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9.0
30310
9.0 |
Beats Per Minute
Condon’s strongest album yet and points to a songwriter maturing and only beginning to unveil his potential
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8.5
31426
8.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
A gorgeously refined album that stands equally for the beauty of the eternal journey, as well as the ultimate appeal of actually finding what you’ve been searching for all this time
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8.0
31180
8.0 |
The Irish Times
The blaring horns and waltzing strings are still here, as are the klezmer stylings, but there’s more experimentation with tempo and sound
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8.0
30606
8.0 |
BBC
Full of sweeping flourishes and the kind of weary romanticism Condon could probably patent by now
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8.0
31294
8.0 |
The Scotsman
The songs are the main event, rather than the bells-and-whistles arrangements
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8.0
31320
8.0 |
Paste Magazine
Eastern European texture and indie-folk don’t necessarily make for great bedfellows, but here the match seems strikingly natural, and that’s probably a tribute to Condon’s deftness
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8.0
31364
8.0 |
Blurt
It is not so much that the band has shrugged off its Latin and European influences; more that these influences have been assimilated seamlessly into the whole. The Rip Tide retroactively validates its predecessors: it proves Condon's purity of purpose
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8.0
31403
8.0 |
AU Review
You get the impression that much of The Rip Tide was something of an exercise in restraint for Condon, but by focusing his flights of fancy, he has found a comfortable middle ground
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8.0
30358
8.0 |
Bowlegs
What this satisfying album does is show all sides of Beirut at its best
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8.0
30361
8.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
The Rip Tide simultaneously strikes a nerve and soothes it; that's a pretty old trick, but Beirut have done it with the right mixture of solipsism and grace
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8.0
30437
8.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
Beirut may have taken a break from composing the music of reverie but they've settled somewhere with as much life to colour
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8.0
30438
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
Clearly Beirut’s most coherent, developed and accomplished work yet
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8.0
30466
8.0 |
musicOMH
This is the most consistently impressive Beirut record yet
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8.0
30135
8.0 |
The Skinny
Rather than solely tread a familiar path or throw a divisive curveball, The Rip Tide succeeds at giving us the best of both worlds
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8.0
30136
8.0 |
Mojo
Beirut's first full album in four years, sees Condon toning down the Phileas Fogg approach, assimilating his influences rather than flaunting them like stickers on a steamer trunk. Print edition only
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8.0
30137
8.0 |
Q
Beirut, on their own, idiosyncratic term, have slipped into the mainstream. Print edition only
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8.0
30138
8.0 |
Uncut
Marks a necessary and welcome evolution of Beirut from bedroom fantasy to real-world concern. Print edition only
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8.0
30848
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
The album that sounds most like the product of a whole band working in unison, while retaining many of the quirks that set Beirut as a unit apart
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8.0
30923
8.0 |
The Digital Fix
With The Rip Tide, Condon has well and truly cemented himself as a captivating and whimsical song-writer
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8.0
30953
8.0 |
Clash
The Rip Tide retains the distinctiveness of those earlier records. Its quiet magnificence is destined to win over a lot of doubters
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8.0
31042
8.0 |
NME
An accomplished, restrained record
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8.0
31102
8.0 |
State
The Rip Tide presents a matured Beirut, one that gleams in a whole new majesty
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8.0
31145
8.0 |
The Guardian
The thrill here is of witnessing a songwriter's talent maturing
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7.7
30250
7.7 |
Pitchfork
A record that's easier to slip by unnoticed than Beirut's two other LPs
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7.5
30292
7.5 |
A.V. Club
Will probably be the band’s biggest hit yet, because it’s hooky, full, and easy to enjoy. Yet it does sacrifice some uniqueness
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7.5
31218
7.5 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Sounds like Condon is still playing dress-up, rather than finding his own artistic voice
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7.0
31290
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
Sounds like a marked step in the right direction, a bid for freedom from influences and trends
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7.0
32043
7.0 |
Rave Magazine
A woody, beautifully mournful collection of pop songs
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7.0
32306
7.0 |
DIY
While never wowing, does a damn fine job of pleasing
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7.0
31159
7.0 |
The Fly
A comfortingly familiar return
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7.0
30669
7.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
What Beirut strive for and achieve on this record are simplicity and a slightly sunnier disposition
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7.0
30266
7.0 |
Under The Radar
There are flashes and flourishes throughout The Rip Tide that recall influences explored on earlier recordings
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7.0
30528
7.0 |
Prefix
It's a solid pop record, top to bottom
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7.0
30533
7.0 |
No Ripcord
Amazing music for laying around on a Sunday afternoon and pretending to be somewhere you’re not
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6.0
31154
6.0 |
The Independent
A more mature crossover style in which accordion, pump organ and down-at-heel horns combine in ways that bring to mind Sufjan Stevens
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6.0
30839
6.0 |
The Observer
Fans of long standing might actually find The Rip Tide a bit too restrained now that Beirut sound more assured
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5.0
31484
5.0 |
PopMatters
As an EP, The Rip Tide would be a rousing success. But as it is, there are just too many bland, uninspiring tracks that drag down the whole experience
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