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- Summary: Disc #2 for the Irish band was produced by Dave Sardy (Marilyn Manson), with Peter Buck and Van Dyke Parks helping on a track apiece.
- Record Label: Virgin
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 22
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Mixed: 11 out of 22
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Negative: 0 out of 22
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Filter[Van Dyke] Parks' masterful touch transforms the Thrills from barroom favorites to starry-eyed chancers with a shot at the big time. [#12, p.105]
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SpinA moving listen, despite patches of redundancy. [Oct 2004, p.111]
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It's certainly not a bad second effort; simply they have attempted to downsize the large breast-beating anthems to something a little more crafted and understated, while still retaining their populist nous.
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The songs are likable, but lack a core.
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By third song, "Faded Beauty Queens", the recipe is already stalling, and the harmonies begin to sound flimsy.
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Their forlorn, polished California pop is like the sprawling Valley suburbs: nice enough, if that's your sort of thing.
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The Thrills still have more musical verve than many other second-album victims, but too much of this album seems as if The Thrills have wearied of their own sunny musical dispositions.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 9
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Mixed: 0 out of 9
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Negative: 1 out of 9
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PatrickOFeb 16, 2006Excellent
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MattMSep 20, 2004Wonderful stuff. Close for my album of the year. The opening track gets the stereo cranking and the rest of the CD is a really exciting listen too.
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GaryWFeb 6, 2005
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[Anonymous]Sep 22, 2004Wonderful sophomoric effort...full of highly infectious pop...ear candy at its sweetest.
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PhilWMar 8, 2005
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JohnRNov 9, 2005
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CPOct 27, 2005Embarassingly weak songwriting that makes me yearn for Bruce Willis's "The Return of Bruno." It's that bad.
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