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10.0
63155
10.0 |
The Independent
Drive-By Truckers take a persuasive tilt at the greatest rock’n’roll band title
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9.0
63174
9.0 |
Uncut
A brilliant, balanced blast of rock'n'roll
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8.2
63241
8.2 |
Paste Magazine
Dedicated to Lieske, English Oceans is a triumph for the Drive-By Truckers, one that capitalizes on Hood and Cooley’s strengths as songwriters and also gives them something to sing for that means more than all those colorful characters put together
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8.0
63259
8.0 |
The Digital Fix
English Oceans manages to concentrate the essence of DBT, retaining their passion and personal approach in one essential package
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8.0
63154
8.0 |
The Guardian
Nothing here reinvents the wheel, but the band are masters of their art
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8.0
63175
8.0 |
Q
They're on terrific form, with a fistful of tunes from weird-ass Mike Cooley. Print edition only
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8.0
63164
8.0 |
All Music
Drive-By Truckers are still capable of mixing things up and showing off new sides of their skill set
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8.0
63165
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
A sound more in tune with their roots in countryfied soul than the bigger, more generic stadium rock they could have been accused of experimenting with in recent times
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8.0
63305
8.0 |
The Quietus
Drive-By Truckers is at the point in its career arc when it would be acceptable to plateau out – just lean on those abilities and crank out well-crafted imitations of your best material. But on English Oceans, life's big questions loom too large
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7.0
63529
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Even at their most maddeningly inconsistent (and, let’s be honest, English Oceans is most likely their worst record since the splintering sounds of A Blessing and a Curse) you know there’s still something that will pull you back in
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7.0
63237
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
ooley's burst of creativity has only made Hood better: "Pauline Hawkins" soars, and album closer "Grand Canyon" might be the best, and simplest, ballad he's ever written
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7.0
63176
7.0 |
NME
There's still treasure in them thar hills. Print edition only
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7.0
63198
7.0 |
A.V. Club
The Drive-By Truckers know how to write unflinching character studies backed by sturdy southern rock, and they still do it extremely well
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7.0
63199
7.0 |
PopMatters
The Drive-By Truckers know how to write unflinching character studies backed by sturdy southern rock, and they still do it extremely well
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7.0
63281
7.0 |
The Music
English Oceans is of the ‘crank it up’ end of the Truckers’ oeuvre, coupled with a more equal balance between the band’s constants, Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley
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6.7
63286
6.7 |
Consequence Of Sound
Many of these just lack the immediate oomph that makes you realize how good the words being said truly are
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6.7
63255
6.7 |
Pitchfork
English Oceans ensures they’ll back on the road, where they’re still one of the best things going and Drive-By Truckers probably don’t owe us much more than that
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6.5
65186
6.5 |
Under The Radar
A mixed bag of muscular rockers and cinematic, brooding ballads
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6.0
63704
6.0 |
Beardfood
Lacking that melody that divides good from great
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6.0
63256
6.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Meticulous and ephemeral, English Oceans recalls Isbell's 2013 critically acclaimed solo album Southeastern, a solid and stolid collection of sketches that didn't turn into watercolors, of homilies whose guitar tunings were as private as prayers
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6.0
63214
6.0 |
God Is In The TV
This is a band of storytellers where their words are made to come alive
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6.0
63153
6.0 |
musicOMH
There’s got to come a time where they realise that there’s more to music than the sound they’re making
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6.0
63177
6.0 |
Mojo
Buzz-saw Southern rock with the occasional REM jangle and the even more occasional ballad. Print edition only
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6.0
63173
6.0 |
DIY
While hardly covering new ground or expanding their sonic palette, ’English Oceans’ is a welcome addition to the Drive-By Truckers discography as well as their best since 2008’s ’Brighter Than Creation’s Dark’
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