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10.0
24544
10.0 |
Blurt
A testament to how music, when it doesn't try to bludgeon listeners into liking it, can work miracles
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9.0
23371
9.0 |
musicOMH
Julianna Barwick is crafting gorgeously effecting sounds in a way that nobody has quite heard before
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8.7
26984
8.7 |
Beats Per Minute
Unquestionably emotive
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8.5
22563
8.5 |
Pitchfork
It has the feel of a modest classic of post-millennial ambient music, the kind of record that sounds gorgeous and immersive on first listen and never loses its sparkle,
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8.5
23298
8.5 |
Bowlegs
This is hypnotic music to say the least, but it isn’t allowed to wander off into obscurity, these aren’t just sounds with no end point
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8.0
23343
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Barwick's looped, stacked choirboy vocals make The Magic Place lullaby-warm
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8.0
22615
8.0 |
Uncut
The sense of naive wonder evident recalls the bewitching power of Sigur Rós. Print edition only
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8.0
22564
8.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
At its loudest and quietest, The Magic Place uses Barwick’s voice as the great emotional vehicle it is
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8.0
22561
8.0 |
No Ripcord
This is strictly a work of intuition – Barwick’s sample-based arrangements never sound neither mechanical nor emotionless
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8.0
28208
8.0 |
PopMatters
Incomparable, indescribable music
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8.0
23631
8.0 |
The Irish Times
For an album that sets out such a minimal stall, there is much to immerse yourself in here
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8.0
24124
8.0 |
The Observer
Serenely assured, layering her wordless, often a capella sighs into multiple parts
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8.0
25602
8.0 |
Mojo
Effortlessly absorbing and endlessly enchanting. Print edition only
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7.5
26146
7.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
The Magic Place can’t be dismissed as background or headphone music – it’s “church” music insomuch as it can fill a space…and take over that space
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7.0
22565
7.0 |
All Music
Non-vocal tones do occasionally pop up here, most notably some well-placed piano lines, but Barwick's voice is undeniably the focus here, in all its evocative, otherworldly glory
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7.0
22911
7.0 |
BBC
The Magic Place is absolutely born of thick, glutinous emotions that are carried for whole lifetimes
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7.0
22958
7.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
This is the hypnagogic pop of angels, humming to themselves the half-remembered pop tunes of life
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6.0
22562
6.0 |
Slant Magazine
In the end, The Magic Place is a beautiful, ambiguous diversion better suited as a companion soundtrack to some experimental film or art installation than as the debut for a promising young singer
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6.0
25620
6.0 |
AU Review
While The Magic Place shimmies along gorgeously, it’s all a little too ephemeral to be a record of any substance
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