Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
by The Twilight Sad
  • Record Label: Fat Cat
  • Release Date: Apr 3, 2007
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. No Ripcord
    100
    If you’ve yearned for a band that takes that dramatic indie-rock template but injects a bit of post-rock drama into it, then boy, have you ever come to the right place.
  2. Delusions of Adequacy
    100
    It’s a remarkable debut by a tremendous quartet. Not only does it have the raw emotion, but also the intense, glorious musicianship, absorbing hooks and grandiose arrangements to leave you utterly breathless, drained and wanting more.
  3. The A.V. Club
    91
    The songs on Fourteen Autumns are loud, and graced with long-line melodies that are easy to hum, but there's nothing quick or disposable about them.
  5. Pitchfork
    86
    As exhilarating as Fourteen Autumns is at its most anthemic, the vividness of the lyrical themes ultimately carries the record over.
  6. Stylus Magazine
    83
    It’s hard not to notice that the best songs on Fourteen Autumns were already featured on last year’s EP.
  7. AllMusic
    80
    The density of the Twilight Sad's sound evokes wide open spaces, yet the louder they are, the more intimate they sound.
  8. Under The Radar
    80
    Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters is aptly named, its brumal sonics occupying the emotional chasm between melancholy and salvation. [#17, p.93]
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  9. Prefix Magazine
    80
    Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters is full of thoroughly enjoyable tunes and melodies if you're willing to give it time.
  10. Drowned In Sound
    80
    It may not be perfect – there’s the slightest suggestion as the album draws to a close that ideas may be running thin – but for a debut record to sound this accomplished suggests a promising future, and surely they’re in the right hands.
  11. Almost Cool
    73
    Having heard their first EP, it's not quite as much of revelation as it would have been, but it's still pretty darn good.
  12. PopMatters
    70
    There’s a certain formula to many of the songs they came up with... But it’s a rather compelling formula—it’s worked for scads of bands for decades—and Twilight Sad do it well.
  13. Spin
    70
    The Twilight Sad walk a fine line between drippy sentimentality and rough-edged realism. [May 2007, p.91]
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  14. Dusted Magazine
    70
    If an album could have hormone surges and acne, if it could sit home on prom night listening to Joy Division and smoking pot, if it could be as fully convinced of its inner worthlessness as of its ultimate triumph...in short if an album could be fourteen, this would be the one.
  15. cokemachineglow
    64
    Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters is an album with a sum worse than its parts.... Still, there’s a lot of promise here.

Awards & Rankings

93
#93 Best Album of 2007

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
  1. Ricko
    May 29, 2020
    8
    This album has a huge sound. There are lots of standout segments within songs rather than any particular standout songs themselves. You couldThis album has a huge sound. There are lots of standout segments within songs rather than any particular standout songs themselves. You could view this as a stylistic feature of the band or equally something that hints at an inability to write truly great songs. The accented vocals, the huge drums, the subtle yet wrecking ball guitars mixed with accordions of all thing, all give The Twilight Sad a facet that sets them apart. This isn't straightforward rock and is closer to shoegaze than anything else. They do have something and while subsequent releases saw more focus on the songs, this is probably their best album in terms of the album listening experience.… Full Review »
  2. jotaeseche
    Jan 17, 2015
    8
    It takes a while to fully understand the real meaning of the songs, but (as a whole) FA&FW works so cohesively well that the total is moreIt takes a while to fully understand the real meaning of the songs, but (as a whole) FA&FW works so cohesively well that the total is more important than its parts. And it's also a strong and solid debut, for a melancholic but powerful band.… Full Review »
  3. EdLeisurewear
    May 14, 2007
    8
    Stunning achievement from Messrs Graham and co. - a nice cross between Mogwai and Belle and Sebastien - not just because they're both Stunning achievement from Messrs Graham and co. - a nice cross between Mogwai and Belle and Sebastien - not just because they're both Scottish, well...kinda. I look forward to the fifteenth autumn...… Full Review »
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