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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Missiles
by The Dears
The fourth album for the indie rock band from Montreal.
| LABEL: |
Dangerbird |
| RELEASE DATE: |
21 October 2008 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock, Indie, Experimental |
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
The Guardian
They've stripped back their epic indie in favour of ethereal rock, and the result is as complex and beautiful as you'd expect from Montreal's grand miserablists.
80
Under The Radar
Missiles is the ultimate non-indie-rock album from the quintessential indie-rock band. [Fall 2008, p.74]
80
NOW Magazine
On the Dears’ fourth album, the Montreal melancholics take simple melodies and spin them into seamless epics.
80
Mojo
Lightburn continues to enthral though, his heartfelt, inventive arrangements testament to many questing hours in the studio. [Dec 2008, p.112]
80
Q Magazine
Its triumph is in its intimacy and honesty. [Dec 2008, p.134]
73
Pitchfork
These ill-advised lyrical moments can be perplexing and occasionally frustrating given the amount of care manifest in the Dears' music, but in a strange way they speak to the band's major non-musical strength: an earnestness decidedly lacking in today's indie landscape.
70
Alternative Press
Lightburn's musings are best met with equal grandeur--such as the low-key but effective sort Missiles usually provides. [Dec 2008, p.138]
70
Hartford Courant
Not every missile here reaches its target, but the older, wiser Dears will remain darlings of all who keep hearts affixed firmly to their sleeves.
70
All Music Guide
While the rewards are there, the hooks are few and far between, resulting in the kind of overly personal transitory album that can either lay the seeds for a full-blown masterpiece, or render the garden infertile.
70
Blender
The Dears’ breakthrough was 2004’s "No Cities Left," a post-apocalyptic expedition through emotional and political wreckage, and they’re still mining that barren landscape, trying to rebuild.
60
Slant Magazine
For every interesting and bold move involved in the writing and packaging of Missiles, however, the musical orchestration and production of the record is problematic.
60
PopMatters
Perversely enough, like a lot of transitional efforts Missiles works the best when it ranges the furthest from the band’s established sound without getting overly ambitious.
60
Uncut
There are epic power ballads, which just manage to avoid faling into Keane/Coldplay territory; there are terriffic, drone-laden stomp-rockers....The use of saxophone, however, is ill-advised, and Lightburn's voice can get a little ponderous. [Dec 2008, p.88]
50
Spin
When they stay focused and sweet (as on the sparingly orchestral 'Berlin Heart'), they soar. But when Lightburn adds spoken-word bits and überwanky guitar solos ('Lights Off'), ending with an 11-minute, church-inspired requiem ('Saviour'), you may be ready to follow his former band members out the door.
45
Prefix Magazine
The Dears left Arts & Crafts and cut their least entertaining album yet, Missiles, deciding to release it through the more populist confines of Dangerbird.
The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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