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Valhalla Dancehall - British Sea Power
Valhalla Dancehall Image
Metascore
70 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: Famous for its live performances, the indie rock band--based out of Brighton, England--weaves together atmospheric sounds to create an innovative new album.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. The A.V. Club
    Jan 11, 2011
    83
    That simplicity doesn't translate to the music-which continues to pile on the backing choirs, electronic squiggles, and never-ending ethereal builds-but Valhalla adds an even more alluring undertow to the band's usual crashing wave.
  2. Q Magazine
    Feb 2, 2011
    80
    With Valhalla Dancehall, it's time to laud British Sea Power for attaining greatness strictly on their own terms. [Feb. 2011, p. 116]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Mojo
    Apr 12, 2011
    60
    Pugnacious indie squares up to all-comers. [Feb. 2011, p. 106]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. SaltdeanSailor
    10
    Fantastic album from a wonderful band. Several reviews are not represented by Metacritic so I've listed some extra ones below. This album is a stonker! "Divine... Time to laud British Sea Power for attaining greatness strictly on their own terms." **** Q magazine. "Devastatingly beautiful... a thickening and diversification of the band's sound." **** The Sunday Times. "Big and clever... Their well of tuneful passion appears bottomless." The Word. "Heart-hammering exuberance, mighty waves of sound and crashing crescendos." **** The Daily Mirror. "An idiosyncratic state-of-nation address... incandescent." **** The Financial Times. "BSP look to the past not to in weak nostalgia, but to spur a dispirited present. Brawling... brainy... invigorating." The Independent. "Glorious unpredictability taken to new stratosphere-spanning extremes... A triumph." **** The Fly. "Captivating contrasts between the dreamy, the raucous and the vividly weird." **** The Metro of London town. "The album's strongest moments are the sound of a band reaching a creative zenith, a decade's worth of internal and external exploration writ large. Valhalla Dancefloor confirms British Sea Power's status as cast-iron national treasures." The Quietus website.… Expand
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  2. sk75
    9
    "Valhalla Dancehall" should finally give them the recognition they really deserve. They are in the same league with Arcade Fire but unfortunately BSP remain one of the most underrated bands of the last 10 years!Everyone should go to their party and enjoy the magic "Valhalla Dancehall" brings.Loving them is so easy...… Expand
    • 3 of 3 users said yes
  3. Tokyochuchu
    5
    Valhalla Dancehall sees BSP adding a ladle of shoegaze to their recipe. Unfortunately, the more formless moments on this LP are interchangeable and undistinguished. The more restrained, melody infused tunes shows that the band still know how to turn out a good riff, but they're mostly in short supply here. The weakest British Sea Power offering to date.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 5 User Reviews

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