Hymns
by Bloc Party
Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 29
  3. Negative: 2 out of 29
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Jan 26, 2016
    91
    Bloc Party never became the saviors they were supposed to be, but putting out your best work after a decade of near-constant turmoil has to count for something. [29 Jan/5 Feb 2016, p.107]
  2. The Observer (UK)
    Feb 1, 2016
    80
    It’s a brave and successful reinvention.
  3. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jan 29, 2016
    80
    Hymns finds a fully-in-control Okereke, still tangled in the electronics of his solo albums (“Rock’n’roll has got so old, just give me neo-soul,” he admits on ‘Into The Earth’) fusing with Russell Lissack’s spectral shoegaze guitars to steer one of the century’s most pioneering underground bands into more mature and absorbing, if murkier, waters.
  5. Mixmag
    Jan 28, 2016
    70
    A total contrast to 'Banquet' and 'Two More Years', die-hard fans may need to give it a few spins, but in daring to reinvent themselves, Bloc Party show an impressive evolution.
  6. The Line of Best Fit
    Jan 27, 2016
    70
    This is a stepping stone towards a new direction, and although it’s stunning in places, it’s not a triumphant renaissance.
  7. Uncut
    Jan 7, 2016
    70
    Hymns sounds refreshed. [Feb 2016, p.73]
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Awards & Rankings

62
#62 Most Discussed Album of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
5.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 69 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 69
  3. Negative: 19 out of 69
  1. Exhodius
    Jan 29, 2016
    0
    It's okay to change style and do some other kind of track, but sometime you also have to think about your fans and not only doing what youIt's okay to change style and do some other kind of track, but sometime you also have to think about your fans and not only doing what you like... Why ? Because it is a passion AND a job !
    I would have liked to have just 1 or 2 tracks reminding the good old BP, but even 1 or 2 is too much.

    I will just forget this album and wait.    … Full Review »
  2. Duke_Challenger
    Jan 29, 2016
    2
    "The Love Within" would have been a good starting point for an album that got crazier and crazier with interesting guitar effects as it went"The Love Within" would have been a good starting point for an album that got crazier and crazier with interesting guitar effects as it went on. Instead, it is as experimental (which is saying that much since the song sounds like a standard EDM song) as the album gets, and the album only gets duller and slower.

    The only standouts on the album (since basically all the songs are slow ballads) are probably "Fortress" and "Exes." They stood out for their lyrics and Kele's singing.

    The last song "Living Lux" sounds a lot like "Ion Square" and has some more experimental, subtle guitar effects. But they come and go, never repeating.    … Full Review »
  3. elmarko
    Jan 29, 2016
    0
    This album is dreadful and an insult to the Bloc Party name.

    Bloc Party released four incredible and influential albums. Hymns is not    This album is dreadful and an insult to the Bloc Party name.

    Bloc Party released four incredible and influential albums.

    Hymns is not only uninspiring, but unbearable.    … Full Review »
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