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Are You Alone?

Majical Cloudz

Are You Alone?

Third album from Montreal-based electronic indie pop duo Devon Welsh and Matthew Otto

ADM rating[?]

7.7

Label
Matador
UK Release date
16/10/2015
US Release date
16/10/2015
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  1. 9.0 |   The 405

    Continues the stripped-back, dimly luminous musical poetry of their debut
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  2. 9.0 |   All Music

    It's an album of longing and disquiet. To call any of the songs wistful seems inadequate; they are engulfed in saudade
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  3. 8.5 |   Beardfood

    The bare musical accompaniment might not be incredibly exciting, but it's the perfect athmospheric backdrop
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  4. 8.3 |   Earbuddy

    Startlingly affecting music
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  5. 8.3 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Are You Alone?, as its title suggests, is an incredibly personal experience, one that benefits from conversing with Welsh as much as he is with you
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  6. 8.0 |   The Music

    A gorgeously realised piece of romantic asceticism that uses a much more organic approach with its textures and ideas
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  7. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Even in its sadness, an uplifting message shines through
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  8. 8.0 |   Pitchfork

    Alone is a sad album, but its sadness is a kind of tall tale, the details of which are overblown for dramatic effect
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  9. 8.0 |   Spin

    Like the band’s previous LP, the new full-length creates a very vivid atmosphere with a very stark backdrop
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  10. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    A stark, brutally honest exploration of the human psyche that is indeed special
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  11. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    Are You Alone? extends some of the same sounds of Magical Cloudz's debut album, Impersonator, but the music seems stretched and more expansive
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  12. 8.0 |   NOW

    Listening is like slowly sinking into a warm bath, then gradually adding rose petals, bubbles, arsenic
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  13. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    The overall effect is of a bow-tied cabaret crooner singing to no one: awkwardly intense but, if you steal a glance, completely beguiling
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  14. 8.0 |   DIY

    Devon Welsh has opened himself up to a point where everything he is and has been is given to ‘Are You Alone?’
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  15. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    On Are You Alone?, Majical Cloudz are at the height of their powers, opening themselves up fully and inviting the listener in
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  16. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    Are You Alone? only reveals itself more dependent upon the listeners’ own experiences, and since we’re dealing with heartbreak here, its potent message will never cease
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  17. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    These musings are hushed and muted, yet there’s something in Welsh and Otto’s beautifully arranged sound design which fills the spaces in between
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  18. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Even more than their previous two albums, Are You Alon? whittles things down to minimalist palate. Print edition only

  19. 7.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    The key to what makes Majical Cloudz tick has always been Devon Welsh
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  20. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    His ability to pack the simplest sentiments with layers of uncertainty makes him a pop act worth rooting for
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  21. 6.7 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    There are so many moments when the music seems on the verge of exploding, but never does, and that’s ultimately to the album’s detriment
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  22. 6.0 |   Crack

    Despite the album’s frequent moments of effective drama, the sound here is inoffensive, and it is still unclear what’s made Majical Cloudz so popular.
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  23. 4.0 |   The FT

    Their sad songs leave me cold
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  24. Back to main chart

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Majical Cloudz: Are You Alone?

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Disappeared £0.89
  • 2. Control £0.89
  • 3. Are You Alone? £0.89
  • 4. So Blue £0.89
  • 5. Heavy £0.89
  • 6. Silver Car Crash £0.89
  • 7. Change £0.89
  • 8. If You're Lonely £0.89
  • 9. Downtown £0.89
  • 10. Easier Said Than Done £0.89
  • 11. Game Show £0.89
  • 12. Call On Me £0.89
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Latest Reviews

Caribou  Honey

Honey is fun, easy listening, and it is just about guaranteed to get toes tapping; it’s just not as substantial or stirring as one might hope Under The Radar

Public Service Broadcasting  The Last Flight

The album closes with the absolutely haunting “Howland,” named for the island where Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were supposed to stop to refuel. Clocking in at eight and a half minutes and ending with actual field recordings of the island itself, it’s a worthy and mournful ending to a tragic story Under The Radar

Kendrick Lamar  GNX

Burning down the industry with a reinvigorated competitive spirit Consequence Of Sound

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