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Open
Season
Independent
on Sunday, 3 April 2005
British Sea Power's second album takes the most melodic
aspects of the first and refines them into a listening experience
of enduring reward. Set against pulse-quickening, neck-hair
bristling guitars of a vaguely 80s indie hue, frontman Yan's
lyrics are reliably erudite and esoteric and unapologetically
Anglocentric. One for the Albums of the Year list. *****
The
Sunday Times, 3 April 2005
BSP have
produced an album as good as, perhaps even better, than their
debut. They justify a top-table placing even in today's packed
musical pantheon. *****
The
Independent, 1 April 2005
Where
most psych-rockers wallow in a miasmic slough, BSP's explorations
are anchored by a powerful rhythm section and boast the kind
of ringing, anthemic hooks that Coldplay would kill for. The
result is that even on dreamy reflections such as To Get To
Sleep and The Land Beyond there's no hint of drift, no sense
that the song has become becalmed. Open Season is a splendid,
individual achievement, fully the equal of more high profile
recent offerings from BSP's peers. *****
The
Guardian, 25 March 2005
As with the Smiths, you are struck by the thrilling sense
of being drawn into a world not defined by tired standard
rock iconography. Not just a marvellous album, Open Season
is a triumphant lesson in sweeping gracefully towards the
mainstream with your imagination and mystery intact. ****
The
Times, 26 March 2005
Mapping a course between Echo and the Bunnymen and the
Strokes, the follow up to The Decline of British Sea Power
has grace and gusto by the earful.
****
Observer
Music Monthly, March 2005
Nothing can camouflage the soaring brilliance of BSP's
existentially preoccupied guitar anthems, characterised by
frontman Yan's breathlessly evocative vocals. Like its predecessor,
Open Season combines a pastoral fixation with literate philosophical
musings. Little England has rarely sounded so ambitious or
expansive.
NME,
2 April 2005
An album full of fascinating idiosyncrasies. The music
and the group's unique sense of Englishness combine to make
a noise itself that lives in the imagination. Far from stumbling
with a 'difficult' second album, British Sea Power have fashioned
an image and a sound that breathes with originality, grace
and poise.
Daily
Telegraph, 2 April 2005
Melodic simplicity reigns on BSP's second album, leaving
the ears and the imagination freer to ponder the importance
of melting ice caps. Singer Yan's Bowie-ish tones suit his
lyrics of awe and exasperation to a tee. British Sea Power
believe firmly that if nature is King Kong, man is Fay Wray,
wriggling uselesly in its clutches. But on the strength of
this excellent album, they sure know how to put up a fight.
Time
Out, 30 March 2005
British
Sea Power's music glows with such an unforced, natural charm
you can't help but cherish them for their romance. Another
special album from a very special band - proof that a ton
of feathers can really pack the same punch as a ton of grit
Planet
Sound, 1 April 2005
Tremendous drama, icy soundscapes and walloping pop thumps.
The current single sets the scene with its arcane trappings
and impassioned baroque hollers. Several tracks are better
still. As Yan sings on Victorian Ice: "totally wicked
and equally ace."
XfM.com,
April 2005
Introspective, dreamy and gleeful, Open Season is quirky
English guitar pop at it's best. The perfect soundtrack for
the rapidly approaching summer.
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