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- Summary: The debut album for the Austin, Texas, trio features songs from both of their EPs.
- Record Label: Full Time Hobby
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 8
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Mixed: 2 out of 8
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Negative: 0 out of 8
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Sure it's self-indulgent, but sometimes indulgence is no bad thing, and that is certainly the case here.
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One of the most exciting things about White Denim is the way they balance unfettered extravagance with constructive constriction.
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Ultimately, Workout Holiday is a party record for thinking people, and it’s a smart time to join them.
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Songs begin fully-formed before spiralling into abstract drum loops punctuated by slicing guitars and vocal drones (‘Mess Your Hair’). At other times, the most perfect moments of Small Faces psychedelia or Velvet Underground basement pop will emerge from the most unlikely formless squalls (‘Sitting’; ‘Heart From Us All’).
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Superficially then, White Denim might, on first listen, ape the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion but unlike garage revivalists like The Hives--whose studied revivalism has all the innovative spirit of a 19th century theme park--they've kicked all the best things about red-blooded rock into exciting new shapes.
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You're left with a promising-but-flawed debut album and some puzzling superlatives.
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MojoOn record, it's nutty maze-rock with hair-raising highs and the odd dead end. [July 2008, p.112]
Score distribution:
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Positive: 0 out of
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Mixed: 0 out of
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Negative: 0 out of