Critic Reviews
| 90 |
Alternative Press
To call this "sunstroked desert hallucination mood music" sells it short. It actually transforms the atmosphere of the space in which it's played. [June 2008, p.132]
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| 80 |
Mojo
Smile finds them advancing that set melodic agenda and playful rearrangement of classic rock DNA. [June 2008, p.109]
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| 80 |
Hartford Courant
Smile is one of the better heavy releases this year, and one of the best in the band's extensive catalog.
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| 80 |
NOW Magazine
Near the album’s close, the psychedelic insanity of Ka Re Ha Te Ta Sa Ki is a whirlwind of pounding drums, circular chanting, spasmodic guitar noise and violent soloing that perfectly exemplifies Smile’s fusion of panicky, heavy abrasiveness and lush, melodic and dreamy sprawls.
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| 80 |
Spin
More hooks (and cowbell) make Smile the band's most accessible album, but Boris haven't softened. [May 2008, p.94]
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| 80 |
Uncut
A cover of 'Flower Sun Rain' by '70s Japanese supergroup Pyg sounds like the Super Furries, while a 16-mkinute doom jam with SunO)))'s Stephen O'Malley is as titanic as you'd hope. [May 2008, p.91]
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| 74 |
cokemachineglow
The inherent awesomeness of Boris is essentially intact.
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| 70 |
The Wire
A comfortable listen, occassionally diverting, but by no means a groundbreaking album. [May 2008, p.51]
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| 70 |
Prefix Magazine
Here the hairier, dronier doom aspects of the band’s sound have here largely been put on hold to focus on songs, and the results are the sort of mixed-bag of serious stunners and unfocused ideas that we might expect from a superbly talented and intelligent band trying to eke out a new path in the wake of a defining album.
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| 70 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
While Smile may be inarguably more accessible than their previous releases, it still has enough cloaked treasures to keep the diehards interested.
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| 70 |
All Music Guide
While the American Smile is a worthy follow-up to Rainbow and Pink, it's the Japanese version of the album that makes it a masterpiece.
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| 64 |
Pitchfork
Smile is their exquisite-corpse sequel, a near-automatic exercise in drawing inspiration from anybody but themselves.
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| 60 |
Sputnikmusic
Smile does have it's special moments, but the problem is that they never amount to anything better than the star parts on their previous efforts.
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| 40 |
Dusted Magazine
Though excellent in brief parts, much of the album is still worrisome, at times specifically seeming to document a band running out of steam.
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