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9.0
107540
9.0 |
Uncut
["Around The Horn"] inflates over a final few minutes into something uniquely epic. ... Lyrically, it's pretty baffling where "These Rocks," one of the albums' standout tracks, is the most openly confessional song Houck has written, set to a churchy musical swell, congregational and healing, the sound of a lifetime burden lifted by love. Print edition only
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9.0
108009
9.0 |
Rolling Stone
Matthew Houck’s candid ninth stretches out
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8.5
107533
8.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Phosphorescent’s C’est La Vie is devastingly honest and uncompromisingly beautiful
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8.2
107597
8.2 |
Paste Magazine
Houck sounds bemused but happy, like a man still learning to navigate and appreciate a whole new existence. No doubt, his beautiful and affecting music will grow with him—and help guide him
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8.0
107573
8.0 |
The 405
Rather than being a tearjerker, C'est la Vie instead serves as something of a safeguard, a protective companion, a generous friend down paths of memory we may never have intended to traverse again, and that we'd shudder to travel alone. Phosphorescent's music is as giving and truly kind as ever
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8.0
107538
8.0 |
The Guardian
C’est La Vie is a record to bathe in
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8.0
107563
8.0 |
musicOMH
Everything you loved about the last few Phosphorescent records is still here, in abundance, but C’est La Vie seems more streamlined, more emotionally sincere
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8.0
107570
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Some listeners may find the album a touch monotonous, and whilst there are certainly no disco breakdowns, there are wrinkles in the formula
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8.0
107535
8.0 |
The Skinny
Billed as Phosphorescent's most reflective album yet, C'est La Vie features some of his most intricate arrangements to date
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8.0
107536
8.0 |
Exclaim
Phosphorescent's latest is nothing less than a moody celebration, an album that gives a jubilant new meaning to the saying "c'est la vie"
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8.0
107541
8.0 |
Mojo
C'est La Vie is as potent, visceral and concise a sonic expression of this act of courage [step up and be an adult] as you could hope to find. Print edition only
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8.0
107542
8.0 |
Q
The result is his slickest and best-produced record yet: all warm beats, electric piano and weeping, reverb-y pedal steel. Print edition only
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8.0
107556
8.0 |
Evening Standard
This may well be the career-defining album that earns Houck the many fans he deserves
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8.0
107680
8.0 |
Spectrum Culture
C’est La Vie is not to be missed
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7.6
107618
7.6 |
Pitchfork
For his first album in five years, Matthew Houck puts fatherhood and a move to Nashville to good use on songs that are sly and wry and allow his voice to cut through intricate arrangements
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7.0
107532
7.0 |
Clash
Gilded Americana that dwells on self-reflection to find peace
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7.0
107537
7.0 |
All Music
At first this can feel less immediate than previous work, but much like Phosphorescent's winding journey, C'est La Vie burns slowly and leaves impressions both spiritual and sonic that merit repeat listens
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7.0
107534
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
In finding a sense of serenity and calm in whatever life throws at him, Houck strikes a balance between happiness and longing that’s often nothing short of sublime
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6.8
108583
6.8 |
Earbuddy
Houck still cherishes excess in his folksy, psychedelic songs
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6.0
107558
6.0 |
The Observer
Americana misfit finds happiness
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6.0
107539
6.0 |
The Irish Times
An Americana-tinged record that doesn’t reveal the secrets to happiness but celebrates the milestones that make a life
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5.8
107571
5.8 |
Consequence Of Sound
C’est La Vie has moments of real beauty and depth while reflecting on fatherhood and settling down. But Houck should keep pushing into the strange, uncomfortable places where his best music gets made; now’s not the time to shrug it off
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5.0
107763
5.0 |
Loud And Quiet
True to its name, ‘C’est La Vie’ hints at a carefree atmosphere, or an acceptance of the world as it is. Unfortunately, this also means that the album feels like it isn’t quite moving anywhere at all
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