- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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For every misfire, the band hit their target twice.
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The band's sound benefits greatly from DeLaughter's realization that not every instrument always needs to be playing at once.
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This may not make new converts, but Spree fans will find much cause to rejoice. [11 Jul 2004]
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Despite longer tracks, this album is a more accessible work. The compositions are less fragmented, and the songwriting has also improved.
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This is a record of outrageous range and unprecedented panache.
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It's a sonically interesting, lyrically diverse collection.
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Granted his major-label production budget in the sky, Tim DeLaughter hones his tunes and dispels woozy comparisons to the Flaming Lips.
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New Musical Express (NME)An enormous, symphonic, sprawling, highly ambitious, far-reaching work of wonder. [17 Jul 2004, p.48]
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Under The RadarA fatiguing listen. [#7]
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Thankfully, the music overpowers DeLaughter’s weak voice.
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Heavy comes across more a shtick than Beginning Stages ever did.
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Q MagazineTogether We're Heavy's transcendent qualities grow as it flows onward, and the sheer musical ambition of the Spree's pet sound finally, really defies cynicism. [Aug 2004, p.116]
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MojoIf it weren't all so damn happy this would be the most terrifying music in existence. [Aug 2004, p.98]
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BlenderBenefits from a fatter recording budget, with swooping symphonic arrangements and dazzling melodies. [Aug 2004, p.138]
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As distinctive as the band's sound is, it's not particularly varied, and two-thirds of the way through the album things may start to drag a little for those who aren't deeply indoctrinated in the ways of the Polyphonic Spree.
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Rolling StoneThe gorgeous shape-shifting songs allow the diversity of the Spree's instrumentation, from strings to brass to theremin, to shine. [8-22 Jul 2004, p.128]
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Alternative PressSucceeds not solely as a studio recording, but as a reminder of how powerful the band's live show is. [Aug 2004, p.118]
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FilterJust as strong as anything on The Beginning Stages Of.... [#11, p.92]
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A much more spiritually fulfilling listening experience.
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All those instrumental colorings are clearer, and the individual qualities of the voices in their choir shine through even when they're all belting it out together.
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A gleefully cohesive miasma of sound.
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The problem with rapture is that it's exhausting, so Together is best enjoyed a few tracks at a time.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 18
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Mixed: 2 out of 18
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Negative: 2 out of 18
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BobbyAAug 28, 2005
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PaulHJul 3, 2005It's no revelation but I really enjoyed it, better then their first "overrated" album.
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ChrisADec 17, 2004