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It's a convergence that really works though, with Kele mixing the adventurous side electronic music enables him to embrace with the conservatism borne of years in a guitar band. A really solid debut.
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Q MagazineThe Boxer really just makes him the latest in a series of open-minded indie frontmen using solo projects to extend their musical idiom. [July 2010, p. 138]
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Artiness trumps hip-shaking soul on too many cuts – although the gentle croon and gurgling synths of nondanceable songs like "All the Things I Could Never Say" make for nice dinner music.
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Though there are some exceptional moments here, The Boxer mostly feels like a self-indulgent release; like Kele needed to get this out of his system before he gets back to his day job.
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In place of huge choruses and bombast, Kele offers an album heavy on tone, mood, and texture. Unfortunately, his efforts fail to make you forget the absence of things like hooks.
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The Boxer is a thicker, heavier, version of the sort of music DFA were putting out almost 10 years ago.
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Having an instrument-swaparound is not virtuous in itself, and a great deal of The Boxer sounds reactionary to the point of irreverence. He seems so obsessed with the idea of crafting himself a neat PR image that he's forgot to bring along any sense of genuine, fresh creativity.
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In reality, The Boxer is Intimacy revisited: A blunted, bored, watered-down retread, and the work of an artist whose unique voice can't flourish without dissimilar, energetic counterparts.