| | Full Review | Ratings (91) |
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| 4.5 superb | AggravatedYeti | October 30th 09 |
Philly ensemble's sophomore release 'Ashes Grammar' is a compulsively listenable, brilliant, fractured dance/ambient-pop album with heavy holds in shoegaze, dreampop, and freakfolk. Old news yes, but 'Ashes Grammar' just happens to do it so goddamn well, not to mention uniquely, and infectiously, that they find their own sound in the chaos of the past. In the loss of integral members (bass! vocalists!) and movement from a bedroom to a studio, Ben Daniels and drummer/guitarist Josh Meakim and newly recruited vocalist Annie Fredrickson create magic. A 22 track behemoth that is setup in movements as opposed to singular tracks, most 'real songs' sitting between mood setting ambient interludes that hold their own against the longer tracks. Really these interlude portions just help the flow of the album, as it's 60+ minutes wiz by accordingly and are just a logical setup for the next bit of songs. From the freakfolk/dance induced 'Failure' and 'Close Chorus', to shoegazer tour de force(s) 'Nightime Rainbows' & 'Blood White'', 'Ashes Grammar' delivers. Dream pop masterworks , 'Shy', 'Headphone Space', 'Starting at a Disadvantage' and 'The White Witch' top off the album as the (hard to chose) stand outs but let's not be picky here. Why be, when there' s so much about Ashes Grammar to love.
3 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | mmmonty | August 17th 20 |
i think it might fare better if one treats this as a continuous experience rather than as a collection of discrete songs. very ethereal, very Cocteau, but also synth-y with sometimes a four-on-the-floor beat
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| 4.0 excellent | Bedex | February 24th 20 |
And the band continues with another incredible journey that defies description. The album flows very well, don't let the disgusting number of short tracks discourage you. This mixes dream pop (4, and just overall), ambient (3,5,13), techno (the next part of 13,16,20), funky or tychoesque electronica stuff (intro of 4, 7-9,21-22), post-rock (12), a tonne of weird interludes that actually work, accordion passages on 17 I think, you name it, in an ever changing blend that yet somehow manages to feel coherent. A true tour de force as nearly every single one of these tracks is very nice and some are quite jammy or have jammy moments. The two bits that marked me the most were the bouncy jam 6 and the second jammy half of 13, but really this is an album that should be heard as a whole. Again a rich, dense, baffling album that will require more dedicated listens to fully grasp. 3.9
Bump |
| 5.0 classic | ANJ45 | January 27th 14 |
Amazing creative and infectious. I really want this band to become big someday, they've shown an INSANE amount of potential with this album alone.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | qt | February 11th 22 |
| 3.5 great | Emo | May 4th 21 |
| 3.0 good | peahat | February 24th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | BeeRyan | September 23rd 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | tyler | September 21st 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | p4p | June 27th 16 |
| 3.5 great | spur55 | November 1st 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | lou1000 | August 3rd 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | jimbon | July 24th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | Matski | July 20th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | foxxxy | June 16th 14 |
| 3.0 good | Greem | October 20th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rev | November 7th 11 |
| 3.5 great | JJwins | October 10th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | ECRbubs | March 12th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | stoibee | February 20th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Ire | January 31st 11 |
| 3.5 great | cvlts | January 4th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | des | October 8th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | BigTuna | January 8th 10 |
| 3.0 good | Rudy K. EMERITUS | November 27th 09 |
| 3.5 great | Than | October 31st 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Kiran EMERITUS | October 30th 09 |
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