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9.0
39388
9.0 |
DIY
Amongst the band's best work, and sufficiently different – witness for instance the loud bass-heavy synths that pervade the heavier tracks – from their career highlights that it should satisfy all comers
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8.0
39229
8.0 |
musicOMH
For those with the stamina, it’s tremendous
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8.0
39234
8.0 |
PopMatters
This marks an upward trajectory for the band, as well as what will likely be one of 2012’s best prog releases
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8.0
38994
8.0 |
Rave Magazine
For the unacquainted, ambivalent and fans alike, Noctourniquet begs to be heard – hallucinogens not necessary
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8.0
39011
8.0 |
Q
This is perhaps their strongest set to date. Print edition only
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8.0
39093
8.0 |
The Guardian
They have suddenly produced a most accessible album
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8.0
39136
8.0 |
The Observer
It takes in rasping electro, hardcore riffing, rock-opera camp and continues to throw up new surprises with every listen
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8.0
39140
8.0 |
The Fly
Their narratives have been stronger before, but ‘Noctourniquet’ remains abject absurdity masquerading as sexy heroism
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8.0
39600
8.0 |
The Skinny
This is probably the most hooky they've been since their inception
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7.1
39247
7.1 |
Beats Per Minute
By going back to the constructs of their early days, they have allowed themselves to simultaneously embrace coherent structures while still exploring their vast eccentricities
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7.0
39394
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
It’s plenty evidence enough to suggest we’ll be waiting patiently for the birth of their next child long after the reunion cheques have been cashed
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7.0
39266
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
[The songs] send the band's usual tornado time signatures through some serious synth-and-gear grind
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7.0
39033
7.0 |
NME
A timely reminder that The Mars Volta remain rock's most flawed, most fascinating and most ambitious work in progress
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7.0
40316
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
An inventive and promising change in attitude, and one that counterbalances the band’s future commitments to At The Drive-In expertly
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7.0
39415
7.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Either the best or the worst album the band’s ever released, depending on the source of your love for the band
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7.0
38993
7.0 |
Clash
A powerful reminder of the pair’s quite brilliant lunacy
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7.0
39584
7.0 |
Spin
Taken as an hourlong whole, though, Noctourniquet really does feel like the band's most accessible effort in years
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6.8
39351
6.8 |
Paste Magazine
Not the band’s best effort, but it is pleasing and interesting. It’s definitely a little challenging and ultimately rewarding—if you can get past the clunky first half
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6.7
39258
6.7 |
A.V. Club
The band’s most addictive and accessible album in years
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6.0
39128
6.0 |
Evening Standard
Is it terrible? Is it inspired? As ever, it’s a bit of both
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6.0
39166
6.0 |
Scotland on Sunday
More attention to chord progressions and less to time signatures would be more beneficial all round. Lovely, but laughable
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6.0
39184
6.0 |
Mojo
Unlikely to convert the uninitiated, it will undoubtedly thrill the Volta Nation. Print edition only
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6.0
39500
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
They are reluctant to allow even a single song to lapse into comfortable listening
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6.0
40326
6.0 |
No Ripcord
While not completely successful, finds The Mars Volta at their most pop and their most reasonable
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4.0
39411
4.0 |
The Irish Times
Noctourniquet is as acquired a taste as any Mars Volta album; brilliantly strange at its best, but too much like hard work at its worst
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