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- Critic score
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Alternative PressApr 8, 2014It's an album without pretense or misstep. [May 2014, p.88]
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Apr 8, 2014It's a unified album, in which sound is every bit as crucial as craft. Despite the formidable solo careers involved, The Both improbably sounds like the work of a band.
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Apr 15, 2014Even as Mann pushes toward friendly pop-rock and Leo pulls toward spiky punkiness, the lack of struggle in that mild tension makes for a charm offensive that’s hard to resist.
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Apr 15, 2014The Both charms like few collaborations of its ilk, a side project that transcends dabbling and brings out the best in Leo and Mann.
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Apr 14, 2014The duo’s self-titled debut’s greatest strength is the pair’s hand-in-glove harmonies. Coupled with Mann’s gift for a pop melody and Leo’s penchant for spiky, urgent guitars, the end result is a best-of-both-worlds situation.
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Apr 14, 2014They work hard to make it a true collaboration, and due to that effort and the high quality of the songs they each brought, it works amazingly well.
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UncutApr 8, 2014The unlikely pairing works precisely because of the contrast between their approaches, as they locate a vibrant middle ground on rawboned yet tuneful rockers like "The Prisoner" and dynamic ballads like "No Sir." [May 2014, p.69]
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Apr 16, 2014It’s [not] the best album from either performer (the low-pressure nature of their collaboration makes for equally low stakes), but it’s definitely the most digestible.
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Apr 17, 2014New Wave heartthrob and master songcrafter Aimee Mann gets welcome vocal and guitar snarl from Ted Leo, a post-punk heartthrob in his own right whose unfussy attack benefits from Mann's melodic and harmonic touch.
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Apr 8, 2014The tunes barely let up until the Mann-led "Hummingbird" and "Honesty Is No Excuse" more than halfway through, and even then the usual boring singer/songwriter-isms become a nice resting place from the otherwise inescapable hooks.
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Apr 15, 2014The Both’s self-titled release is the sound of a first date that wasn’t exactly a drag but won’t be leading to a second meet-up.
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Aug 1, 2014The Both brings refreshing energy to a pair of catalogs whose unlikely intersection succeeds superbly.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 8
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Mixed: 2 out of 8
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Negative: 1 out of 8
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May 21, 2014
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May 13, 2014