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Nov 2, 2015By the end of the album, as the waltzing piano ballad "Oh! Starving" fades, it's impossible not to be knocked out by what has come before and be super stoked for what might come next.
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Nov 6, 2015It's one young man's proper opening salvo cast as an entire genre's dying breaths. But for a last gasp, it sure sounds vital.
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Oct 28, 2015Teens of Style has plenty of both [mistakes and experimentation], but it’s somehow all the more charming for it. This is an album that will grow on you and frustrate you, probably within the span of the same day.
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Nov 3, 2015Car Seat Headrest feels, at this point, like it’s about half under control, with Toledo at the wheel, yanking desperately to keep it on the road, and yet it’s sort of magnificent.
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Oct 28, 2015The quality of Toledo’s songs is gobsmacking; the lyrics are enthralling, the melodies are to die for, the musicianship is raw yet brilliant.
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Oct 28, 2015The new recordings retain their rough edge, but there's luminescence in the production--the percussion is crisper, the guitars are brighter, and Toledo's singing is a lot more pronounced.
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Nov 2, 2015Songs occasionally wander, but they always have something to say. Which is what makes the purposeful distorting and distancing created by the vocal effects a curious distraction.
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Nov 2, 2015It's the best classic-rock record anyone under 50 is likely to make this year.
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Oct 30, 2015Those familiar with Toledo’s back catalog will marvel at the reworking of their favorite tracks, while the uninitiated will likely discover a bright young talent and wonder how the hell they’ve been missing out.
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Nov 2, 2015While retaining links with Toledo's DIY past, much of the tracks bleed in to one another, making stand-out moments such as "The Drum" and "Times To Die" fall flatter than they deserve. Fortunately however, the entire second half of the record makes up for any early indiscretions.
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Oct 28, 2015The music isn’t anywhere near pop-radio gloss. As Mr. Toledo sings about alienation, frustration, suicidal despair and, in “Times to Die,” about theological disputes and getting his demos heard, he’s still every bit the lone outsider. He’s lucky that he exorcises his troubles in the studio--or maybe we are.
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UncutOct 28, 2015Toledo offers dense, self-analytical lyrics and a style that take in everything from The Zombies to the Pet Shop Boys, ambitious in scope and clearly much agonised-over. [Dec 2015, p.69]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 37 out of 48
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Mixed: 3 out of 48
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Negative: 8 out of 48
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Dec 1, 2015
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Aug 31, 2020
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Dec 15, 2016