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Jun 3, 2016Turning it up to eleven, PUP’s second album is a tongue-in-cheek rampage through everything that matters. The dream might not be what they thought it would be, but when they’re capable of a record as unrelenting as this one, then it’s certainly not over.
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May 26, 2016Very versatile and loaded with replay value, prep yourselves for one of the best records you'll hear this year.
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May 26, 2016The Dream Is Over is one of the most unapologetically over-the-top punk albums in recent memory, and fitting proof that Babcock’s vocals are still fully functional.
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May 27, 2016In many ways, The Dream Is Over is a record that perfectly captures the moment between bottoming out and rising above. Not many would be able to find this much strength when on the brink of collapse, but PUP’s never seemed all that interested in doing things the easy way.
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Kerrang!Jun 1, 2016Expect this to crop up on more than a few album-of-the-year lists. [4 Jun 2016, p.52]
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May 27, 2016While The Dream Is Over doesn’t quite match the ebullient nature of last year’s ‘Too’ or ‘V’, there’s still much to fall for.
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May 26, 2016For all their self-deprecation and ramshackle bombast, there's no hiding the band's innate musicality, which reveals itself in the myriad of clever changes and occasional bursts of slick vocal harmony, especially on the epic closer "Pine Point." If the dream really is over for PUP, they sound awfully confident.
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May 26, 2016The Dream Is Over has no pretext or pretence; the band did what they did best in 2013, and then did it a bit better here.
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May 31, 2016Frankly, the energy and intensity that’s channeled into the first half of The Dream is Over feels utterly impossible, especially given the subject matter. But even at 31 minutes, Babcock’s relentless self-loathing can go from intoxicating to simply toxic.
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May 26, 2016With its gritted teeth and threats of violence, “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You I Will” sets the tone for the rest of The Dream Is Over, a feral animal of an album that frequently lashes out without warning.
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Jun 1, 2016PUP’s second record is one of moments and contrast--huge musical and lyrical leaps forward, some magical trickery and sleight of hand, a few stumbling mis-steps and finally a huge bright, beaming light offering this budding band a path to follow down which they can flower, grow and hey, maybe one day, not be quite so fucking hard on themselves.
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May 26, 2016A sterling second outing shot through with the admirable spirit of never tapping out.
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May 26, 2016The meat of the album is about relationships gone awry, but the edges of that are where PUP really flourish.
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Jun 22, 2016Stephan Babcock is a determined performer, and his bandmates are suitable harmonizers, but even at a tight 30-minutes the album’s lack of strong melodic direction quickly turns tiresome with its stilted, colorless sonic onslaught.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 27 out of 29
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Mixed: 1 out of 29
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Negative: 1 out of 29
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Jun 25, 2016
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Sep 15, 2019