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If The Unfairground doesn’t quite qualify as a "stunning" return to form--"stunning" never really being Ayers’ stock in trade--it certainly represents the delightful and unexpected renaissance of a perennially undervalued artist, whose quiet but significant influence is long overdue for re-assessment.
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Ayers' revealing account--his first album in 15 years--stands with his best '70s works of besotted, droll sophistication.
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Q MagazineThe result are a joy, exuding the same casual charm that has always characterised his best work. [Sep 2008]
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Whatever the situation, Ayers's amenability shines through regardless, a wave of warmth that can lighten the heaviest soul.
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Unfairground is one of the great records to come out of Great Britain in 2007 and adds exponentially to the legacy and well-deserved reputation of one of the great songsmiths that rock sometimes doesn't know it produced.
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Nudged out of retirement, the singer-guitarist has returned with The Unfairground, his first album in 15 years and best in more than three decades.
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The Unfairground features ten strong songs without filler or flab. All have melodies that rapidly lodge in the brain, the kind that the paperboy could whistle on his round.
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MojoThe Unfairground finds Ayers rejuvenated and stands comparison with his best work. [Oct 2007, p.98]
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The Unfairground is a short and sweet collection of ten tunes, rich with strings, original ideas, lovely melodies and a whiff of what used to be.
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His philosophizing is rarely twee, and his fine-oaked voice gives new authority to his pastis-and-mushroom-fueled musings.
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His best in more than 30 years, he teams up with members of Ladybug Transistor, Teenage Fanclub, and others for songs heavy on rememberance but energized with chin-up horns and strings that'll sound fresh to fans of the Decemberists and Arcade Fire. [Apr 2008, p.92]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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JManApr 3, 2008It is so bad.
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MarkR.Mar 25, 2008