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10.0
131396
10.0 |
DIY
An eclectic palette of bombastic, heart-on-sleeve euphoric pop and angsty dancefloor fillers
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10.0
131426
10.0 |
Dork
Sometimes it feels like a rock opera, sometimes it feels like Gaga at her most theatrical, sometimes it’s so sincere it’ll break your heart, but the euphoria of it all will put it back together
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10.0
131470
10.0 |
NME
The genre mixology concocts big, brilliant tunes with trance, indie, ‘90s alt-rock, ‘00s soft-rock – and much more – by lacing by them with undeniable hooks
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10.0
131444
10.0 |
musicOMH
Imbued with a spirit and attitude that only the very best pop records have, this is not just a step up but a whole leap to a new exalted level of pop excellence
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9.0
131421
9.0 |
All Music
Besting the already star-making Sawayama, the triumphant Hold the Girl is the sound of an artist taking their rightful place on the pop throne. Sawayama was born for this
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9.0
131380
9.0 |
Clash
‘Hold The Girl’ is a record that holds something for everyone. Rock riffs, club beats, saccharine melodies, 2000s pop… it truly covers a lot of ground
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9.0
131393
9.0 |
Loud And Quiet
The sounds of pop’s past and present provide a handy tool for mining personal histories, their vocabularies of youthful angst and escape re-contextualised into profound statements of self-discovery
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8.1
131481
8.1 |
Northern Transmissions
The music is fully realized pop alternative and she hits it out of the park with her composition, production, and performance
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8.0
131439
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
This album makes use of every single second of its runtime, jam-packed with choruses so huge and emotional, no one can quite replicate her unique sound and vision
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8.0
131390
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
It seems the isolation of lockdown made her bolder about looking inside herself. The most exciting thing about Hold the Girl is that you can’t even guess where Sawayama might go next
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8.0
131391
8.0 |
The Skinny
Rina Sawayama's second album Hold the Girl feels like a love letter to Sawayama's younger self, like a promise that joy is coming
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8.0
131418
8.0 |
Evening Standard
The genre-masher returns with another burst of chaotic excess
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8.0
131491
8.0 |
PopMatters
Beneath the dance-pop, Rina Sawayama’s Hold the Girl is a liberating saga of growth, maturity, and forgiveness branded in the form of an alt-pop album
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8.0
131465
8.0 |
The FT
The Japanese-British singer has dialled down the maximalism of her previous album
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7.9
131651
7.9 |
Beats Per Minute
Hold the Girl is an excellent sophomore album from an artist who selflessly wears her heart on her sleeve to help others
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7.8
131650
7.8 |
Spectrum Culture
On her sophomore album Hold the Girl, Japanese-British singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama straddles countless genres and parts of her identity, combining the numerous aspects to make both a sonically absorbing and thought-provoking album
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7.6
131428
7.6 |
Paste Magazine
A grand attempt to capitalize on her recent brushes with the mainstream, Hold the Girl gives Sayawama’s fans space to process their own traumas and unravel toxic narratives
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7.0
131486
7.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
Rina Sawayama’s will and vision have long been strong enough to bend individual sounds to their scope; taking on an entire holistically-packaged zeitgeist, it seems she’s finally met her match
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7.0
131489
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
Her experiments aren’t as bold or memorable as those of her debut, and the hooks throughout Hold the Girl aren’t as immediately catchy. Sawayama’s willingness to gaze further inward and confront thornier topics makes the album compelling in its own right
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7.0
131397
7.0 |
Gigwise
Revealing and healing in equal measure
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7.0
131395
7.0 |
Exclaim
Despite some bumps, Hold the Girl is full of passion and reflection, uninterested in holding back and unafraid to revel in the power of vulnerability and self-love
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6.5
131442
6.5 |
Pitchfork
Seeking empathy for a younger self, Rina Sawayama’s second album pirouettes through pop-punk and power ballads, trance and stadium rock. It’s ambitious in the same way as putting on all the clothes in your closet
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6.0
131445
6.0 |
Crack
This is Rina Sawayama at her most electric on an album that’s otherwise difficult to warm to
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