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Aug 12, 2016It’s when the consistency falters (as with the record’s end, when the unfocused “Trashed Exes” and “Chap Pilot” close out the album) that Barnes seems to be losing balance. Still, the highs are dizzying.
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Aug 10, 2016Throughout the album's 12 tracks, of Montreal manage to come off inspired, inventive, re-energized and wide-eyed on Innocence Reaches, utilizing new sounds rather than rehashing old ideas.
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Aug 5, 2016The results flit capriciously and deliciously through tones and genres, with highlights including the mechanical electro of Let’s Relate, the stuttering du jour production of A Sport and A Pastime, and the glam rock/spaghetti western/prog hybrid (aye, another one…) that is Chaos Arpeggiating.
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Aug 12, 2016Electronica runs through this incredibly vibrant hour of music--but only in a way that serves to complement the guitar-driven rock that has always been the underbelly of the band.
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MagnetAug 11, 2016Things start strong, with some of Barnes' tightest tunes in ages. [No. 134, p.58]
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Aug 26, 2016While Innocence Reaches won’t go down as their best, it’s refreshing to see that Kevin Barnes and Co. are continuing to reinvent themselves with some of their most anthemic, accessible, and socially pertinent singles to date.
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Aug 22, 2016The second half of the album slows the pace somewhat and perhaps suffers after the thundering EDM and lyrical onslaught of the first few songs. ... Yet, for the most part, Innocence Reaches is a triumph of adversity and experimentation.
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Aug 10, 2016Though Innocence Reaches is more than a bit disjointed, offering a mix of styles previously explored and newly absorbed, it's an up-tempo pleaser with songs that promise to be handpicked fan favorites--if with little consensus.
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Aug 9, 2016Innocence Reaches feels like Barnes has found his center again. This time out he’s figured out how to combine his melodic skills with his musical idiosyncrasies in a way that works, for the most part, really well.
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UncutAug 5, 2016There's a sense that the artificiality in the sound is being used to anaesthetise the raw emotion, but the sonic fractures can't disguise the loveliness of "A Sport And A Pastime" and "My Fair Lady." [Sep 2016, p.78]
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Aug 11, 2016His albums are very much the work and vision of one man, and so even on a relatively easygoing outing like Innocence Reaches, that insularity can grow stifling. It’s as if since Barnes can’t escape his own head, he won’t allow listeners to, either.
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Sep 13, 2016Challenging and proudly disjointed, Innocence Reaches showcases a deranged songwriter whose fickle character knows no bounds.
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Aug 15, 2016Mostly it feels like he’s lost in the dress-up box, never quite finding a mask to fit his ever-changing face.
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Aug 11, 2016You might sometimes wish Barnes would curb his more outlandish impulses; when focused, he is a fine songwriter.
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Q MagazineAug 5, 2016Crazy as ever, then, but still just about in an endearing way. [Sep 2016, p.108]
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Aug 9, 2016By lacking any resonant peg and showing little advancement, the record feels like a question mark, a gray spot on the timeline.
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Aug 22, 2016There are some genuinely fun, compelling moments of music, some striking lyrics, and the smattering of modern electronic dance sounds definitely livens things up. But at an hour long, it feels too convoluted: lacking in cohesion and, ultimately, too devoid of specific intent.
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Aug 11, 2016Innocence Reaches is lighter than last year’s appropriately titled Aureate Gloom, but it’s less fun than it thinks it is, and in pursuing a more “current,” electronic-inspired sound, it’s lost the psychedelic charms of a better post-peak Of Montreal album like, say, 2013’s lousy with sylvianbriar.
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Aug 15, 2016In trying so desperately to be universal, they’ve ended up with their most stiflingly insular album yet.
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Aug 12, 2016Unfortunately, this slightly more mainstream vision is consistently obscured, making Innocence Reaches a frustrating listen.
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Aug 10, 2016The amount of fatigue and cynicism baked into 14th album Innocence Reaches is not just a bummer; it's verging on ominous.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 16
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Mixed: 4 out of 16
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Negative: 2 out of 16
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Sep 26, 2016
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Aug 21, 2016