User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 103 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 92 out of 103
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Mixed: 2 out of 103
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Negative: 9 out of 103
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Sep 14, 2017Nothing short of essential. Packed with emotion, none of it facile, and laden with surprising hooks throughout. Every time I listen, I am amazed anew.
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PimW.Aug 15, 2007
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JamesS.Aug 10, 2007Someone must have paid a pretty penny to have Q-magazine to lie and bring their metascore down. This is truely a one band in a million's masterpiece. If you spread the songs out over ten different albums with a bunch of filler (ala major label spin), ever one of these songs would be a hit single. The Wrens deserves so much more respect and praise.
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BenHApr 30, 2007Just fantastic. Right off the melodies and chords of this album is pleasing, but you can listen more and more and realize how genious the lyrics and every other aspect of the album are. This is my favorite ever.
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JoachimMar 7, 2007
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TtableWhyFeb 19, 2007
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JohnRFeb 15, 2007It takes a lot of listens to fully get it but this is the greatest album I've ever played and ai've played a few thousand!
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JustinCSep 14, 2006Buy a CD, put it down after a year or so of straight listening, pick it back up, and realize, "Hey, this really is one of the greatest CDs of all time"
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JoshBMay 27, 2006Amazingly complex from great all around songs like "happy" all the way to pumped up rocking tracks like "per second second". Best CD I've owned....ever.
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ArmandoAFeb 19, 2006"Happy" alone makes the album worth buying. A lot of other excelent good tunes in there, though.
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PekkaPDec 8, 2005Love it. There's still people around who make good music. Did I say good, I meant, of course, excellent.
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SterlingTDec 2, 2005I love this album. It's the best music I've heard in the past year.
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halyNov 14, 2005This is an excellent album. Understated yet complex, its whispery brand of indie rock breathes maturity into a youth-driven realm with bleary-eyed hopeful melodies and tales of life's disapointments. Its lesson is that the strugges are ubiquitous, but the small intermittent comforts we get out of life are what make it all worth it.
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jamessOct 25, 2005Amazing.
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henkvanbOct 9, 2005Brilliant
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AaronSOct 7, 2005An amazing, tasteful collection of indie rock. Not only was this best album of 2003, it's also the best album that I have heard so far in this decade.
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NickLSep 22, 2005Listening to this knowing nothing of their previous work, each song was pleasantly surprising to say the least and by the end of it the only thing I wanted to do was play it over again. And again. This album hits a spot on the musical spectrum I always knew existed but never really thought I'd hear. Beautiful.
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SethHJul 20, 2005This is an incredible album. It takes everything that was good about the Wrens' previous albums and matures it into something far better than anyone could have wished for. Absolutely essential.
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DanCJul 4, 2005
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mattaMay 27, 2005This is a good album but there are lots of better indie rock albums that have much lower scores. I'd be interested to see what their score would be like if there were more reviews. Faster Gun kicks ass.
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BrendanMay 9, 2005Best record of the last 5 years, anyone who hasn't heard it listen, and if you can see them live, by god do it...
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[Anonymous]May 3, 2005record that broke my heart into 1000000 pieces ;)
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NaytivGMay 2, 2005This one CD has been a wonderful insight into the vision and spirit of the Wrens. It shows a real creative progression. The tempo is unpredictable and ultimately very satisfying. I can't wait for the next one.
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SteveApr 21, 2005Two years after buying this album, it's still occupying my CD player. Absolutely remarkable.
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EurospeakingMar 9, 2005I thought indie was dead and buried. Sadly... it's not! This CD mainly contains a sickening mix of immature ballads and nerdy skaterboi-up-tempo tracks; obviously made to please pubertile 14 yos with an issue...
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DouglasVMar 1, 2005Awesome.
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TerrenceOFeb 28, 2005Best album of 2003, with out question. Flawless, beautiful. I could go on but im lazy.
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captaintruthFeb 13, 2005Not bad ... most of the songs drag it out a bit too long, which isn't helped by the plodding tempos, even on the "rock" songs like Everyone Chooses Sides -- sort of a poor man's Urge Overkill. The acoustic songs are better, but nothing about the playing is going to grab you.
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HollisHJan 5, 2005Perfect. Thanks guys.
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altryDec 26, 2004Yes!
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davidwDec 15, 2004This is one of my favorite cd's of all time. It is one of the cd's that I listen to atleast once a week. Each song on this disc has a special place in my heart. They are also an incredible live act (if you get a chance to see them).
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nomorbushitDec 9, 2004These guys ought to break with this cd, but probably won't and that sucks. I say re-Release it until people wake up. In the meantime, (note to the wrens) Please keep evolving. I love where you are going. oh, and i love this cd.
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ChrisNov 8, 2004
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JasontSep 18, 2004Highly recommended. This album is basically for everyone that likes a good melody, not just indie rockers or pseudo hipsters. This is a band that should be selling out much larger venues than shite nu-metal and "the vines-esque" bands are.
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JamesCAug 18, 2004Incredible.
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EdEdJul 17, 2004
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TKlassenJul 2, 2004I recently ranked my top 70 LPs of the 'modern rock' era (1977-present) for a friend to peruse... 'Meadowlands' I listed at No. 3, if only because I thought being out less than a year I couldn't place it No. 1... I am however fairly sure this album will hold up to the test of time... it kicks my a** and gives me goosebumps with each and every listen
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ASaultJun 26, 2004If you like indie rock, you must buy this album
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DrModestoJun 25, 2004Best album of '03
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IanVMay 26, 2004excellent
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KevinDApr 30, 2004What with the Shins, The Stills and The Wrens its almost like pop has found a second wind. This album is essential (except for This Boy Is Exhausted which is disposable nu-metal rubbish) and almost brings me to tears with each listen.
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StefanoTApr 19, 2004Astonishing. Simply the best album of the year, one of the best indie rock albums I've ever heard. Touching, perfectly crafted, with gems upon gems. Hats off.
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RobLApr 8, 2004
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AlanBMar 31, 2004Simply put: the best album of 2003. I listened to it, literally, ten times in a row; just in awe of how wounded, fresh, and dynamic this album is. This is a must have for anyone who has a grasp of the human condition.
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DavidHFeb 24, 2004I'm totally new to this band but I don't often have this kind of reaction to a band so overwhelmingly. This is a work of incredible power, depth and the genuine love of creation. Buy it NOW!
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monkeyboyJan 10, 2004mature losers at love
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pacohdezDec 23, 2003Fabulous & superb...
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MeatDec 16, 2003Where have you been all my life?
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timdDec 8, 2003Best album of the year! "The Meadowlands" is like "Almost Famous" ten years after the band didn't live up to their hype recast with casualties of the post Nirvana indie flood. Beautiful and heart breaking. Like "All That You Can't Leave Behind" for people that cherrish Pavement over R.E.M.
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TerrySDec 3, 2003This get's my imaginary vote for Best Album of 2003 - splendid on dizzying levels.
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jamiekDec 2, 2003i've watched the wrens grow musically from the beginning. with each year and turn, they grow more and more. they have certainly outdone thenselves with this album. absolutly magnificent!
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abefNov 10, 2003you gotta be kidding, right? where's the filler?? I've been conditioned through years of industry abuse to tune out at least half of an albums songs. but now I have to maintain rapt attention for all 56 minutes?
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RonGNov 6, 2003Serves as both the perfect gift for the girl you can't get out of your mind and the perfect kiss-off to the girl you can't seem to get out of your life.
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PatKNov 5, 2003Album of the year...
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AphexNov 3, 2003The songwriting on this album is a cut above anything that i've heard released all year. This disc has a beauty and power that few bands can pull off. I first listened to this CD with headphones on and found myself completely lost in the music by the second song.....amazing.
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bobgOct 18, 2003The defining moment.
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wackymanOct 17, 2003Apart from visions of the jesus and mary chain through their music, the wrens are building on a fine, personal stylished indie/shoegazing sound. the music is beautiful and it feels like they play it with such ease. Great effort!
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NattyBOct 17, 2003This album is as heart-rending as Secaucus was eerily rocking. This is one of the best albums I own. If anyone can better express pain, betrayal, and weary disillusionment, I have yet to see it.
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BlakePOct 13, 2003It's good, but that "Kisses" song does stink, Scarecrow.
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JeffHOct 8, 2003I've heard of the wrens on a sampler Cd I bouth in '96. Thoose two songs have left such a big impression for me to track them down today. I beleive that they are on of the best band I have heard. "Good rainy day music that will put you in a good mood."
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SteveGozdeckiOct 3, 2003Almost unbelievable.
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ScareCr0wOct 3, 2003First off, Steve Gozdecki at neumu.net is an idiot. 'She Sends Kisses' is one of the most beautifully crafted songs this year. Schlocky? No, Steve, not 'schlocky'.
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Awards & Rankings
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The Meadowlands is absolutely essential.
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With about twenty killer lines or couplets per song, unexpected hooks coming from everywhere and one of the most ingenious track sequences of the year, it’s not really so hard to imagine what The Wrens have been doing all this time.
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With all four members taking the mic, cohesion should hardly be expected. Yet, for all the different styles the band employs on this album, all but the closing number seem indelibly stamped as this band's work, uniquely The Wrens.