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67
Ryan Adams Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Blueberry Boat
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The brother-sister duo of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger return with a second quirky, challenging and eclectic LP.
| LABEL: | Sanctuary |
| RELEASE DATE: | 13 July 2004 |
| DISCS: | 1 disc |
| GENRE(S): | Indie, Rock |
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...
The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 61 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
John Jennings gave it a10:
Fantastic! I think this was the album of the year for 2004.
Cameron W gave it a10:
This album gets better with every listen, and if you're able to invest the time I'd say anyone could love this album (I mean, if you're willing to and you like the general sound of it). Definitely my favourite of 2004!
Louis F gave it a9:
I must first say that this record just doesn't know when to stop, which can be a bad thing. Not that the TRACKS are too long, but that songs 9 to 12 should have been left for another occasion. The problem with these is that they don't belong in the Blueberry Boat. 1917 would make a great opener for another album, exposing the excessively weird side as well as the poignancy of the Furnaces ; but by track 10, I think we got that. I would take Spaniolated anytime as a B-side, but here it just feels underdeveloped and out of sequence. Birdie Brain/Turning Round would have made a fine closer, but no!, they are in fact a pre-closer, the real one being Wolf Notes, which is also appropriate. In fact, this album is one of the rare ones to let you choose your own closer. Other than that, the first ~50 minutes of this record are simply a blast. It rocks you, teases you, laughs at you sometimes but mostly grips you with its unrelenting dynamics, sometimes poignant, more often quirky compositions, and stomps you under its flow of ideas. Thing is, the point is made after Chief Inspector Blancheflower (my personal favorite). The latter portion just feels like a chore. Wrapping up with Wolf Notes right away would have been a good choice, leaving more for the next time. Otherwise, this album is a great trip.
Gary D gave it a1:
Perhaps the worst "critically-acclaimed" album ever. EVER!Pitchfork: you deserve a good beating for making me listen to this drivel!
Bernard A gave it an8:
After a year of hearing how great this is from every webzine from Pitchfork to Tiny Mix tapes I think that this an example of the music press going overboard in praising a merely good record. Yes it does sound different from most music released today but some of the songs have too much annoying keyboard blurts. I really liked the title track, Straight Street, My Dog Was Lost, Chris Michaels & Chief Inspector Blancheflower. Overall, a good effort but not so great that it would lead a reviewer from Pitchfork to write that anyone who doesn't like this has no taste.
Ian C gave it a10:
What might discourage listeners whose interest "Blueberry Boat" has sparked is that they think it's going to be impenetrable and only admired conceptually by its praisers, but this could not be further from the case. If you're not interested in 50+ of the best-crafted song sections of all-time, though, then stay far, far away from this record. As to it being impossibly challenging -- if a 14-year-old can get it, so can you.
Jack S gave it a10:
I'm sure the critics of the popular, widely circulated publications like NME, The Guardian and Rolling Stone, Blender, Spin felt their livelyhood threatened when this shining gem of an album landed on their collective desks. It's not a challenging record at all. It's just good music, pure and simple. For the first time in ages, the music and the words actually reflect each other. Listen to the singer search for her dog and as she goes from place to place the music itself changes to suit the lyrics, gospel finish for when she finds her dog(god), the rushing everchanging sound mirroring the dash about town perfectly. And that's just the start, every song coincides with it's narration completely. When a singing about a child with ADD, the back up vocals are high pitched and almost taunting, while the guitar spasms back and forth like a kid who cannot learn would in a seat. A song that rallies against technology assaults the senses with an overwhelming bombardment of synths threateing to destroy the singer in it's competition for the listener's attention. Granted it requires a person to put the lyrics to the music for the whole, I can assure you, it's worth the two braincells it requires.
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