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9.0
60777
9.0 |
Clash
Antiphon is going to divide opinion, but give it a chance – it might just be the best thing they’ve ever done
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8.0
60553
8.0 |
Uncut
The band move on with a subtle change of emphasis following Tim Smith's departure
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8.0
60554
8.0 |
Q
Celebrating a cosmic dawn alive with hope and enticing mystery. Print edition only
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8.0
60631
8.0 |
The Guardian
There is an instability at the heart of Midlake's new album, a roiling, shifting quality that deftly conveys the circumstance of its making
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8.0
60635
8.0 |
Mojo
Midlake sound like a band unburdened and ready to fly. Print edition only
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8.0
60654
8.0 |
The Independent
While still noticeably Midlake, the album propels the group off in yet another direction, the more rustic elements supplanted by psychedelic, prog-rock tendencies
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8.0
60655
8.0 |
Independent on Sunday
From the first drum roll of the title-track, their fourth album consolidates and explores, cutting into familiar thickets of vintage electric folk while teasing out the odd fresh route through them
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8.0
60658
8.0 |
The Observer
Another impeccably realised meld of bucolic 70s folk and radio-friendly soft rock, as warm and assured as it is adventurous
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8.0
60664
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Tails off towards the end but this is a notable regrouping
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8.0
60686
8.0 |
All Music
There's a sense of adventure and a vulnerability to Antiphon that suggests that this latest incarnation of the group is more interested in what's beyond the Dark Side of the Moon than it is standing in its shadow
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7.5
60550
7.5 |
The 405
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Antiphon is as good as anything they've previously released
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7.0
60552
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Antiphon is everything that it needs to be; a new beginning, loaded with promise
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7.0
60695
7.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Sounds like a Midlake record despite the massive changes, and it’s full of characteristically moody yet accessible songs
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7.0
60582
7.0 |
musicOMH
A significant step as Midlake move on to the next phase of their career
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7.0
60862
7.0 |
God Is In The TV
The rock n roll version of Matisse‘s ‘art should be like a comfortable armchair’
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7.0
60933
7.0 |
PopMatters
There are subtler ways to announce a band’s symbolic rebirth. But the remaining members of Midlake, in their sincerity, have earned the right not to hold back
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6.5
60551
6.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
As a measure of the success of Antiphon, the ghost of Tim Smith does not haunt this record
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6.0
60549
6.0 |
Time Out
It lacks the old Midlake’s insular focus, but it’s less compositionally fussy too, with pockets of effect-laden electric guitar, several aim-free wig outs, and an instrumental track, ‘Vale’, which sounds like a bunch of good musicians determinedly doing whatever the hell they like
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6.0
60569
6.0 |
The Skinny
There's the odd meandering misstep as they undergo this renewal, but there’s still plenty of evidence here to suggest an interesting new chapter for the band
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6.0
60571
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
The sound of a band who haven’t quite recovered from the shock of Smith's sudden departure and regained their balance
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6.0
60707
6.0 |
Pitchfork
A likeable, pleasant listen that will always wait for you by the hearth after a long day. But for a “forget everything you know about Midlake!” album, it's almost exactly how you remember them
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6.0
61710
6.0 |
No Ripcord
The tempos vary, sort of, but there’s a mood on this record that’s hard to qualify and never wavers
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6.0
60592
6.0 |
DIY
When it holds together it’s a pleasant trip
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6.0
60781
6.0 |
The Digital Fix
Whilst not quite the departure some would have you believe (or which the opening track suggests), Antiphon sees Midlake grow
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5.5
61084
5.5 |
Under The Radar
Everything feels uncertain, as though the band is looking to move forward onto something a bit more shoegaze but unwilling to part from the influence of Fairport Convention, and as such is a little confused
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3.0
60578
3.0 |
NME
Portentous jams made for mourning failed crops. Print edition only
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