Simple Math: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:18, 30 July 2017

Revision as of 19:01, 31 July 2017

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| Released = {{Start date|2011|5|9|df=yes}}

| Recorded = August–December 2010

| studio = {{hlist|Blackbird Studios, [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville, TN]]|</br />Favorite Gentlemen, [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|GA]]|</br />Eldest Only Recordings, Atlanta, GA}}

| Genre = {{hlist|[[Indie rock]]|[[post-hardcore]]|[[symphonic rock]]}}

| Length = {{Duration|m=45|s=05}}

| Label = [[Favorite Gentlemen]]

| Producer = {{hlist|[[Dan Hannon]]|</br />[[Manchester Orchestra]]}}

| Last album = ''[[Mean Everything to Nothing]]''<br />(2009)

| This album = '''''Simple Math'''''<br />(2011)

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''Simple Math'' received positive reviews from [[music critic|music critics]]s upon release. At [[Metacritic]], which assigns a [[Standard score|normalized]] rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a [[weighted mean|weighted average]] of 73, based on sixteen reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".<ref name="Metacritic"/> Adam Pfleider of [[AbsolutePunk]] called the album a "shocking absorption" and awarded a near-perfect rating of 95%. He noted that, "in a year that's produced an overwhelming amount of great music, ''Simple Math'' is another outstanding painting worth the public's attention. When Hull sings "Believe me, all is brilliant," it really is once again for this band."<ref name="AP"/> [[BBC Music]] journalist Mike Diver also gave a favorable review. Despite stating that, "its 10 songs aren’t all of the level needed to propel its makers into the biggest indie-rock leagues", he was of the opinion that ''Simple Math'', "contains some of their finest songs yet. There are moments of real beauty, though the prettiest arrangements come complete with necessarily ugly imagery."<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zmj9|title=Atlanta band’s third album of melancholic musings contains some of their finest songs yet|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|author= Diver, Mike|date=5 May 2011|accessdate=7 May 2011}}</ref> [[Drowned in Sound]] critic Robert Cooked wrote, "What’s great about Manchester Orchestra is that they don’t quite fit into a box. Sadly, this makes them another one of those bands that don’t sell as many records as they deserve to." Awarding a score of seven out of ten, he added that the album is an "intelligent slab of thrilling, stadium-sized rock that does away with the genre’s dumb clichés. It’s hard not to get a kick out of hearing such an independent spirit raging through this album, even if commercially, ''Simple Math'' doesn’t quite add up."<ref name="DiS"/>

Ben Patashnik of ''[[Rock Sound]]'' magazine gave the album nine out of ten in his review. He claimed that, "they're always a breath away from total fucking chaos or lullaby-soft crooning. And throughout, the highs are tinged with a sadness and the lows with hope, making ''Simple Math'' a complex and rewarding album that soars above the pack."<ref name="RS"/> In a review for ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', David Menconi said that [[Andy Hull]] had "been making shockingly precocious records for years. But his band's third full-length is an old-fashioned magnum opus of a concept album, detailing a nervous breakdown with epic glam-rock gestures. Hull's greatest skill is making his emotions sound as extravagant as they feel, especially when he screams."<ref name="Spin"/> Adam Knott, a contributing writer for [[Sputnikmusic]] awarded the album a "superb" 4.5/5. He opined that "although situated largely in the seemingly mundane where its predecessor concerned itself (perhaps excessively) with abstract universalities, ''Simple Math'' might actually be the superior record. Its centrepiece, as with ''Mean Everything To Nothing'''s "I Can Feel A Hot One", is the most explicit illustration of the band's overflowing emotion, but the same level and intensity of fire can be found even on its most flippant tracks."<ref name="Sputnik"/>