To the Happy Few
by Medicine
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. No Ripcord
    Aug 28, 2013
    70
    The resulting album feels fresh and contemporary--as much as any new young guitar band around today--and not at all a retro step.
  2. PopMatters
    Aug 15, 2013
    80
    Medicine is at its best on To the Happy Few when it pushes its sound to the point of indulgence, then finds a way to pull everything together.
  3. Mojo
    Aug 13, 2013
    60
    A record which is less abrasive and more measured, if slightly wishy-washy from time to time. [Sep 2013, p.96]
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  5. Pitchfork
    Aug 13, 2013
    72
    Unlike the other reunited groups of their generation, Medicine doesn’t sound nostalgic at all, and in fact they sound more contemporary than the majority of young guitar bands playing right now.
  6. Drowned In Sound
    Aug 8, 2013
    50
    To The Happy Few is precise and calculated. It lacks the irrationality and selfishness that gives a record its soul.
  7. Consequence
    Aug 7, 2013
    80
    As a whole, the album has a wonderful density that reveals a new secret with every listen, melodies buried in caverns of reverb and tricky guitar bits that hide in reversed delay.
  8. Blurt Magazine
    Aug 6, 2013
    60
    To the Happy Few combines the experience of veterans with the joy of rediscovery.
  9. Under The Radar
    Aug 5, 2013
    70
    It's the extras that Medicine bring to the table that set them apart from their contemporaries.
  10. AllMusic
    Aug 5, 2013
    90
    Other bands thinking about re-forming would do well to follow their lead and not just get back together to play the hits and count the cash, but instead create something vital and relevant; something that makes the group's continued existence worthwhile.
  11. Exclaim
    Aug 5, 2013
    80
    To the Happy Few doesn't feature many standout songs, but as a whole, it's a remarkably cohesive, often unpredictable piece of work.
  12. Uncut
    Jul 31, 2013
    80
    Like a blurrier version of Tame Impala's Lonerism, each listen reveals further pleasures. [Sep 2013, p.91]
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  13. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jul 31, 2013
    70
    To The Happy Few might be a fairly transparent attempt to relive Medicine’s salad days, but there are many worse sources they could mine for inspiration.
  14. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Jul 31, 2013
    80
    While this may once have been filed under 'shoegaze', now we can call it 'noisy dream pop' and just wade in its wash of guitars.
  15. The Line of Best Fit
    Jul 31, 2013
    60
    Most reformed bands are creatively barren, hawking around twenty five year old songs, so for Medicine to break this cliché is a great, great thing--it’s just a shame that some of the interesting sounds they create here couldn’t have incubated for a bit longer.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. AnthonyMiller
    Sep 9, 2019
    10
    After 22 Medicine sounds just as refreshing as they once did back in their hay day of the early 1990s
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