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MagnetOct 18, 2016Having carved out a signature sound from the start, Local Natives continue to sound both fresh and familiar. [No. 136, p.57]
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Sep 12, 2016For all the globe-trotting that went into the album, this is a band that--perhaps more than any other at the moment--innately sound like and capture their Californian home in all its beautiful complexity.
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Sep 8, 2016This release is not a cliched, sulky attempt to do something new fuelled by the frustrating necessity for a narrative to complement their art. Instead, Sunlit Youth sounds like music Local Natives want to make.
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Sep 8, 2016ures might underplay institutional factors, Local Natives deliver these ideas knowingly. The beauty of Sunlit Youth is in its optimism rather than its pragmatism--a record that cements their status as one of our most special proponents of emotionally-charged guitar music.
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Sep 29, 2016Everything we love about Local Natives remains, but they make us work harder for it.
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Sep 13, 2016Sunlit Youth does feel more indebted to contemporary indie bands like Young the Giant or Phoenix than their previous records, but it’s also a fascinating snapshot of the band during an inevitable transitional phase.
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Sep 8, 2016While in the process of embracing more electronics they lose a bit of their organic warmth, particularly compared to their debut, Local Natives hang on to a significant amount of their quirkiness and rhythmic flair.
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Sep 8, 2016Sunlit Youth may not be the massive leap forward some fans may have wanted, but it's far from a step back. Instead, it's yet another steady offering from Local Natives, who continue to build on a solid catalogue.
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Sep 9, 2016Local Natives’ original components are still in fine working order, but evolution shouldn’t sound this unnatural. They tried, but their discomfort with the equipment stops the songs from fluorescing.
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Sep 23, 2016There’s something sadly anonymous about Sunlit Youth. It’s cloudy, distant, and inert when it should be effervescent.
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Sep 12, 2016Despite plenty of clever ideas, too much of Sunlit Youth sounds so polished it becomes oddly disengaging.
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Sep 9, 2016This lack of immediacy is representative of Sunlit Youth as a whole; it feels overproduced, like some of the essence of what has defined this band for two albums has been polished away. In its place is a more palatable but distinctly less exciting listen.