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MagnetApr 16, 2013Hi Beams has style to burn, colorful as a candy store and shiny as new-molded plastic. [No. 97, p.56]
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Mar 5, 2013Added up, it's a departure for sure, but it's a swerve that's easy to follow.
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Mar 7, 2013Javelin’s sound has in fact undergone distilled changes, but the result is still a fun album that once again brings up the question of what could be next for the duo.
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Apr 15, 2013it's largely a successful experiment, with sumptuous keyboard melodies and live drum breaks replacing the heaped samples of old.
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Mar 5, 2013Depending on what’s expected from the band, some fans will likely have an initially lukewarm reaction to what Langford and Van Buskirk are trying to do here. Give it time, though, and the various dimensions of the album open up, revealing a band that’s capable of more than what many people expected of them.
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Mar 5, 2013We are treated to a smorgasbord of pop's finest elements, blended together in a dizzying melting pot of ideas that could've easily failed, but surprisingly and pleasantly succeeds.
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Apr 23, 2013The album is chirpy, playful and transitory, dispensing 10 songs in 31 minutes.
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Apr 11, 2013The tracks don’t excite particularly: it’s all rather pedestrian, with the album occasionally struggling to hold attention. This is a shame, because the album’s closer and standout track, The Stars, shows they can manage it.
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Q MagazineApr 10, 2013Silvery two-part harmonies, cello and snare rolls combine to excellent effect on Light Out, while Drummachines lopes along, a fuzzy bass loop and booming drum kicks offset with mildly Auto-Tuned vocals. [May 2013, p.103]
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Under The RadarMar 22, 2013Hi Beams is a good time, for sure, but it's not quite the high energy block party we've come to anticipate from this duo. [Mar-Apr 2013, p.100]
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Mar 5, 2013As evidenced by their remixes, the instrumental tracks here, and some of the pithier vocals, Javelin are high-caliber producers; their lyrics and melodies just haven’t matched that intensity.
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Apr 26, 2013Hi Beams is an album that delights and baffles in almost equal measures.
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Apr 15, 2013Javelin's sense of ambition is certainly commendable, and despite its shortcomings, Hi Beams still provides some examples of dizzyingly odd pop.
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Mar 14, 2013Despite its upbeat personality and general happiness, the album doesn’t have a distinct personality or identity.
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Mar 5, 2013It's obvious that Hi Beams was meant to be a candy-colored experience, but instead of inducing a sugar rush, it results in little more than a fitful stomach ache.