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- Summary: The psychedelic indie rockers, led by returning core trio of vocalist Jonathan Donahue, guitarist Grasshopper and drummer Jeff Mercel, return with a less-orchestral follow up to 2001's 'All Is Dream.' Longtime collaborator David Fridmann co-produced.
- Record Label: V2
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 20 out of 29
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Mixed: 9 out of 29
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Negative: 0 out of 29
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Without relying on a crutch of irony and cynicism, they boldly risk sounding cloying in order to summon the emotional honesty necessary to create music that is unabashedly romantic and achingly beautiful.
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Like 'Deserter Songs' and 'All Is Dream' before, 'The Secret Migration' is a compelling, visual album. And yet within this, Mercury Rev have moved on.
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SpinRev's overbaked symphonics and space-case triumphalism have become completely indistinguishable from the Flaming Lips. [Jun 2005, p.108]
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The Secret Migration seethes with life and loveliness, building on the beauty of Dream and 1998's Deserter's Songs but steering clear of the dark overtones on those albums.
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As with previous LPs, “The Secret Migration” works as a set-piece but, with the strings kept on a tighter leash and the production less fulsome, it’s easier to notice the details.
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The Secret Migration is a wonderful record, full of exquisite indie-rock epics. But so was the last Mercury Rev record. And the one before that. So what’s changed? Nothing, basically.
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The Secret Migration is oddly too conventional and too quirky; it's another paradox that this album, which in its own way is Mercury Rev's happiest album, is also, sadly, the weakest of their career.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 18
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Mixed: 6 out of 18
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Negative: 2 out of 18
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sachinpJul 15, 2005one of the best albums of all time.
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[Anonymous]Mar 11, 2005
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MitchMFeb 7, 2005great follow-up to previous albums. Not all songs are classics but many are up there with their best.
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MickeymFeb 2, 2005
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AdamHFeb 26, 2005
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NickMar 24, 2005disappointing and predictable, not a patch on Deserter's, no discernibly great lyrics, no screeching bowed saw or powerful guitars, dull....
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BenBFeb 21, 2005Most disappointing album they have released to date.
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