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9.1
44396
9.1 |
A.V. Club
The band’s ability to put repulsive images and to a danceable beat makes Shrines a knockout
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9.0
44383
9.0 |
NME
Having encompassed the slick rhythms of latter-day R&B and the unhinged wordplay of an articulate teen, Purity Ring are restrained only by their own sense of identity. ‘Shrines’ is a euphoric treat in its own right, made all the more thrilling by its heady potential
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9.0
44356
9.0 |
DIY
There hasn’t been an album this genuine, exciting and plain heartfelt since The XX’s debut – it seems inevitable that Purity Ring will go on to garner the same levels of recognition
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9.0
44325
9.0 |
The Fly
A record that effortlessly juxtaposes chopped up electronics and ghostly effects with James’ supersweet voice to create eleven strange but simple pleasures
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9.0
44489
9.0 |
BBC
Purity Ring have pulled off the feat of producing one of the year’s most arresting debuts – a Grimm Tales for the 2010s, shrouded in the illusory threads of contemporary club music – while sounding like no-one else but themselves
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8.5
44354
8.5 |
Beats Per Minute
Shrines often operates like a series of paintings, each of its pieces a variation on a theme, the full breadth of the artist’s vision only realized within the context of the whole
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8.4
44388
8.4 |
Pitchfork
Shrines is not about range, instead offering subtly different versions of a single, near-perfect idea. You might think of the album as a sculpture, and each track offers a different vantage point
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8.3
44322
8.3 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Their debut finds them dabbling in emotional turmoil, R&B melodies, and immersive synth lines all with a mature and fierce attention to detail
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8.0
44323
8.0 |
The Irish Times
James’s sweetly delivered yet nightmarish lyrics contrast deliciously with Roddick’s polished production to concoct an evocative and promising debut
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8.0
44324
8.0 |
The Skinny
This is glistening, perfect pop music with a vein of cold, dark intelligence running through it. Utterly enchanting
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8.0
44316
8.0 |
musicOMH
Despite minor niggles, such as the slight lack of scope in sound, Shrines is a confident debut that justifies the hype
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8.0
44318
8.0 |
The Guardian
Anyone searching for a more electro-based companion to Grimes' Visions need look no further
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8.0
44336
8.0 |
The Observer
This is a record with reference points of the highest quality (Björk, Fever Ray, Burial), which, at best, bears comparison with them all
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8.0
44321
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Those looking for an entrancing, challenging, compelling and god-damn great-sounding clutch of tunes will celebrate
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8.0
44360
8.0 |
Loud And Quiet
A unique mix of wilfully hi-fi ‘pop’ and nerdy electro oddities. ‘Shrines’ is an album to love right now
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8.0
44496
8.0 |
State
One of the strongest debut albums of the year, matching expectation with execution
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8.0
44590
8.0 |
Art Rocker
An accomplished debut
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8.0
44432
8.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Shrines isn’t trying to capitalize on some moment where rapid hi-hats and deep bass mix with dream-pop vocals; it manipulates two elements to make something malleable, elusive, sexual, and one of the only albums that I can both sleep and run to
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8.0
44444
8.0 |
Under The Radar
An enrapturing collection of numbers that takes cues from a wide breadth of styles, ranging from R&B, electro, and modern FM pop
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8.0
44712
8.0 |
No Ripcord
It may not be a high point in its genre, but at a time when there is too much repetition, too much hope that a good job in the studio can take the place of genuinely good songs, Shrines is a breath of fresh air
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8.0
44480
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
These songs seem to represent the culmination of the duo’s fuzzy dreaming, taking on huge, existential topics with great care, and Purity Ring’s music is ultimately defined by its makers’ humanity
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7.5
44453
7.5 |
Bowlegs
Shrines may lack the bombast of Grimes’ Visions but in its understated, hazy way it feels like this album might go on to establish Purity Ring as the leaders of the new Montreal sound
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7.0
45045
7.0 |
Spin
The duo's debut album feels especially live and fresh given that its smeary, trenchant wub-wub-wub dubsteppy pulse still works
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7.0
44642
7.0 |
All Music
A fine debut, full of lighter-than-air synth pop that manages to be dark, sparkling, innocent, and knowing all at once
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7.0
44424
7.0 |
Uncut
Sees this young Canadian duo tamper with generic electro to create some sparkling results. Print edition only
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7.0
44320
7.0 |
Clash
A whirl of delicate dream pop, fuelled by Corin Roddick’s chopped hip-hop beats and Megan James’ coquettish vocal stylings
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6.0
44345
6.0 |
PopMatters
Purity Ring are an alluring concept – the lyrical imagery alone is dazzling – and there is divinity here worthy of rapture and reverence
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6.0
44331
6.0 |
Slant Magazine
Purity Ring is trying to do too much, and true to the less-is-more adage, the busier Shrines gets, the emptier it feels
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6.0
44425
6.0 |
Q
Thrillingly spooked electronica. Print edition only
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