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The Cost
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The Cost Image
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 15 Ratings

  • Summary: The Dublin, Ireland band returns with a follow-up to 2005's 'Burn The Maps.'

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 29
  3. Negative: 3 out of 29
  1. AllMusic
    90
    This stuff is pure musical and lyrical inspiration.
  2. Boston Globe
    80
    The album is sophisticated and layered with deft orchestration. And yet, the band's songwriting and delivery display an earnestness and lack of pretension that's pure rock.
  3. NOW Magazine
    80
    Singer Glen Hansard moves from quiet introspection to earnest Jeremy Enigk-like wailing and back again, all the while reminding you just how rewarding a listen The Cost is.
  4. Hartford Courant
    70
    "The Cost"... comprises 10 tracks that range from hopeful (but triumphant!) to sorrowful (but triumphant!) to morose (but triumphant!).
  5. Los Angeles Times
    63
    The tempos are more uniform, and the huge arcs of all those ballads, hoisted high by fiddle, abstract guitar fragments and Glen Hansard's scratchy tenor, feel surprisingly safe.
  6. Billboard
    60
    The set as a whole lacks variety and rarely shifts tempo. [24 Feb 2007]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. Austin Chronicle
    30
    Everything about The Cost is inflated and with little payoff, a blight for a band worth so much more.

See all 29 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. MatthewP.
    Feb 26, 2008
    10
    A fine album! Glen hansards voice echoes a sadness that only a few artists can match. If you're after an arena band, this is not it! A fine album! Glen hansards voice echoes a sadness that only a few artists can match. If you're after an arena band, this is not it! This is real people singing about real problems! Real music!… Expand
  2. mareki
    Feb 23, 2007
    10
    Just another great album of Frames!
  4. GerD
    Mar 13, 2007
    10
    An amazing album that requires several repeated spins to fully appreciate.
  5. ag
    Mar 1, 2007
    8
    not their best but sure as hell not anything as half-baked and insincere as coldplay. matt d. below is just plain lazy in his comparisons.
  6. ToddH.
    Sep 17, 2008
    8
    Uneven, but with several stand-out songs, most especially People Get Ready, which deserves far more international airplay than it has received.
  7. davidh
    Mar 2, 2007
    8
    The Cost is beautifully written, produced, and performed. Yes it's sad and slow--the tempo rarely breaks pace--but the emotion and The Cost is beautifully written, produced, and performed. Yes it's sad and slow--the tempo rarely breaks pace--but the emotion and dynamics of the performances create the peaks and valleys. Great album. One of their best.… Expand
  8. MattD.
    Feb 22, 2007
    3
    It's like Coldplay without the jangly guitar and fine melodies.

See all 10 User Reviews

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