- Record Label: Ghostly International
- Release Date: Apr 10, 2012
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May 22, 2012Choir of Young Believers have created a singular sonic world all their own.
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Mar 23, 2012Rhine Gold is an album that demands scrutiny, and it's definitely worth taking the time to engage in.
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Apr 16, 2012Riveting and unpredictable across multiple plays, Choir of Young Believers has expanded upon the blueprint outlined on their well-crafted first album and channeled it into a sophomore release that's really outstanding.
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Apr 13, 2012Expanding on the theatrical tendencies of its reverb-drenched debut This Is For the White in Your Eyes, the darks are darker, but there are also lighter lights.
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Apr 11, 2012Rhine Gold does feel a bit frontloaded, with the most compelling tracks happening in the first half, losing a little momentum towards the end, but this is still a superb release.
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Apr 9, 2012Brilliantly sequenced and realised though it is, the album only just manages to keep the attention for its 54 minutes, meaning first-time listeners could be put off by the sparse arrangements and slow pace.
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Apr 5, 2012When it's good, Rhine Gold has got everything you want. There's ambition, surprise and innovation. It's just that it feels like COYB go on autopilot at certain times, which detracts from the album as a whole.
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Mar 30, 2012This is an album rich in ideas, heavy on emotion.
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Mar 21, 2012For all its robust, pristinely recorded eclecticism, Rhine Gold holds together beautifully, thanks to Makrigiannis's angelic tenor, which soothes and stirs in equal measure.
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Mar 21, 2012With this record, he and his choir may very well have found that desired breath of fresh air without abandoning the immensely solid groundwork of album #1
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Mar 21, 2012Both bold and refreshing, Rhine Gold's dreamy approach to its dark arrangements delivers a unique take on orchestral pop.
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Mar 16, 2012Expansive, orchestral and delicate, its beauty [the band's music] is totally deserving of another round of critical acclaim.
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Mar 15, 2012Studio gloss and sanitised drums too often leave things sounding a little safe.
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Mar 15, 2012This second album continues in the same vein as the 2009 debut: fragile, precisely enunciated vocals pick their way through frosty terrain created by synth, guitar and strings, for a result that gets discomfitingly under the skin.
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MagnetApr 6, 2012Rhine Gold doesn't sound like it's trying to create another emo anthem, which gives its tracks a genuine, unaffected quality. [#86, p.53]
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Q MagazineMar 15, 2012Jannis Noya Makrigiannis clearly has his own agenda allowing his haunting songs to develop at leisure. [Apr 2012, p.106]
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UncutMar 15, 2012The second full-length album is richly textured and exceedingly complex in its arrangements. [Apr 2012, p.75]
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MojoMar 15, 2012COYB trade in wintery, foreboding hymnals that conjure Sigur Ros, Radiohead and an existentially challenged Aled Jones staring out across the abyss. [Apr 2012, p.94]