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- Summary: The debut full-length solo release from The Wrens' Kevin Whelan under the name Aeon Station includes contributions from bandmates Greg Whelan and Jerry MacDonald, as well as five songs that would have appeared on the now cancelled fourth Wrens album.
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- Record Label: Sub Pop
- Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 6
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Mixed: 1 out of 6
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Negative: 0 out of 6
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Dec 10, 2021It’s very much a record that stands on its own two feet. These are excellent songs. Not only that, but given the isolation and anxieties of life in 2021, it’s easy to find commonality in these tales of hope and strength amid troubling uncertainty.
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Dec 10, 2021From the yearning opener “Hold On” through to the life-affirming ruckus of “Queens” and “Better Love” and to the final epiphanies in “Alpine Drive”, Observatory is a triumphant expression of resilience in the face of all the hard knocks and harder lessons that fill a life.
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Dec 14, 2021A rousing, unabashedly sentimental album that’s even more explicitly about recalibrating fading dreams than its predecessor.
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Dec 10, 2021Observatory is ultimately not the Wrens record we all wanted, but it’s what we have and it’s better than it has any right to be given all the turmoil of its conception.
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Dec 10, 2021Observatory is a satisfying listen and deserves to be heard on its own merits. On whether or not it will appease longtime Wrens fans as a vestige of a long-promised return, the jury remains out.
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MojoDec 14, 2021The highs of Fade, Queens and Better Love variously recall Arcade Fire and The Flaming Lips in euphoria mode, while the lows plumb eerie depths akin to Big Star's Third. [Feb 2022, p.89]
Score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 3
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Mixed: 1 out of 3
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Negative: 0 out of 3
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Jan 3, 2022I've discovered Kevin Whelan through this band and album... Really loved it. I want to know his previous band now !!
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Dec 10, 2021
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Dec 16, 2021
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