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- Critic score
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Jun 3, 2015The result is as wild and craggy as we could hope.
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MojoMay 20, 2015A dense dream dialogue. [Jun 2015, p.96]
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May 20, 2015Never Were the Way She Was finds these two highly skilled artists operating at the top of their respective games and is a welcome addition to the experimental minimalist end of the contemporary classical landscape.
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The WireMay 15, 2015The album exhibits two players of formidable range and ability. [Apr 2015, p.60]
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May 13, 2015Stetson's bass sax is still an extraordinary thing to hear, and Neufeld's melody lines and textures add another colour to the palette.
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UncutApr 29, 2015Stetson and Arcade Fire violinist Sarah Neufeld dart and dovetail elegantly, h er playing the piercing counterpoint to his imposing low end. [Jun 2015, p.81]
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Apr 29, 2015Together, Stetson and Neufeld have succeeded in not only melding their respective sounds, but also refining them.
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Apr 28, 2015It is clearly intended to connect with people who aren’t allergic to a straight beat or a straightforward tune. But it’s still, in its own way, surprising.
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Apr 28, 2015They wend through minimalist pinwheeling (“The sun roars into view”) and pared-down funk (“The rest of us”) to reach the title track’s Renaissance-motet epiphany, their odyssey made relatable through the grit, breath, and song that permeate their enchanting chronicle.
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Apr 28, 2015If there's a complaint about Never Were the Way She Was, it's that it's too brief. These pieces last only as long as they hold interest for the players, though they all create a real desire for more in the listener--which is no complaint at all.
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Apr 27, 2015Overall then, a triumph for instrumental music that’s more than genre-hopping: it’s genre-reviving.
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Apr 24, 2015Recorded live with no overdubs or loops, Never were the way she was is a perfect blend of Neufeld's violin virtuosity and Stetson's outside-the-box approach to saxophone and clarinet, their styles complementing yet pushing each other to new heights.
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Apr 23, 2015Never Were The Way She Was is stunning, understated and poignant, evoking isolation and yearning for some unnamed thing. Despite some less successful detours, it's a monster of a journey that calls to mind a windswept, brutal white North fraught with life.
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Apr 27, 2015Though the pieces are fleshed out with other small touches—other horns at the periphery, and uncanny wordless vocals--the foundation of the album rests on the power and warmth Stetson and Neufeld generate by themselves.
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Apr 23, 2015It’s hard not to wish Never were the way she was would stretch further and reach out to the horizon the way each musician’s solo albums have. But much like a masterfully rendered novella, Stetson and Neufeld leave you wanting more.
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Apr 28, 2015Whilst there are a few darker moments (particularly towards the midsection) there’s are also a number of delicate and beautiful moments too.
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Apr 27, 2015It’s a cohesive meditation on the legacy of avant-garde greats like Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt and peers such as Tim Hecker--and, of course, an essential part of Stetson and Neufeld’s own impressive canons.
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Apr 23, 2015The focus is therefore narrower, and while Stetson doesn't reach the same heights of grandiose menace as on his previous album, the results are roundly impressive, rooted to the continuing spectacle of two discrete approaches melting into one another, each disrupting and perverting the effect of the other.
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Apr 23, 2015The two finest soloists from Montreal label Constellation combine here for something far greater than the sum of its parts.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 19 out of 24
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Mixed: 3 out of 24
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Negative: 2 out of 24
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May 14, 2015
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Jul 26, 2015