Andy

and think it's completely brilliant. Hearing new things each time I listen. My first thought was the vocals were too low in the mix but they really come to the forefront after repeat listens. Lots of textures and effects, but importantly amazing songs. An album that demands to be played.

It's understated in places. A lot of it reminds me of their really early stuff & demos. It has really got under my skin after 4 or 5 listens. Great to have them back :)

Rough Trade are doing it with a free 4 track bonus CD as well! Woo!

Can't wait, they were amazing at Lollapalooza.

but his comments here are laughable. Can't help but think he was influenced by the presence of PH and the interviewer. And trying to be controversial for the sake of it...

oh dear. i'll be generous with 3..

Internet radio has so much more to offer.. Indie Pop Rocks/KCRW/SBN etc etc

I Have to say I'm not loving it. It's confusing. Maybe second time around I will hear more!

There is no such thing as too much Animal Collective.

:)

Hurrah!

The last release was a collection of new songs, an album! The fact it was shit in comparison to the first doesn't make it any less of an album. Really hope the third can go some way to making amends...

Love Mew so much. Shame there are so many inaccuracies in this review. The gig was incredible - as ever. Have got my tickets for Shepherd's Bush already!

Awesome.

is in every way a better album that its predecessor. Which by the way is also amazing.

I mean come on - 'ROCK OPERA?!!!'. Guess what - it blew my mind. AMAZING!

None left in the front stalls, only rear and balcony remaining...

None left in the front stalls, only rear and balcony remaining...

None left in the front stalls, only rear and balcony remaining...

OMG OMG OMG. I need tickets.

Buying tomorrow. Worth it for the awesome National song alone - but we've got the rest of the songs to relish too!

Sorry if that offends any die-hard downloaders here. Itunes (and plenty of others sites including Myspace) offer free sample tracks, or portions of, so there really is no excuse for illegally downloading. You wouldn't walk into an electricals shop and walk out with a TV, only to return later to pay for it if you discover you 'really' like it - you do some research, read reviews, ask friend's opinions, maybe see one in action somewhere else.

Ultimately all we are doing is shooting ourselves in the foot by not paying for music. It just means there will be less career artists on our radio stations/TV - as all the labels will have either folded or the band will have been dropped after their second album failed to sell 100,000 copies.

Bands will never stop forming, but less and less are able to make a living from it - the amount of up and coming amazing bands that would have been signed 5/10 years ago that have broken up out of frustration/destitution is unbelievable these days. Remember when Ultrasound had a label? Can you imagine a band like that getting a deal now? Pigeon Detectives are a rare exception of a band on a small indie getting mainstream success, so although their music is questionable at best - fair play to them.

Love the article. Nice.

Wooo!

Isn't it possible to like them AND other NY/US bands?

I like the first three albums. Some brilliant tunes. Haven't heard any of this yet.

Fair play. Plenty of good contenders this year - Marling, Neon, Last Shadow were all excellently written/performed records IMHO..as welll as others that I've probably forgotten.

I don't really understand. Must have some proper issues going on. :-(

and the whole record. A vast improvement on its predecessor. 8/10 from me so far - not many albums make me listen 10 or so times in the first week of owning them. Hooray! Let's just celebrate that they are back back back!

... is not at all representative of the album. Rooibos, Snakecharming and Eastern Europe all demonstrate a dark, rhythmic intensity that is present through the whole record.

For me...amazing!

But Bloc Party's forthcoming follows AWITC.

At least for the likes of Los Campesinos! and me.

I can't stop buying everything he's involved with!

I kind of wish they'd have stopped after Free All Angles...

Seriously considered flying out to this gig. I need to get out more.

Saw them supporting Bloc Party years ago and they bored me to tears. Both albums are brilliant, however and I'm sure live they are different proposition these days.

Think 6 is probably a fair score, though. I'd agree about the great parts being amazing.

is excellent, to me, anyway. Darker sounds good to me - there's 4 songs on Myspace which are quite varied, so it sounds like a continuation from Without Feathers in that respect. Brilliant band, can't wait.

I find you need a greater attention span than myself to thoroughly appreciate their work.

So refreshing, glad it's become a sleeper hit!

Shame they weren't given the time to promo the album properly

as an earlier poster rightly pointed out, so much good music comes out (or has come out in the past) as singles, but the desire doesn't seem to be there from a customer perspective to keep them. There are a good few people out there, myself included, who clearly have a low attention span and love singles. As our numbers seem to be on an ever decreasing spiral (people are obviously developing longer attention spans and buying albums - oh if that was only the case!), record stores are finding it a lot of effort to stock singles. I work in one of the aforementioned big chains, and a couple of weeks ago we took £2 on 7" singles. This is despite having about 10 decent new releases in stock at least. So we now have a box full of 7" that we've had to order, process, put out on display and will now have to de-sticker, box up, apply for a return, pay high courier costs to obtain the return and get out of the building. You can see the problem. I don't want to stop selling singles, but it appears we just don't want them anymore.

With every track a winner. I'm not sure about Up All Night, however, so will await the album with eager interest. I think 90% of the negative comments can probably attributed to the band's perceived 'uncool' look, and hey, at least they're generating some fevered debate.

albums of all time. I didn't like The Weight Is A Gift, so I was really pleased listening to this. It's got a lot more of the 'dour'/haunting elements that made Let Go so beautiful, and focuses more on their strengths as a band - vocals and melody, primarily. Really good record I think.

Maybe I should fly over?

Sounded like Keane crossed with The Feeling, with a bit of Death Cab/Slower Postal Service thrown in... Is that a fair assessment? Is there better on offer? Couldn't get excited by it at all.

And didn't get it... Am I missing something?

My album of 07, by far. :-(