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Hometowns
by
Hometowns Image
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 28 Ratings

  • Summary: Orginally self-released in early 2008, Saddle Creek re-releases the debut full-length album for the Canadian indie rock band.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    90
    Taking Mangum’s recorded-on-cardboard lo-fi folk epics as their ground zero, TRAA turn in the best alt.debut of the year.
  2. Lost At Sea
    85
    Hometowns has an earthly fragility, folksy without being folky. Score another one for Canada.
  3. Pitchfork
    80
    With more intensely vigorous drumming, more obviously personal lyrics, and a more blatant interest in glossy electro-pop, Edenloff's band carves out their own niche. It is one that masterfully blends the masculine and the feminine, the refined and the coarse, the dark and the bright.
  4. Spin
    70
    Nils Edenloff's passionate songwriting comes across as both raucous (“The Dethbridge in Lethbridge”) and gently sweet (the harmony-rich boy-girl cupcake “Don’t Haunt This Place”), consistently marked by a joyful sonic ingenuity.
  5. PopMatters
    60
    The scope of Hometowns feels a little too narrow for such a dynamic sound. Still, the album is endlessly listenable and solid throughout.
  6. AllMusic
    60
    All too often, that energy is lost when a talented young band like this enters the studio, and RAA do their best to transcend the limitations of their home recorded calling card, but that energy eating reaper follows Hometowns around like a cop car on a Saturday night.
  7. Uncut
    60
    The RAA's narratives are as expansive as the prarie where singer-songwriter and guitarist Nils Edenloff grew up, but they're also full of resonnant, intimate detail. [Aug 2010, p.94]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 11 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. JoeD
    Jul 8, 2009
    10
    One of my faves from 2008.
  2. db0928
    Oct 15, 2010
    10
    Easily the best album of 2008/2009 (depends on which release you consider to be "official"; regardless, it would win either year). There isEasily the best album of 2008/2009 (depends on which release you consider to be "official"; regardless, it would win either year). There is not one weak track on an album filled with passionate, driving tunes about nostalgia, youth, lost relationships and lost homes. The drumwork on display is among the finest I've heard in a long time, and the Nils Edenloff's Mangum-esque vocals only serve to hammer home the pain, joy, heartbreak, and memory that is so pervasive throughout this album. In short, this is THE definitive summer album of the past few years, possibly the best summer album since Wilco's Summerteeth. Do your self a favor and pick up this under-appreciated gem.
    (Standout tracks: "Rush Apart", "The Deathbridge in Lethbridge", "Don't Haunt this Place", "Frank AB", "Four Night Rider", "Edmonton", "In the Summertime")    … Expand
  4. JeremyM.
    Jul 10, 2009
    10
    Amazing debut. I've been listening to this non-stop since discovering it last year, and I haven't grown tired of one second of one Amazing debut. I've been listening to this non-stop since discovering it last year, and I haven't grown tired of one second of one song. Seriously, you owe it to yourself to listen to this.… Expand
  5. Mark
    Aug 2, 2009
    10
    This thing is great. The drummer is amazing, the songwriting is solid and the album is cohesive. What more can you ask for?
  6. ZacharyMatson
    Nov 12, 2011
    10
    Never have I heard an album that grew on me as quickly as Hometowns. The RAA is easily one of my favorite musical groups and that is very muchNever have I heard an album that grew on me as quickly as Hometowns. The RAA is easily one of my favorite musical groups and that is very much because of this album. The album starts off with a mellow, extraordinary track and from there takes you on a ride of fun and excellent indie rock.… Expand
  7. DoronD
    Jul 17, 2009
    9
    Amazing album. This will be one of those that are loved by fans dearly, and only liked-maybe-disliked by critics. Everyone should get this.
  8. [Anonymous]
    Jul 15, 2009
    8
    A great debut from a very promising band. "Don't Haunt this Place" and "In the Summertime" in particular are two of my favorite tracks A great debut from a very promising band. "Don't Haunt this Place" and "In the Summertime" in particular are two of my favorite tracks from 2008. The album's only significant flaw is that the two weakest tracks, "The Air" and "Sleep All Day" (both of which, in my opinion, probably could have just been cut) are slotted one after another, smack in the middle of the album; needless to say, this sequencing really disrupts the record's flow. That aside, Hometowns is definitely one of the better albums I heard last year. Oh, and can critics please stop comparing these guys to Neutral Milk Hotel? With all due respect to the RAA, it's just not a fair comparison.… Expand

See all 10 User Reviews

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