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Jun 2, 2014Morrison, Spector, Doherty, Cobain; The Orwells know their roots and they know how that story plays out.
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Jun 9, 2014To their credit, The Orwells own their brattiness, but they also know their way around a good hook. That’s a devastating combo, and in the case of this album, it makes for a more-than-satisfying modern rock record that’s both carefully crafted and shot straight from the hip.
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Jun 2, 2014Like the late-night cautionary tales that play out in their songs, the real key to enjoying The Orwells is to just not overthink it and listen and enjoy the music, because time spent pontificating about their age is time that could be better used for partying.
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Jun 3, 2014There is a little too much grace and not enough diss.
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Jun 2, 2014It’s an album that displays great faith in the late 70s/early 80s nexus of bar rock, punk, and 50s nostalgia, meaning that its melodies, riffs, and aesthetic choices often charm (to a point), even as its narratives mystify.
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Jun 2, 2014The gussied-up production--by respected names such as TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, Chris Coady (who worked with another up-and-coming Chicago group, Smith Westerns) and Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys)--subtracts the charming sloppiness of 2012 debut "Remember When" and amps up the popcraft, but loses some of the energy.
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Jun 2, 2014Ultimately, they're at their most engaging when maintaining an ironic distance between subject matter and tone.
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UncutJun 26, 2014The Orwells ape highlights of the last 25 years of indie rock on their second album. [Aug 2014, p.78]
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Q MagazineJun 13, 2014It's fun for sure but perhaps not quite the game-changer everyone--or, at least, the band themselves--was hoping for. [Jul 2014, p.112]
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Jun 2, 2014You just want them to cut loose, and they never do.
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Jun 2, 2014The Orwells and the very much earnest Disgraceland will be invigorating solace for anyone who gets a kick out of deadbeat rock musicians and the illusions they provide of refuge and reprieve.
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Alternative PressJun 4, 2014The vocals are almost hilariously monotone, the lyrics loaded with crass, elementary rhymes, and the instrumentation is simply dreadful. [Jul 2014, p.98]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 15
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Mixed: 2 out of 15
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Negative: 2 out of 15
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Feb 14, 2018
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Jul 2, 2014