Sideways to New Italy
by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
  • Record Label: Sub Pop
  • Release Date: Jun 5, 2020
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. Classic Rock Magazine
    Jul 6, 2020
    60
    Tail-chasing indie adequacy. [Summer 2020, p.89]
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  2. Q Magazine
    Jun 9, 2020
    80
    This is the sound of a band perfectly balanced and creatively ablaze. [Summer 2020, p.104]
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  3. No Ripcord
    Jun 8, 2020
    60
    On Sideways to New Italy, the five-piece continues their solid methodology of songcraft, even if it may feel a little stale by the album’s end. It’s the cream of the crop when it comes to modern reverbed-out jangle pop, but there’s really only so much one can take when it comes to this midtempo playlist-rock.
  5. DIY Magazine
    Jun 8, 2020
    70
    Nothing quite comes close to ‘Cars In Space’ for desk-slapping earwormery, but with three singer-guitarists at play, the music chops and weaves with an impressive intricacy, always stopping itself short of self-indulgence. If you’re looking for a modern, uplifting celebration of all things riff, these boys have got your back.
  6. Pitchfork
    Jun 8, 2020
    66
    These 10 tracks refine RBCF’s formidable strafing abilities. They roll. They’re feverish. They also coast. ... RBCF get in trouble, however, when they want us to pay attention to words and such. This is more of a problem on the material sung by White, responsible for the this-is-pop moments that require a slight deceleration.
  7. The Observer (UK)
    Jun 8, 2020
    80
    While it is excellent in places, Sideways to New Italy doesn’t quite rise to the same heights as its predecessor.
  8. Beats Per Minute
    Jun 5, 2020
    81
    No doubt that momentum they’ve built up will take them to plenty of new places when they can get back to playing live next year; they set out to capture that feeling on record this time around, and they’ve succeeded, with an album that makes Hope Downs feel like a warmup. After all this travelling, they’ve finally arrived.
  9. Clash Music
    Jun 5, 2020
    70
    Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have produced an album that dangles a carrot of the possibilities of exploration at the time of the impossible, but they are absolutely better off for doing so.
  10. AllMusic
    Jun 5, 2020
    80
    The album is another strong point in the case that Rolling Blackouts are making the best guitar pop anywhere in 2020.
  11. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jun 5, 2020
    80
    ‘Sideways To New Italy’ might sound like sun-splashed indie for good times, but there’s a great deal of angst buried within. Yet this is clearly also the sound of a band excited to be in the studio together; warmth and friendship seeps through every note.
  12. The Line of Best Fit
    Jun 5, 2020
    65
    With multiple writers Sideways to New Italy perhaps lacks the focus and clear direction that the music deserves; stark changes in vocal styles can break an aural ‘fourth wall’ and remind the listener that the songwriters, while complementary, are also competing with one another for our attention.
  13. Uncut
    Jun 4, 2020
    90
    It's romantic, it's exhilarating. [Jul 2020, p.26]
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  14. Mojo
    Jun 4, 2020
    80
    If Sideways To New Italy is a reckoning, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever's balance sheet is entirely in the black. [Jul 2020, p.79]
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  15. Exclaim
    Jun 4, 2020
    70
    Sideways to New Italy is not only the perfect summer companion, but it also makes room for a reflective experience. As the band work to find what constitutes "home" again, digging into their individual pasts and the people and places who have shaped them, perhaps it can inspire listeners to look inwards and do the same.
  16. Glide Magazine
    Jun 4, 2020
    80
    Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever delivers a slice of summer with the successful Sideways to New Italy as the band keeps rolling on and smiling all the way.
  17. Paste Magazine
    Jun 4, 2020
    86
    In heading Sideways to New Italy, Rolling Blackouts C.F. continue to make a strong case as one of Australia’s most vital rock acts, if not the world’s.
  18. Rolling Stone
    Jun 4, 2020
    80
    They’ve upped their game even further on Sideways to New Italy, and the result is a perfect summertime indie-rock record.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. Ricko
    Jan 4, 2021
    7
    I was a big fan of this bands debut, I thought it was a superb indie rock album with a different flavour to the rest of the field. I saw themI was a big fan of this bands debut, I thought it was a superb indie rock album with a different flavour to the rest of the field. I saw them play live during the summer of 2019 as the toured in support of that album. If I'm honest they came across as pretty jaded from the touring life and I remember thinking they could struggle with album number 2 if they didn't take time to recharge before tackling it. Sometimes a band will successfully harness the buzz of touring a breakthrough album and can quickly write a follow up on the road but it is rare enough. Fontaines DC recently have managed it but more often than not a band need a break after touring on end for months before writing a follow up. I guess these days (pre Covid lockdown anyway) bands can't afford to stop touring for too long without financially going under. Anyway, the point is, I had worries for album number 2 but as it turns what was delivered falls somewhere between 2 stools as they saying goes. It's a fine album, full of good tunes but for me, it is indistinguishable from their debut. Such is the quality of the first album, this is not the worst crime to commit. That said, there is no development, no expansion and at times it's colour by numbers. It's an enjoyable record that does the job for now but more will be required for the next album if these lads are to build on the promise of their excellent debut.… Full Review »
  2. Lajaleaa
    Oct 9, 2020
    9
    ( 90/100 )

    "Sideways To New Italy" es un paso gigante hacia una dirección muy importante e interesante en la carrera de RBCF. En el 2018    ( 90/100 )

    "Sideways To New Italy" es un paso gigante hacia una dirección muy importante e interesante en la carrera de RBCF. En el 2018 presentaron su álbum debut "Hope Downs" que fue una forma decente de entrar a la industria, pero ahora, con su segundo álbum, la banda toma con fuerza el lugar más importante del Indie Rock en el año hasta ahora. Con letras románticas sobre los detalles en memorias que contarán sobre emociones eternas en momentos breves, personas importantes en vidas pasajeras y sueños de un lugar que probablemente ya no existe, este álbum es un consuelo que alegra a corazones forasteros y resuelve angustias del pasado con optimismo. La producción es de Burke Reid, a quien le da velocidad, sensibilidad, emoción, sensibilidad, época, aura, color y una temperatura cálida que anima a dejar de pensar tanto con un clavado en el lago. Las letras son una rosa y la música son una brisa fresca de nueva vida que es casi imposible no disfrutar.
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    This new project is a giant step to a very important and interesting direction in the career of RBCF. In 2018 they presented their debut album "Hope Downs" that was a decent way to get into the industry, but now, with their second album, the band takes strength in the most important place of Indie-Rock of the year yet. With romantic lyrics about the details in memory that tell the tale of eternal emotions in brief moments, important people in passing life, and dreams of a place that probably doesn't exist anymore, this album is a consolation that cheers up foreigner's hearts and solves the anguish of the past with optimism. The production is from Burke Reid, who achieves to give velocity, sensibility, emotion, aura, sensibility, epoch, color, and warm temperature that encourage to stop thinking to much by diving into the lake. Lyrics are a rose and the music is a fresh breeze of new life that is almost impossible to not enjoy.    … Full Review »
  3. Craigdimas
    Jun 6, 2020
    7
    It’s a shame that record companies no longer send bands back to write a few more better songs for albums. Sideways To New Italy is good, butIt’s a shame that record companies no longer send bands back to write a few more better songs for albums. Sideways To New Italy is good, but not good enough. It fails to build on the wonderful Hope Downs, and there’s nothing here of the calibre of Talking Straight. There are some highlights - ‘Cars In Space’ is really great, despite not having a chorus. Single ‘She’s There’ is catchy and ‘Cameo’ is a refreshing change of direction. Overall though this is quite disappointing, the guitar playing is uniformly inferior to ‘Hope Downs’ and the light frothy, summery production is a real miscalculation.… Full Review »
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