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10.0
20664
10.0 |
Eye Weekly
Stands as the year’s first truly outstanding record
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9.0
20665
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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8.0
20657
8.0 |
Spin
Smooth on the outside, savage within
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8.0
21153
8.0 |
Blurt
One of the most invigoratingly singular pop tones racing across the blogosphere today
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8.0
21394
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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8.0
23222
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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8.0
23995
8.0 |
Q
Rarely do teenage kicks result in such eloquent, nuanced records as this. Print edition only
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8.0
24713
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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7.9
20708
7.9 |
Pitchfork
Native Speaker is almost Inception-like in its warping of reality
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7.5
20658
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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7.0
20744
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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7.0
20915
7.0 |
No Ripcord
It ebbs and flows, and in the end, Native Speaker is a satisfying, invigorating listen
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7.0
20990
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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7.0
24350
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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7.0
21316
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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7.0
20655
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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6.0
22118
6.0 |
Bowlegs
A flawed debut, then, but one that promises future brilliance
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6.0
25581
6.0 |
Q
Print edition only
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6.0
20726
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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