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9.0
8686
9.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
A modern masterpiece. Seriously, go and buy this album
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8.0
8309
8.0 |
Independent on Sunday
...suggests an alternate universe in which the Byrds were fronted by Frank Zappa
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8.0
8313
8.0 |
PopMatters
Instrumentally the music is similar to the group’s last album Distortion, minus the distortion, or to i, which also had no electric instruments
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8.0
8463
8.0 |
Spin
Stunningly blending American country, English folk, and Victorian pomp, the album documents a life resigned to sadness amid a world brimming with beauty both real and fake
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-
8.0
8077
8.0 |
No Ripcord
Realism strikes a compelling balance between cringing honesty and organic chemistry that comes through in its crystalline composition as well as its more rugged manifestations
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8.0
8078
8.0 |
musicOMH
Merritt's love of the three minute song and his wry turn of phrase should be prescribed to anyone still agnostic about pop
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8.0
8092
8.0 |
Mojo
Print edition only
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8.0
8095
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
These are the painterly depictions of a poet concerned with fall-outs and lock-ins, love nests and dry gin. Who knows what's real and what's not, but The Magnetic Fields write Great Pop songs, and this means a lot
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8.0
8102
8.0 |
NME
More A-grade angst from one of our cleverest songwriters
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8.0
8167
8.0 |
The Guardian
Merritt seems to have abandoned the overarching concepts, allowing him to concentrate on the actual writing and his enviable ability to wrong-foot the listener with emotional handbrake turns.
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8.0
8199
8.0 |
The Independent
With its acoustic instrumental palette and investigations of genre conventions, Realism is in stark contrast to the heavily distorted guitar pop of 2008's Distortion
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7.0
8275
7.0 |
The Observer
"Better Things" in particular marks a return to Merritt's inimitable balance of doleful and droll that earnt 1999's 69 Love Songs such adulation
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6.8
8762
6.8 |
Beats Per Minute
Realism sounds like it’s made of unfinished scraps from the cutting room floor, and as tasty as they can occasionally be, they don’t make for a mea
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6.0
8714
6.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
Realism neither impresses nor disappoints. If the three post-69 Love Songs Magnetic Fields albums represent what we can expect from Stephen Merritt and company in coming years, there is no reason to stop paying attention
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6.0
8581
6.0 |
The Quietus
...Fields have in fact failed to fully engage with the simplicity at the heart of their concept. A pity all round, really; the pull of the notion was superb, but Realism, ultimately, is only intermittently attractive
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6.0
8394
6.0 |
Pitchfork
Merritt's songs are as delicate and meticulous as porcelain miniatures. Unfortunately, Realism holds more tchotchkes than museum pieces
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6.0
8093
6.0 |
Q
Print edition only
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4.0
8094
4.0 |
Uncut
Print edition only
-
4.0
8302
4.0 |
The Sunday Times
...for the most part this is another frustrating affair
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