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- Summary: Interpol's Paul Banks releases his debut solo album under the name Julian Plenti.
- Record Label: Matador
- Genre(s): Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 12 out of 20
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Mixed: 6 out of 20
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Negative: 2 out of 20
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While Interpol is far from a simplistic band, more often than not Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper takes the scenic route, and it pays off with an intimate, subtle set of songs that are strong in their own right.
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It’s a frustrating outing that wavers quietly between uninspired and surprisingly vibrant, middling and fantastic.
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Banks’s debut solo outing is a leap forward--and notably away - from his band’s rigid blueprint that hinges on cold calculation and angular rhythm.
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Given his chilly demeanor, Banks makes for an uneasy balladeer, and he sometimes overcompensates with treacly string ?arrangements.
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Just as Interpol always seemed like a good imitation of a great rock band (no-one in particular, just A Great Rock Band, with all its slogans and hooks, and gestures and shapes), Julian Plenti does a fairly good imitation of a solo-artist showing his sensitive side.
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Much of it is quieter, cinematic, and, of course, better than Our Love to Admire. Thank God. Sometimes we are impressed by not being miserably disappointed again.
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A slightly boring rock frontman adopts a pseudonym to make a solo album, and it sounds like his main band, recorded in a just-passable studio.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 5
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Mixed: 0 out of 5
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Negative: 0 out of 5
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finalsoundAug 6, 2009A delightful surprise -- gets better with each listen as the quiet complexity of each song reveals itself.
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SorayaHAug 31, 2009I love this album. Effortlessly intriguing.
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LeahTAug 5, 2009
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Nov 28, 2010
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Feb 2, 2012
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