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- Summary: The second full-length release for the Portland, Oregon-based country soul band that includes members of Richmond Fontaine was produced by John Morgan Askew.
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- Record Label: Decor
- Genre(s): R&B, Soul, Country, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Country-Rock
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 7 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 0 out of 7
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Jan 11, 2019Yes, we’re barely into 2019 and already likely have a candidate for one of this year’s strongest albums.
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UncutJan 8, 2019Boone's soulful presence in the Delines brings a different slant to Vlautin's characters, her voice transmitting something more hopeful and tender. [Feb 2019, p.26]
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Jan 8, 2019The Imperial is far from a standard rulebook-revising nostalgia turn. Both the stark realism of the romance-averse blue-collar settings (here, the narrators are too busy hustling for a living to croon sugar-coated rhymes about romantic ideals) and potent musical left-turns (such as the stripped-bare minimalism of the weary-beyond-words "Roll Back My Life") make The Imperial sound thoroughly authentic, as opposed to a trip through someone else's back pages.
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Q MagazineJan 8, 2019It's well worth the wait. ... Boone's smoky vocals fit the desperation of Vlautin's mini-dramas perfectly, the band's country-soul swing evocatively solid. [Feb 2019, p.111]
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MojoJan 8, 2019Boone's rich, Rickie Lee Jones-meets-Chrissie Hynde voice is the careworn bedrock upon which these bruised, dynamics-rich songs depend. [Feb 2019, p.92]
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Jun 5, 2019The Imperial [is] a pleasure to hear. Sonically, the dark, rich timbres of The Imperial are as wallow-worthy and voluptuous as bar-light or certain kinds of sadness. Like the assuredly crappy hotel from which it takes its name, The Imperial is too run through with exhaustion to want to spend a lot of time with, but it’s perfect for retreating into when you can’t feel right about anything.
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Feb 25, 2019Moving slowly but deliberately, the Delines dwell upon the lingering, lasting melancholy of bad decisions and bad timing, creating an album ideal for the twilight moments when revisiting an old heartbreak proves to be irresistible.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 0 out of
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Mixed: 0 out of
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Negative: 0 out of