Albums to watch

Native Speaker

Braids

Native Speaker

Debut album of experimental indie and psych pop from the hotly tipped Canadian group

ADM rating[?]

7.4

Label
Kanine
UK Release date
18/01/2011
  1. 10.0 |   Eye Weekly

    Stands as the year’s first truly outstanding record
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  2. 9.0 |   Prefix

    You’ll probably listen to more immediate albums this year, but few will have the down-the-rabbit-hole quality that marks Native Speaker for success
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  3. 8.0 |   Spin

    Smooth on the outside, savage within
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  4. 8.0 |   Blurt

    One of the most invigoratingly singular pop tones racing across the blogosphere today
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  5. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    A captivating record whose multi-layered approach seems to reveal more with each listen
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  6. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Braids are specialists at pushing and pulling harmonic coos, percussive fills and robust squelches of melodies to the surface.
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  7. 8.0 |   Q

    Rarely do teenage kicks result in such eloquent, nuanced records as this. Print edition only

  8. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Braids project dreams onto iridescent lakes and marvel at how they glimmer, and the results are every bit as lovely as that sounds
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  9. 7.9 |   Pitchfork

    Native Speaker is almost Inception-like in its warping of reality
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  10. 7.5 |   A.V. Club

    Standell-Preston yelps about pushing out babies, drummer Austin Tufts keeps tribal time, and at no point does it ever feel like anything but pop
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  11. 7.0 |   Tiny Mix Tapes

    As a warning shot, and an indication of what this young Montreal foursome is capable of, Native Speaker succeeds dramatically
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  12. 7.0 |   No Ripcord

    It ebbs and flows, and in the end, Native Speaker is a satisfying, invigorating listen
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  13. 7.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Braids are guided by the approaches their avant-pop inspirations take, rather than merely the sounds with their own distinct twist to them
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  14. 7.0 |   NME

    As long as the Braids can emerge unscathed from the hype machine, this could be an amazing journey
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  15. 7.0 |   Rave Magazine

    While Native Speaker does suffer from far too many similar elements, the adept performance of Standell-Preston signals Braids as an exciting future prospect
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  16. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    An at times nutty, at times serene, mash-up of pastoral guitar babble, minimal orchestral drones, loopy chorale vocals and porous, roiling rhythms
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  17. 6.0 |   Bowlegs

    A flawed debut, then, but one that promises future brilliance
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  18. 6.0 |   Q

    Print edition only

  19. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    As solid and impressive as this debut is, it’s even better to think of it as a building block for a promising future
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