dancepack, Byegone, and Comrade, but the other 5 are still a great. My favorite album of 2013 so far.… Collapse
  4. schlabach
    Sep 8, 2013
    9
    Repave is great. I just recently got my first taste of volcano choir after listening to Bon Iver for quite some time and I loved it!. This wasRepave is great. I just recently got my first taste of volcano choir after listening to Bon Iver for quite some time and I loved it!. This was everything I had anticipated. This is a must listen!… Expand
  5. Derz
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    Justin continues amazing with this project. But it's not just his vocals and lyrics that make this project great. There is some trulyJustin continues amazing with this project. But it's not just his vocals and lyrics that make this project great. There is some truly impressive, unique music on here that make it stand out as one of the best albums of 2013.… Expand
  6. elandry
    Mar 28, 2014
    9
    This is one of those few albums where you don't want it to end. After my first couple of listens I could not get enough of it. I let off for aThis is one of those few albums where you don't want it to end. After my first couple of listens I could not get enough of it. I let off for a few weeks then listened to it again and it has truly become one of my favorites which is why it's deserving of a 9.

    The jump from "Unmap" to "Repave" is truly remarkable, "Unmap" had a couple standout tracks but the rest felt like ambient nothingness. With this album you can feel the much more focused attempt at each song. It sounds like a more powerful Bon Iver but with a little edge that Collection of Colonies of Bees gives it.

    This album is truly a masterpiece with its bold arrangements and Justin using more of his powerful natural voice. You will definitely listen to this one on repeat.    … Expand
  7. ZacharyMatson
    Sep 14, 2013
    8
    With Volcano Choir we don't quite get the unique, sorrowing, flavor of despair that we ironically love with Vernon's Bon Iver. But the beautyWith Volcano Choir we don't quite get the unique, sorrowing, flavor of despair that we ironically love with Vernon's Bon Iver. But the beauty of the hooks and choruses will show you that Vernon and friends are more than just a side project.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Most Shared Album of 2013

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