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The  L-Shaped Man Image
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

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  • Record Label: Matador
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock, Punk Revival
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Top Track

Your Life in France
You remember sitting inside the café Selfishly aware of things You couldn't change Edith was buried down the same street ‘Give your heart & soul... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. May 21, 2015
    93
    Beyond the approach that Ceremony is taking on The L-Shaped Man musically--a simmering post-punk sound that evokes the best of that genre’s late ‘70s/early ‘80s heyday--you can’t get away from the pain and despair that vocalist Ross Farrar experienced. He simply won’t let you.
  2. May 19, 2015
    83
    The L-Shaped Man adds context to Zoo’s post-punk/hardcore hybrid, showing it for the transitional step that it was all along. On The L-Shaped Man, there’s no question of Ceremony’s intent or authenticity.
  3. May 18, 2015
    80
    Ceremony have a strong handle on this style [Ian Curtis'], and after nearly a decade together, these new clothes fit them quite well.
  4. May 18, 2015
    75
    There’s very little relief from heartache on The L-Shaped Man, but it’s such an emotionally naked record that its bleakness is oddly invigorating.
  5. May 18, 2015
    75
    The L-Shaped Man makes for a fascinating homage to the band that spawned a million t-shirts. How Ceremony will fit many of these new songs into their set lists without creating an odd pace remains to be seen, but the group has clearly attempted to showcase their veneration and done so with conviction.
  6. May 28, 2015
    40
    On the whole, L-Shaped Man feels like a boring exercise: a band performing post-punk idolatry (Root Of The World could pass for poppier Public Image Ltd.) instead of bothering to try anything new.
  7. May 20, 2015
    33
    Maybe it's good for a laugh, but only as a defense mechanism against the cringe-inducing experience of watching artistic expression abandon a heartbroken man at his lowest moment.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of