-
9.0
68738
9.0 |
NME
An extrovert, indie-pop album from a punk band that can't sit still. It's clever, brave and seamless enough to become a classic
Read Review
-
8.7
68750
8.7 |
Paste Magazine
The type of record that could remain on a loop far longer than its running time without wearing out its welcome
Read Review
-
8.3
68624
8.3 |
Consequence Of Sound
An emphatic redefinition of Merchandise, one that finds them making a case for becoming as big as the bands they so clearly admire. This is only the beginning
Read Review
-
8.0
68629
8.0 |
All Music
While it's unlikely to define its own era, it calls forth some classic elements from a prior era to great effect, and with some top-notch songcraft to boot
Read Review
-
8.0
68374
8.0 |
The Guardian
After the End is not just an enjoyable record in its own right, but one that feels like a significant step in Merchandise's journey
Read Review
-
8.0
68531
8.0 |
Mojo
A total rebirth, abandoning lo-fi anti-careerism for 4AD and a pop makeover. Print edition only
-
8.0
68552
8.0 |
DIY
It’s already been a long journey for this band, but it feels like they’re only just beginning to take the right track
Read Review
-
7.5
68862
7.5 |
Pretty Much Amazing
While Merchandise hasn’t exactly figured out how to inflate their songwriting to match the scale of the giants who’ve preceded them, After the End still glows too vividly to be obscured by anyone else’s shadow
Read Review
-
7.0
68794
7.0 |
Exclaim
Though their unwavering embrace of pop on this record might seem antagonistic in and of itself, they still manage to sound convincingly earnest and (for the first time) fun
Read Review
-
7.0
68811
7.0 |
musicOMH
They’ve proved here that they’re very good at creating accessible indie-pop, but seem more comfortable with their more brooding side
Read Review
-
7.0
68445
7.0 |
Uncut
The completeness of their shift is almost shocking. Print edition only
-
7.0
68615
7.0 |
No Ripcord
Merchandise can ape their influences rather shamelessly on occasion, though they’re so habituated to this pattern by now that it comes through them from the inside out
Read Review
-
7.0
68773
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
It won't win many points for originality - indeed they may lose a few old fans along the way - but this is the sound of a band reborn
Read Review
-
7.0
68775
7.0 |
Pitchfork
Like the War on Drugs’ recent Lost in the Dream, After the End chisels through the surface pleasures of baby-boomer-baiting soft-rock to coax out a deep-seated distress.
Read Review
-
6.5
68466
6.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
It’s a derivative collection of tracks, or at least seemingly, anyway, but a collection that occasionally thrills nonetheless
Read Review
-
6.0
68530
6.0 |
Q
Merchandise’s debut album is the sound of a band gorging on records by Prefab Sprout, Aztec Camera and the Smiths. Print edition only
-
6.0
68561
6.0 |
The Irish Times
The sound of a band successfully getting to grips with a whole new rig-ou
Read Review
-
6.0
68549
6.0 |
The Digital Fix
Like 2014’s other paean to 80s music, this is the complex, poppy Axel Foley to War On Drugs’s more beefy, rock-like John Rambo
Read Review
-
6.0
68790
6.0 |
Loud And Quiet
In terms of stepping away from the frenetically paced, often chaotic material of old, ‘After the End’ ticks most of the boxes
Read Review
-
6.0
68681
6.0 |
Rolling Stone
Some songs, like "Little Killer," maintain the basement-party vibe of the band's earlier work while adding a fresh polish
Read Review
-
6.0
68857
6.0 |
State
They set out to re-invent themselves as a pop band and have gone some way to achieving that, while still maintaining a tiny essence of what made them such an exciting prospect in the first place
Read Review
-
4.0
68373
4.0 |
The Skinny
The ears yearn for a little spice or grit, or just anything to latch on to
Read Review
-
4.0
68608
4.0 |
The Observer
This is beautifully produced but ponderous guitar-pop, lacking the spark of their earlier work
Read Review
-