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9.0
97439
9.0 |
The Quietus
It is awfully, awfully good. It’s brilliant. It’s the record Broken Social Scene have always had within them, but perhaps never quite achieved
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8.5
97344
8.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Broken Social Scene seem to have dug deep and resurfaced with a rejuvenated and freshly realised verve
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8.4
97528
8.4 |
Pitchfork
The band sounds focused and renewed, invigorated by the missionary spirit of their best work
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8.3
97441
8.3 |
A.V. Club
Hug is a welcome retreat to those earlier records in terms of production, forsaking the leaner sound of 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record for the shaggy excesses of both You Forgot It and Broken Social Scene
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8.0
97442
8.0 |
Exclaim
After so many years without a Broken Social Scene album, this is a very welcome return
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8.0
97460
8.0 |
The Irish Times
An embrace amongst the chaos
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8.0
97440
8.0 |
Uncut
Some of the most exuberant and immediately engaging music they've ever recorded
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8.0
97349
8.0 |
The Skinny
This is simply the sound of a band having the time of their lives. A delight
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8.0
97358
8.0 |
Q
Joyous, enraged and exciting. Print edition only
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8.0
97494
8.0 |
DIY
An intimate embrace by an old friend
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8.0
97496
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Never short on energy and ideas, Kevin Drew and Co have this time remembered to include some great melodies
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8.0
97465
8.0 |
The Guardian
Invigorating emotional anthems
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8.0
97480
8.0 |
All Music
It's the wordy, Feist-delivered title cut, a master class in balancing mood and melody, that delivers the album's finest moments, and the best distillation of what makes BSS so venerable
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8.0
97488
8.0 |
Under The Radar
It's an impressive return for a band that set the bar high years ago and continue to clear it with ease
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7.5
97485
7.5 |
Spectrum Culture
Hug of Thunder is very much an album of anthems
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7.4
97481
7.4 |
Paste Magazine
In a symbolic sense anyway, Hug of Thunder lives up to its billing
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7.3
97350
7.3 |
Gig Soup
Broken Social Scene are always able to instil a real purpose with each project. And with the band releasing 'Halfway Home' as a taster, fans await the 7th of July with baited breath
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7.0
97345
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
The album offers both dark clouds and silver linings through the band’s juxtaposition of anxiety and hope
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7.0
97388
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
Hiatus or not, they’re still proudly fragmented and anything but broken.
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7.0
97432
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
BSS have made an album that trumps any cynicism that they may have faced, and in the process Hug of Thunder is as hearteningly unguarded and positive a record as you are likely to hear this year
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7.0
97348
7.0 |
The Music
'Hug Of Thunder' remains optimistic and in the spirit of the band we know
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7.0
97492
7.0 |
No Ripcord
They may be seeking for our attention with commanding grace, but truthfully, they’re as vulnerable as ever
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7.0
97602
7.0 |
PopMatters
Broken Social Scene return after a seven-year hiatus with their most vital release since their 2005 self-titled album
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7.0
97615
7.0 |
musicOMH
It remains to be seen how many moments from Hug Of Thunder will make their way onto people’s Ultimate Broken Social Scene playlists in coming years
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7.0
98034
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
The standout is "Halfway Home," on which Bruce Springsteen and My Bloody Valentine meet up in the space between anxiety and uplift where this band does its best work
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7.0
98157
7.0 |
Clash
A welcome return by Broken Social Scene. Dignified, grand and full of life, let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another seven years for their next record
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6.7
97346
6.7 |
Consequence Of Sound
An older and warier band pledge to stay and carry on the fight
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6.0
97347
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
Songs are defined by their rhythmic chassis and sky-scraping phrasing rather than their melody
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6.0
97369
6.0 |
Mojo
Hug Of Thunder's peaks are sky-scraping. Print edition only
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6.0
97463
6.0 |
The Independent
For all the broken dreams, what’s impressive about the album is the way that BSS balance tones, textures and themes
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6.0
97522
6.0 |
The Observer
Fifteen strong, with Leslie Feist and Emily Haines back on board, this Scene have come mob-handed; a cavalry arriving, with guitars, to combat these worsening times
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6.0
97525
6.0 |
The FT
The results favour hugs over thunder although loud outbreaks of guitars and drums keep sappiness at bay
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6.0
97484
6.0 |
The 405
It’s a perfectly adequate indie-rock release, with some shining moments
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5.5
97743
5.5 |
Earbuddy
The sound is there, but the songs are not
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