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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Swimming
by French Kicks
The quartet from New York mixed and produced its own sophomore album.
| LABEL: |
Vagrant |
| RELEASE DATE: |
20 May 2008 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock, Indie |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
80
Village Voice
With catchy choruses (hear "Why, tell me why?/I don't know" once and it won't go away), assured self-production, and lyrics that lean on nobody's pen, it won't be long before people start comparing other bands to French Kicks, instead of the other way around.
80
Alternative Press
You could feel the Kicks reaching for this sort of grandeur in the more inspired moments of 2006's "Two thousands, " this time, they're bathing in it. [July 2008, p.158]
80
Filter
Swimming's arrangements and harmonies speak to a contemporary sensibility--one well aware that, for all the beauty of living in the moment, the moment still passes by. [Spring 2008, p.94]
76
Pitchfork
Trading layers of mood and melody and meaning for layers of Pro Tooled artifice, French Kicks have razored off the bullshit, leaving a core of beguilingly honest tunes.
71
cokemachineglow
So, no, this isn’t groundbreaking sound art, just really good dream-pop, as pleasant as this music can get without being--don’t deny the thought you indelibly harbored--cloying; that’s a space that we need bands to fill.
70
Under The Radar
French Kicks guarantee that Swimming is not a watered-down concoction, and in doing so, have not only reinvented themselves, but may have also saved their careers. [Summer 2008]
70
Billboard
To save themselves from the sneaking accusation that they were fizzling out, the quartet self-produced and -mixed "Swimming," and the result is an album notably more laid-back and truer to their wistful personalities than 2006's "Two Thousand."
70
Spin
By recycling and loosening up "Two Thousand's" best elements--inventive instrumental passages, rich harmonies, across-the-board emoting--French Kicks get both poppier and deeper.
70
Urb
While the production throughout the album is very strong and cohesive (guitar, drums and some piano taking care of most errands), the vocals might prove otherwise.
60
Drowned In Sound
French Kicks cannot rightly be pegged as a one-trick pony but the formulaic organisation of this record emphasises lushness at the sacrifice of any surprises.
60
All Music Guide
It's almost impossible to dislike Swimming's pastel beauty, but it's nearly as difficult to work up much enthusiasm about it.
50
PopMatters
Swimming is really too damp to catch a spark, but could quite easily find a home nicely in the background somewhere of a candle lit wine bar or other chilled venue.
The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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