- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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May 25, 2012The biggest failure of This Is PiL, sadly, is the band's centerpiece: Lydon. As fine as he can be (see again "Deeper Water"), he sounds downright unhinged. Not in the puckish, sinister way that made PiL live albums so bracing, either-no, his work here sounds tossed off, and too often just plain off.
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May 25, 2012A curious mixture of rage and nostalgia.
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Jun 22, 2012It's an album that alternates between being rewarding and punishing.
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Jun 27, 2012Easily absorbing subcurrents from Bollywood and bhangra ("Deeper Water") to fear-of-nature horror film soundtracks ("Out of the Woods"), This is PiL never wanders far from that fierce bass and pulsing percussion at its core.
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May 31, 2012On the surface, it looks and sounds (somewhat) like P.I.L., but in the end, it's a rather soulless copy.
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May 25, 2012Both as an album opener after a ten year absence and a spiritual partner to Public Image, This is PiL is pretty much perfect.
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Kerrang!Jun 15, 2012It's edgy. inventive, and occasionally frustrating. [2 Jun 2012, p.53]
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MojoJul 18, 2012It's a labyrinthine 64-minute journey, bound together by a group identity that gains clarity with every listen. [Jun 2012, p.80]
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May 25, 2012This is Public Image Ltd at its best. This record is good. Outrageously good. Better than a record of an artist of Lydon's vintage has any right to make.
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May 29, 2012This Is PiL is a relatively edgeless makeover, albeit infused with the progressive spirit of '79, and bolstered by what has always served Lydon well.
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Jun 6, 2012With none of the tension or electricity of the music PiL is best-remembered for, This is PiL is a disappointing return.
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May 30, 2012Historical importance aside, they're a band built on unreliability and inconsistency, and This Is PiL maintains that reputation.
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Jul 3, 2012PiL still has power. If John Lydon and his current crew of misfits continue to stay the course, we are going to see some classic works that'll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the band's commercial and artistic heyday. You could already make that case for This is PiL.
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Q MagazineOct 12, 2012It sounds like [he's having a lark]. [Jul 2012, p.108]
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Jun 18, 2012This Is PiL proves that the taunting weaponry of his voice is still a delight, as he drawls out syllables like an over-the-top TV villain.
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Jun 4, 2012If lyrically This Is PiL marks a step forward for Lydon, then musically the album seems caught in a mid-'90s production rut, the color and texture of the band's rhythm section feeling leached out.
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Jun 19, 2012PiL have created something solid, vicious and with enough value for repeat listens.
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May 29, 2012PiL's last album, 1992's That What Is Not, left the outfit hanging on a slick and inconsequential note, one that couldn't be further from the dubby murk of the group's pioneering work from the '70s. This Is PiL circles back to that murk, then buries its head in it.
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May 25, 2012You do catch hints of PiL's back catalogue... but you're more often struck by Lydon's determination to keep pushing forward into uncharted territory.
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May 25, 2012A comeback shouldn't sound this much like treading water.
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Jun 5, 2012An unexpectedly enjoyable late addition to a formidable body of work.
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May 25, 2012Lydon's ever-inspiring love of de-dub postulates continually throughout the album – it's such a perfect return.
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The WireJul 24, 2012The unit sound tight and integrated. [May 2012, p.62]
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UncutMay 31, 2012It may not be of the caliber of Metal Box, but it finds its maker firmly in 2012, not 1979, and with plenty still to grouse about. [Jun 2012, p.67]
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Aug 22, 2012On the majority of This is PiL, they are overshadowed by Lydon's barking vocals.