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9.0
13195
9.0 |
The Quietus
It's an astounding statement of intent, a debut album so assured and classy and full of pop craft that it sounds like it's taken a decade to make, not less than a year
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9.0
15182
9.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
The Drums are all or nothing, love it or hate it. But in my case it was like it a lot or love it to death. And I’m leaning towards love it. It might be the best album of the year
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8.0
14124
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Pierce's vulnerability isn't an affectation or a device. It's disarmingly sincere, expressed through poignant lyrics bereft of cheap sentimentality
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8.0
13162
8.0 |
musicOMH
All the tracks are immediate but they run the risk of ... wearing thin and growing tired. But, taken at face value, they're riding well above their own wave of hype - expect to hear this record everywhere this summer
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8.0
13254
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Some may say that The Drums are another unoriginal indie guitar band yet their debut offering proves that their familiar yet fresh approach to a worn out genre for a compelling and catchy debut
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8.0
13280
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
They’ve manage to create an album that not only matches the hype but exceeds the expectations they were burdened with
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8.0
12761
8.0 |
The Times
Rawness is a quality often ascribed to aggressive music, but it applies just as well to the untutoured innocence of I Need Fun In My Life and Skippin’ Town
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8.0
12799
8.0 |
Q
Beneath their tender flesh they can flex a melodically mean muscle. Print edition only
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8.0
12803
8.0 |
Mojo
The main influence here is 80s British indie, from Sarah to Postcard via Factory. Print edition only
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8.0
12820
8.0 |
BBC
A welcome espresso-rush of hooks and harmonies, with a healthy dose of lyrical darkness thrown in to ease the digestion
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8.0
12821
8.0 |
The Fly
A joyous and accomplished tribute to misspent summers, youth and a thousand and one musical influences
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8.0
12863
8.0 |
State
While not plumbing any specific depths of the soul, it’s certainly a fun album packed with simple and clever songs
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8.0
12983
8.0 |
NME
While stuffed with the kind of effortlessly spectacular tunes that marked them out as the great hopes of 2010 [it is] also packed with tales of cracked hearts and sorrow-trodden lovesickness
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8.0
13013
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Packed full of tunes that even the most snobbish detractor couldn't fail to bury their miserable preconceptions for half an hour or so and enjoy to the maximum
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7.5
13164
7.5 |
Pitchfork
Like the Strokes, the Drums have successfully answered the challenge of parlaying buzz-generating singles into an album that's well stocked with instantly appealing pop songs. Unlike the Strokes, however, the Drums lack a certain element of surprise
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7.2
13405
7.2 |
Beats Per Minute
The Drums won’t offer you anything you haven’t had before, but the band does have a charm that is all their own, and The Drums is a appreciable improvement over their last release
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7.0
13079
7.0 |
The Sunday Times
They have a steely ambition completely at odds with the noise they make
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7.0
12931
7.0 |
The Digital Fix
Although at times The Drums seems to melt into the background, what attraction there is is born out of a subtle sonority that quietly pushes through the compact crowd of amplified and distorted indie, making its way to the top of the podium without a hint of aural violence
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7.0
13172
7.0 |
Clash
What The Drums lack in originality and authenticity they make up for with some of the purest moments of fun and summertime joy this side of the next Eighties revival
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7.0
13446
7.0 |
Culture Deluxe
A mature debut from a band who are still finding their feet and it’s definitely worth a listen, but it’s not the earth shattering debut that we were promised. Then again, did we really ever expect it to be?
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6.5
13589
6.5 |
Bowlegs
A polished indie-pop record, perhaps lacking in substance, but never short of energy and style
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6.0
14436
6.0 |
Rave Magazine
The relatively sparse arrangements make this record a tad repetitive, but just enough decent tunes stand out
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6.0
12932
6.0 |
The Skinny
It’s undeniable that the quartet’s debut – whilst at times as deep as the proverbial puddle is wildly infectious in its vivid sense of carpe diem
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6.0
13036
6.0 |
The Independent
Time and again, though, I found my attention distracted by the brittle artifice of The Drums' music: it often seems as if their primary intention is the creation of an excessively synthetic sound, the sonic equivalent of fake E-number food flavourings
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6.0
13047
6.0 |
Evening Standard
They may be in thrall to British bands of old but The Drums are best when moving to their own beat
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6.0
12775
6.0 |
The Guardian
After years of landfill indie's dispiriting predictability, the Drums' pallid mithering is certainly different, but it feels like a pose, and a limited one at that
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6.0
12794
6.0 |
Uncut
Not quite as nonchalant and breezy as it ought to be. Print edition only
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5.0
13435
5.0 |
PopMatters
An EP was the perfect length to get your fill without it becoming grating, but The Drums is a slog and a half to get through in one sitting
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5.0
13075
5.0 |
The Observer
The Drums merely ape the poses of Orange Juice et al with none of the bristling critique implicit in that era's music
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4.0
13083
4.0 |
Independent on Sunday
A drum, when all’s said and done, is a hollow vessel that makes a lot of noise. It’s the perfect name, then, for the loudly hyped but essentially vacuous Drum
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4.0
13159
4.0 |
Scotland on Sunday
Sounding for all the world like they came out of East Kilbride in the early 80s, Brooklyn's The Drums, all scratchy guitars and pumping bass, are strutting around in the emperor's old clothes
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