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8.0
88938
8.0 |
NME
Viola Beach’s name will always be synonymous with tragedy, but at least now we have a document of who this band were – and what they might have achieved
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8.0
88942
8.0 |
Q
The irrepressible bounce of these tracks outweigh the poignancy, though. Viola Beach have a debut their families can be proud of. Print edition only
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8.0
88946
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Swings and Waterslides has a hint of Bombay Bicycle Club’s chiming guitars and grooves, while Like a Fool marries a trilling world music riff to a rousing chorus
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8.0
89447
8.0 |
Uncut
A debut their families can be proud of. Print edition only
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7.5
88939
7.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Viola Beach is not a perfect record, but its sweetness and optimism make the somber realities surrounding its release even more difficult to swallow
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7.0
88936
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Despite the unavoidable, unbearable sadness of its context Viola Beach is best celebrated for its lightness. The band had a knack for bright melodies, sunny arrangements and chiming guitars
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7.0
89020
7.0 |
Paste Magazine
Most poignant are the songs that offer something a little different from standard, because these are the instances where you can hear the makings of the band proper
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6.0
88937
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
The deft, danceable rhythms that punctuate “Swings and Waterslides” and “Cherry Vimto”, combined with Leonard’s Northern accent, make comparisons Spectrals or early Arctic Monkeys irresistible
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6.0
88940
6.0 |
The Independent
The Warrington quartet was clearly in the process of defining their own sound
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6.0
88948
6.0 |
The FT
It gives the songs a gravity they were not intended to bear, a set of poignantly lively indie anthems that bear the imprint of obvious influences
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6.0
88956
6.0 |
The Observer
It’s hard not to warm to a quartet whose obvious pleasure at being in a group pervades every adrenaline-charged note
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