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- Summary: Marc Bianchi releases his latest album under the Her Space Holiday name.
- Record Label: Mush
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Pop
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 10
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Mixed: 6 out of 10
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Negative: 0 out of 10
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While indie purists might resent Bianchi's one-eighty, it shouldn't be regarded as a betrayal, but rather as escapist fun.
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The announcement of XOXO, Panda And The New Kid Revival heralded if not a double-footed leap of joy, certainly a raised eyebrow and fuzzy, dual sense of a) knowing exactly what to expect and b) being pretty happy about it.
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Marc Bianchi has, at least for now, chucked his dour Stephin Merritt leanings and adopted a more Nick Lowe-like free-spirited confidence and the whole thing sounds, if not exactly cathartic, at least liberating.
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XOXO still manages a lonesome, crowded sound. Whether it's the sturdy chord progressions, overstuffed lyrics, or just Bianchi's tendency to avoid with melodies with contours his voice can't match, most of XOXO is likeable, if not a little tough to parse.
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A rackety, sing-along sound from a band on a largely undefined mission.
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Q MagazineBianchi drops his usual mix of samples and programming for traditional instruments, including banjo and glockenspiel to create a very modern, kind of folk music. [Dec 2008, p.133]
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Props are due for not recycling the same album over and over again--something he could probably do for awhile before anyone would call him on it --but, unfortunately, the new approach results in Bianchi’s most banal album yet.