- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Using only guitars and drums, the Pharmacists whip up a powerful mix of wild abandon and subtlety that is a perfect backing for Leo's vocal dexterity and clanging guitar heroics.
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The most Chisel-sounding record he's released as a solo artist, returning to stripped-down arrangements and, on "The Angel's Share" and "Little Dawn", his fascination with repetition.
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UncutPower pop without the escapism. [Apr 2005, p.105]
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If Shake the Sheets lacks the subtle, nuanced excursions of its predecessor, it's redeemed by an urgent, unrelenting focus.
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Q MagazineWithout enough killer hooks Leo seems unlikely to claw his way much beyond cult attraction. [Mar 2005, p.100]
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New Musical Express (NME)Firecracker mod-punk and allegorical political cut-and-thrust. [5 Mar 2005, p.51]
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Rolling StoneFar crisper and way less jagged than his last two albums. [30 Dec 2004, p.160]
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Under The RadarLeo has proven himself a songwriter of intricacy and experiment, but what he's created with Shake the Sheets are not just songs. They are mantras. [#8, p.110]
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Leo exploits rock dynamics with the timing of a veteran stand-up comic. He bounces vocals across half-riffs, drops the drums in and out, and invariably holds back a little for the big finish.
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Leo’s vision has crystallized. The songs are shorter and tighter than anything he’s seared onto tape, and his complex melodic phrasing arrives pitch perfect.
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Entertainment WeeklyPractically every song is a near-perfect amalgam of straight-up melodies and pogoing beats. [5 Nov 2004, p.80]
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Alternative PressArguably the best record of Leo's career. [Feb 2005, p.84]
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Crackles with sparkling guitar work and [is] simply a great, fun, rock n' roll album.
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BlenderMuch of [Sheets] sounds like a pop-punk update on Springsteen. [Nov 2004, p.137]
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FilterHas everything we've come to expect from Leo: it's clever, earnest, wry and literate, all delivered with his trademark falsetto flourishes. [#13, p.100]
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It's the first truly inessential album he's made.
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Leo manages to weave his messages into some of the tightest, most energetic rock you're likely to hear this year.
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Leo proves himself emotionally enervating throughout, so it’s really a shame that Shake the Sheets isn’t half so sonically invigorating.
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The songs themselves aren’t as outstanding as they could be, and it sure doesn’t help that the production choices give them less of the overwhelming energy that the Pharmacists are known for.
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A strong contender for album of the year, Shaking the Sheets is a masterpiece of fucked-up mod pop: political but not preachy, insistent yet never twitchy, respectful but never blatant.
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Easily Leo's best album since The Tyranny of Distance.
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The songs on his latest, often about political ambivalence and soul-searching alienation, are still catchy as V.D. But they lack the fiery complexity of past efforts.
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An album that sounds vital and immediate.
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Leo's singing (showing a few traces of a soul side) has never been more confident or convincing.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 17 out of 19
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Mixed: 0 out of 19
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Negative: 2 out of 19
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MichaelSOct 14, 20069.6 I cannot wait for his next one.
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KingofthecosmosNov 27, 2005
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LelandROct 12, 2005Great album, some amazing stuff on here