- Critic Score
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The result is the work of an effectively new band--and a much better one. [12 May 2006, p.83]
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Yet another Next Flaming Lips emerges from beneath the librarian's skirts. In the 'Neon Bible' section, of course.
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80Intriguing. [Jul 2007, p.116]
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The infusion of new blood, thankfully, seems to have put the Stills' post-punk posturing and emotional distance to bed for good. [Jul 2006, p.194]
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80While [Hamelin's] lyrics are less likely to be mistaken for emo (good), they're also less evocative (bad). [#20, p.102]
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Without Feathers pays off with its maturity and broader scope, and ultimately is a more satisfying album as a whole. [#13, p.89]
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70This record is too flat. [Jun 2006, p.119]
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Without Feathers may lack its predecessor's apocalyptic vision, but it's a new direction for a group that was heading down an awfully familiar -- and extremely congested -- road.
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70It's not quite the tour de force they seem to be capable of.
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What impresses about Without Feathers is the depth and liveliness that the group brings to it.
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67Feathers seems less a continuation of Logic than a valuable complement, cheerful and heartfelt as the latter was somber and stylized.
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While stocked with skillful guitars, tuneful vocals and the occasional hook, Without Feathers feels oddly unassuming, a plain-vanilla modern-rock record. [Jun/Jul 2006, p.122]
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60By abandoning the gloom and doom and embracing quirky power-pop, the Stills seem to have morphed into a less minimalist Spoon, and your replay mileage may vary based on how strongly you liked what they were doing before.
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The songs on Without Feathers are fine, really, and for the most part pretty well-crafted, but there just doesn't seem to be a good reason to listen to them.
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It wouldn’t be so bad if The Stills didn’t kill the majority of the newly minted loose-limbed percussion and flighty major key romps ("The Mountain")--with drivel choruses and intermediate tricks (flooding the speakers with a porridge of every conceivable instrument).
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50Sometimes we forget why reinventions are so impressive; it’s because they’re so difficult to pull off. Without Feathers, while not terrible, is the mediocre representative of what happens when bands attempt it without the necessary artistic passion.
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40Former admirers, be warned that 'Without Feathers' will send you into a headless, flailing flap; while any newcomers to The Stills will be left with a plump, bald turkey on their hands.
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The middling tempos of plodding tracks like "Halo the Harpoons" and "It Takes Time" underscore the new lineup's shortcomings.
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40A severe line-up change has left the Stills devoid of much of its original edge.
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20Where melody, mood, and technique dominated Logic, Without Feathers sinks into a tuneless no man’s land.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 9 out of 16
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Mixed: 3 out of 16
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Negative: 4 out of 16
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BillB10
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James9
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ArthurV9