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MagnetMay 10, 2013It's a denser, darker album than 2011's S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, spending more of its time gazing outward, intent on gleeful subversion and taking delight in making noise for the hell of it. [No. 98, p.52]
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Apr 29, 2013Sub Verses offers such a disciplined sense of exploration, multivalent nuance, and commitment in its production and performance; it stands out in an already very distinguished catalog.
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MojoApr 22, 2013Akron/Family's seventh album proffers 10 diversely arranged slabs of leftfield clamour, all of them shot through with a contrasting pop-classicist melodic sensibility. [May 2013, p.90]
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Apr 22, 2013Themes and aims aside, Sub Verses is simply an example of Akron/Family’s continued good run of form, and undoubted confidence.
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May 1, 2013Sub Verses proves we shouldn't take Akron/Family for granted; their restlessness is rare.
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Apr 29, 2013Having spent so much time racing from one experiment to the next, it’s fun to hear the band settle in and take stock in its own legacy.
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Apr 29, 2013Some of the extremes on the album feel awkward--the heavy metal too heavy, the loops of death overlooped, the calm too suddenly silent--but overall it is a deep, yawning collection of exciting musical experiments to dunk yourself into.
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Under The RadarApr 22, 2013The explosion continues here, infused with a bit more darkness than these guys typically conjure up--heaviness, even. [Mar-Apr 2013, p.90]
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May 3, 2013Akron/Family are never going to stop changing and you never really know what you’re gonna get, but they could perhaps do with a bit more cohesiveness and bit less grandiosity next time around.
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Apr 30, 2013As a whole, the transitions are a bit choppy and sudden, digging away at the coherence of the album.
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UncutMay 24, 2013Six albums in, they remain fond of that very Swans pursuit of ecstasy through repetition. [Jul 2013, p.69]
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Apr 30, 2013The trio continue on that trajectory, the mystic chanting and ceremonial trances dancing through the scattering ash. Due to that cratered impact, everything on the album sounds urgent, an exhilarating feeling that takes a while to escape.
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Apr 30, 2013It’s a beautiful, often striking temple, one with some wonderful surprises. In the end, though, you’re outside that temple listening in, the visitor that never quite gets to come inside.
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Apr 29, 2013Sub Verses may be genre hopping, but it’s not a particularly challenging listen as compared to its predecessors, albums that were both challenging and fun.
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Q MagazineApr 22, 2013Even if this album is only for a limited audience, it's the sound of a band pushing onwards and upwards into the blue. [May 2013, p.94]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 3
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Mixed: 1 out of 3
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Negative: 0 out of 3
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May 24, 2013
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May 5, 2013