- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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This is Swell's most constricted, least dynamic album to date. All songs move along at almost exactly the same pace and there is less breadth to their vision both musically and emotionally.
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MagnetThe one-man band does pretty well for himself in finding a place for his songs between sonic textures. [#51, p.117]
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Everybody Wants to Know is the kind of album that grows more rewarding the second and third times through, as the subtle hooks gradually sink in. But once those hooks have engrained themselves in those old skullbag, it's pretty unlikely they'll offer anything you can't get from any other anonymous alterna-rock record.
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Q MagazineOnly one track, Call Me, offers second listenability with its funky shuffle drums, Neil Young guitar raunch and doomster attitude... Otherwise, Freel's appeal depends on his ear for interesting noises. [Aug 2001, p.141]
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Alternative PressBoasts a sort of steady, creeping beauty, like a slower, groggier Failure without the loud arena bombast. [Nov 2001, p.97]
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Other than the last three songs, Everybody Wants to Know is an album you should know about.
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The album is often angular, odd, and unpredictable, but always contributing to a relaxed atmosphere.
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Swell don't look set to make any grand leaps forward either in terms of success or creativity, but that doesn't devalue their potency a single jot.