- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Alternative PressAvatar is further proof that Comets On Fire are one of the most relevant bands of this decade. [Sep 2006, p.214]
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FilterThere is an unhinged, maniacal desire to cross on over into the cosmos on Comets on Fire's (frankly) totally awesome new record. [#21, p.100]
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Avatar may not be as intense or as out-of-loop as expected, but its otherworldy mix of prog-rock and freeform more than lives up to the expectations formed in the wake of 2004's Blue Cathedral.
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Their most accomplished and astounding album to date.
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Solid and gaseous, dark and light in all the right places, this is the Comets' brightest so far.
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UrbFreedom rock at its most liberating. [Jul/Aug 2006, p.116]
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BlenderIf their ultraviolet jams can sometimes get lost in the gaze, here they're balanced with more crisp songcraft. [Aug 2006, p.107]
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If you're after an alternative summer soundtrack, this is it.
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Even if you only have a passing interest in 70s heavy rock this album is nigh on essential.
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If there's anything to lament about Avatar, it's that its moves towards accessibility, narrative, and more diverse pastures probably won't help to broaden Comets' fanbase.
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Overall, it's less chaotic and noisily rampant, the Comets' awesome creative fury now channelled into structures more obviously resembling tunes.
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Comets on Fire is the band Wolfmother wishes it had the balls to be.
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UncutAvatar... feels like the work of a band bursting with ideas, and with the confidence to realise them. [Sep 2006, p.96]
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More often than not, Avatar is stunningly beautiful, even if the definition of that word needs to expand a bit to embrace it.
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Under The RadarComets on Fire have continued to deliver the expected attack, but have tempered their forcefulness just enough to make Avatar their most accessible work to date. [Summer 2006]
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Q MagazineIt's fantastic stuff. [Sep 2006, p.107]
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Avatar is truly an exceptional record.
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MojoA diverse yet flawless disc. [Sep 2006, p.96]
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Just like last time around, Avatar is something for the plebes, the purists, the dabblers, and the old heads all at once-- a crossover in the best sense of the word.
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Ultimately, Avatar’s change in direction is hardly an unpleasant one, partially because it’s really fun to lip synch “Let it burn / Let it bleed!” while playing the air guitar on your knees, but mostly because it still rocks frighteningly hard.
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Avatar shows Comets capable of a level of sophistication and skill previously unconsidered.
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The one knock against Avatar is that it includes just seven songs, six of which amble well past the six-minute mark, making the album seem bloated.
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SpinInfinite, often chaotic, near-instrumental psych-prog-punk-metal grooves rich with fine-ground detail. [Sep 2006, p.100]
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In terms of sheer intensity of sound, it's as if the Comets of old have been miniaturized and are looking up at you from inside a Grateful Dead lunch box.
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The murky production seems lazy rather than artful; the hard-rock riffs don’t kick as hard as they’re meant to.
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Instead of knocking out another wall-shaking psych rock blast... Avatar comes off like a series of sedate recital pieces performed from sheet music while seated in the round.
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Yeah, they're good at what they do, but what they do is just not that palatable.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 10
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Mixed: 1 out of 10
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Negative: 1 out of 10
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Aug 18, 2010
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KevinMSep 16, 2006Rockin' stuff
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AlexBAug 26, 2006