- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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At her best--which must not come easy, or they'd release more and more consistent albums--Rennie Sparks is a great American realist.
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An excellent album.
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UncutAn unqualified triumph. [Jun 2006, p.122]
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Although their entire catalog this far is remarkably solid, Last Days of Wonder probably one-ups its predecessors as a consistent band’s most consistent album.
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Songs of weirdness and wonder, set in a half wild, half urban, entirely mysterious place where trees that grow in small squares of dirt hide man-eating boars.
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MojoLast Days Of Wonder is rich in history and nature imagery, yet the couple are equally obsessed with modern life. [Jul 2006, p.101]
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The WireThere's such a freshness to Brett Sparks's music that few comparisons can be made. [#269, p.42]
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Last Days of Wonder finds the Handsome Family hitting a comfortable stride.
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If the lyrics weren’t so surreal, you could imagine yourself dining with George and Tammy before a Grand Ole Opry performance.
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BlenderThe Sparks' performances are so understated, their arrangements so mechanically soothing, that it's easy to miss Rennie's brutal, elegant twists on folk cliches. [Jul 2006, p.99]
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The layered caramel of [Brett's] voice stays thick from track to track, but finally, it's Rennie's poetry that gives Last Days Of Wonder its legs.
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Alternative PressTranscend[s] the alt-country tag. [Aug 2006, p.206]
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It's still better than most of the records that have come out this year; it's just that the Sparks family has set such a high precedent that even slight missteps are bound to disappoint.
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Paste MagazineWhat's new is the sense of glory that pervades the madness. [Aug 2006, p.94]
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An uneven album that unfortunately contains several such missed opportunities.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 5
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Mixed: 0 out of 5
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Negative: 1 out of 5
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CarlBJul 31, 2007
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MattLJun 11, 2007
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EricSJul 11, 2006Their best album yet! Rennie Sparks has a wonderfully skewed take on modern life.