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Combat Sports
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Combat Sports Image
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

  • Summary: The fourth full-length release for the indie rock band was produced by Ross Orton.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. The Line of Best Fit
    Mar 22, 2018
    90
    Combat Sports reaffirms The Vaccines as one of the most exciting British bands around--and one absolutely still worth pestering friends about.
  2. The A.V. Club
    Mar 30, 2018
    83
    Keyboards add a shimmering underbelly to the Britpop throwback “Your Love Is My Favourite Band”--but Combat Sports possesses a loose vibe that’s much more welcoming.
  3. DIY Magazine
    Mar 30, 2018
    80
    It’s short and easily missed, but catch it and you’ll be able to feel the excitement, freedom, and, perhaps, relief of a band rejuvenated.
  4. Paste Magazine
    Mar 26, 2018
    79
    They’re not doing anything new (as they said themselves with the title of their debut What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?), but there’s something about infectious melodies, sticky guitar riffs and relationship observations being made by an aloof Englishman that never gets old either.
  5. PopMatters
    Apr 9, 2018
    70
    Some bands experiment with broadening their sound, and it just doesn't work. It worked for the Vaccines, and in that context, a reactionary record like Combat Sports is something of a disappointment. But it's a super-fun one.
  6. musicOMH.com
    Mar 30, 2018
    70
    Combat Sports is their shortest album yet, with none of its 11 tracks straying over four minutes, all in bursts of compact energy. Each song has a short guitar solo, while riffs and hooks abound, in stories of combative love and sex couched in Young’s characteristically wry lyrics.
  7. Mojo
    Mar 22, 2018
    60
    With smart synths and Young's wry lyricism ensuring a contemporary edge to their retro-leanings, Combat Sports is fizzy fun that won't rot your teeth. [May 2018, p.91]
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User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Reckoner296
    Mar 31, 2018
    10
    Feels like a perfect combitaion of goold old indie rock and pop music. Probably their best album to date.
  2. m_sawyer
    Apr 3, 2018
    10
    It all comes back down to 'What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?' Well, I certainly did not expect their fourth album to be an indie rockIt all comes back down to 'What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?' Well, I certainly did not expect their fourth album to be an indie rock masterpiece in 201x, a crowning jewel of their energy and emotions. 'Combat Sports' comes after 'English Graffiti' - an album I loved even though some didn't (for reasons unknown). That one gave them the pop sensibility that combined with the energy of their debut album makes this record the best of both worlds.

    'I Can't Quit' and 'Nightclub' channel their anthems like 'If You Wanna' and 'Wreckin' Bar', 'Your Love Is My Favourite Band' and 'Maybe' continue the summer jams and Strokes influence of 'Minimal Affection' and 'Melody Calling', while 'Rolling Stones' closes the album in a bigger than life way. If it were another time, this would have signaled big things for The Vaccines. Arena size big.

    Bravo guys. You are one of the last bastions of "indie" rock.    … Expand
  4. chromaticx
    Oct 31, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Perhaps for personal taste or even for the nostalgic "air" of the debut album or English Graffiti, find this a little inferior to them - but it is still DIVINE! I love this band, I think one of the best in indie-rock, and it fulfilled what it promised: I can't quit and nightclub are impeccable! Of course, the romantic side was not left out and, despite not having the same magic of "lack of understanding" and "if you wanna", they have cohesion with the album.… Expand

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