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Mar 4, 2016A Man Alive is an endearing listen and has all of the elements of a complete work—even pop-centric singles in “Astonished Man” and “Nobody Dies.
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Mar 2, 2016While this album is masterful in a number of ways, it's Thao's confessional element that ties everything together.
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Jul 15, 2016[A] crop of relatively cheerful-sounding — not to mention industrious, and never dull--tracks.
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Mar 7, 2016A Man Alive's great virtue is that Nguyen can still sound like she's having the time of her life even as she's recounting the darkest moments from it.
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Mar 3, 2016While A Man Alive often feels busy, it’s rarely overbearingly so, due to Nguyen’s ear for an off-kilter pop melody.
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Mar 3, 2016Creative songcraft and catching melodies are also in full force here, as expected by this point from Nguyen, though the strongest impact of the A Man Alive may be the temerity of its sound--thankfully, there's no need to separate the two. Even at 12 tracks, the album will leave many wanting more (and more Nguyen-Garbus collabs).
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Q MagazineMar 1, 2016It's honest, uncomfortable and bonkers, but therein lies its charms. [Apr 2016, p.115]
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UncutMar 1, 2016A visceral, candid and thrillingly propulsive depiction of her efforts to work through her father's abandonment when she was a child. [Apr 2016, p.81]
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Mar 2, 2016Even with quiet moments that forget to entertain, Nguyen sounds like she’s having more fun than ever before on A Man Alive.
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Mar 14, 2016As percussive as her previous offerings, A Man Alive is jaunty but perhaps less folky than normal, endowed significantly with the spirit of Tune-Yards' Merill Garbus, the queen of both loop and uke.... That's not to deny that this album is a step forward, however.
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Mar 3, 2016It all makes for a pretty giant leap forward, with the weighty, emotional subject punctured by a Willy Wonka factory of discombobulated guitar pop that has the tUnE-yArDs’ finger print all over it.
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Mar 1, 2016Having an album that listeners need to dig into to fully appreciate can cut both ways. But this is Thao and the Get Down Stay Down’s fourth record, so their established audience should be accustomed to their quirks. Hopefully potential new fans will give A Man Alive a thorough chance to win them over, because it’s worth the time.
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MojoMar 1, 2016Like families, it's appealingly chaotic. [Apr 2016, p.96]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 16
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Mixed: 0 out of 16
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Negative: 2 out of 16
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Apr 16, 2016
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Mar 22, 2016