Albums to watch

Both Lights

AU

Both Lights

Fourth release of experimental folk pop from the Portland, Oregon-based duo Luke Wyland and Dana Valatka

ADM rating[?]

7.1

Label
Hometapes/The Leaf Label
UK Release date
03/04/2012
US Release date
03/04/2012
  1. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    A marvellous and attention-grabbing listen... If you only buy one psych rock/avant-folk/jazz/choral record this year, you’d better make it this one
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  2. 8.5 |   BBC

    This extraordinary pairing is at its best when being earthily monumental, with an emphasis on the mental
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  3. 8.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    Crafting an album that’s bold and expansive but manageable and narratively sound is no easy task, and that’s exactly what AU have done
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  4. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    While in many ways they share the same soundscapes, AU never indulge in Animal Collective’s mad carousels, eccentric lullabies and pastoral innocence
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  5. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    Each flows effortlessly into the next, proof that some boundaries are better left undefined
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  6. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    This is music that ultimately defies description
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  7. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    This doesn’t feel like experimentation for the sake of it, more like the fruits of a musical mind instinctively following its synapses wherever they fire, without stopping to question either methods or results
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  8. 8.0 |   NME

    His first true masterpiece
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  9. 8.0 |   Clash

    Expansive and exploratory, powerful and hymnal
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  10. 7.0 |   All Music

    Starting off an album with a instrumental called "Epic" could certainly be a sort of statement of purpose
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  11. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    With individual tracks as strong as “Solid Gold”, “The Veil”, and, particularly, “Epic”, Both Lights is a terrific collection ... But some unflattering track juxtapositions make for an album best consumed in small bites
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  12. 6.6 |   Pitchfork

    Both Lights may be plenty gorgeous, but in Wyland's never-idle hands, that beauty proves fleeting
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  13. 6.0 |   Bowlegs

    Even with all the showy eclecticism, AU has a strong enough voice to make this journey while still holding our interest
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  14. 6.0 |   Spin

    Animal Collective likeness isn’t true anymore, now it’s austere indie and complex compositions for future circuses
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  15. 6.0 |   Prefix

    Runs fast and loose with ideas and concepts, but sometimes loses its balance under all that weight
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  16. 6.0 |   State

    A festival of emotions and genres that leaves the listener restless but also intrigued
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  17. 3.0 |   Uncut

    Maximalists and circus ringmasters may enjoy it, but many will be scrambling for the stop button. Print edition only


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AU: Both Lights

  • Download full album for just £7.49
  • 1. Epic £0.89
  • 2. Get Alive £0.89
  • 3. Crazy Idol £0.89
  • 4. OJ £0.89
  • 5. The Veil £0.89
  • 6. Solid Gold £0.89
  • 7. Today/Tonight £0.89
  • 8. Why I Must £0.89
  • 9. Go Slow £0.89
  • 10. Old Friend £0.89
  • 11. Don't Lie Down £0.89
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