Magnetic
by Goo Goo Dolls
Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
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  1. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Jun 26, 2013
    80
    From a technical standpoint, the album does little to challenge, provoke or push the envelope. From a thematic standpoint, there's no cerebral or overarching theme, there's no incendiary political or social statements. At its core, it is a safe, sun-kissed collection of 11 utterly harmless light rock songs about the delights of newfound love.
  2. Kerrang!
    Jun 26, 2013
    60
    It'll be too sappy for anyone who likes their rock raw, but if simpler pleasures tickle your pickle, there are few bands in this sphere pulling it off as expertly as the veteran Buffalo trio. [8 Jun 2013, p.54]
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  3. Classic Rock Magazine
    Jun 25, 2013
    60
    Magnetic may veer close to Maroon-5-at-their-very-best territory, but let's not get sniffy. It's a life affirming, joyful record. [Jun 2013, p.91]
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  5. AllMusic
    Jun 20, 2013
    60
    Rzeznik and Takac are merely sticking with the program that they helped to create, but they have honed their sound so close to the corporate bone that the marrow is beginning to show, and if they're not careful, there soon may be nothing left to feed the masses with.
  6. PopMatters
    Jun 20, 2013
    60
    Too many songs are formally organized with the same approach and formula in mind. Distinctiveness takes a hit because of this, with only a few notable exceptions.
  7. Q Magazine
    Jul 26, 2013
    40
    Magnetic sounds like a TV talent show judge's idea of rock music from a band capable of much better. [Jun 2013, p.98]
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  8. Sputnikmusic
    Jun 20, 2013
    40
    Magnetic generally lacks the catchiness and vitality of past efforts, as the band tries in vein to reinvent the wheel but fails to accomplish anything as impressive as ‘Iris’, ‘Here is Gone’, ‘Black Balloon’, ‘Let Love In’, [insert hit single here].

User Reviews

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User Score
6.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
  1. Mab_987
    Aug 16, 2013
    5
    The first song I heard from this album was the lead single & opening track “Rebel Beat”, and even though it suffers from a bit ofThe first song I heard from this album was the lead single & opening track “Rebel Beat”, and even though it suffers from a bit of overproduction, I enjoyed it. It's a solid summery pop song with infectious melodies & the good kind of “party lyrics”; as in the kind that makes you feel good inside rather than the kind that makes you wanna take 20 showers in a row In order to feel clean again. Unfortunately though, with a few exceptions I'll get into later, this album as a whole is just dull & predictable. All across this album are cliché rhymes (I'm talking girl/world level), extremely overproduced “epic” instrumentation & vocal lines, and sappy phoned-in lyrics about love, couples being in love, going through extremely vague hard times, etc. And the latter might be justifiable if it was just on 1 or 2 tracks, but making it the theme of practically the whole album just plummets the believability level. There's a term I came up with to describe a good majority of the songs here, and that term is “chick flick rock”. What I mean is that for nearly any track at any given point, it sounds tailor-made to appear in the last minute or so of the trailer for some corny chick flick, with “Bulletproofangel” being the most prime example of this. The songs just show no personality in their genericness & sameness throughout, despite trying so desperately to tug at a few heartstrings, and the band ends up simultaneously sounding like the poor man's Switchfoot, the poor man's OneRepublic & the poor man's The Script combined into one entity of mediocrity.

    However that's not to say that every track is a failure. The next one in the track list to get a positive response from me is “Bringing on the Light”, which while not too much better lyrically shows the band rocking out a bit like they did on most of A Boy Named Goo, which is refreshing. Keep in mind that I'm the last one you'll see hating an album because it's different from their previous work, but without the rock element the Goo Goo Dolls' style for the most part is left pretty bland & uninteresting. The song is also one of 2 to feature bassist Robby Takac on lead vocals, which with his rough nasally voice works much better here than on slow acoustic number “Happiest of Days”. “Last Hot Night” combines a more detailed & well-written version of their “couple tales” with the fun celebratory attitude of “Rebel Beat” & a subtle working class social commentary theme. And closer “Keep the Car Running” (which I was disappointed to learn wasn't an Arcade Fire cover) is also a solid track for similar reasons. So overall, while this wasn't the worst or most disappointing album of 2013 that I've heard, I left it for the most part unsatisfied & wanting to take more from Magnetic than it had to offer. I know these guys are talented songwriters, and it's not like any track here is downright unlistenable. They just need something to write about that involves less forced sincerity.

    Key tracks: Rebel Beat, Keep the Car Running, Bringing on the Light, Last Hot Night
    Score: 52/100    … Full Review »
  2. MattCrane
    Jul 1, 2013
    4
    You’ll find no “Iris” gloom here. Ten LPs in, Goo have completely traded black balloons for baby blue sparklers: rocking somewhere in betweenYou’ll find no “Iris” gloom here. Ten LPs in, Goo have completely traded black balloons for baby blue sparklers: rocking somewhere in between Boys Like Girls on a soft day (“When The World Breaks Your Heart”), Train at their most radio-friendly (“Slow It Down”) and vibrant, Disney synth-rock (“More Of You”)... FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/17Q3YSF… Full Review »
  3. asterafzal
    Sep 2, 2016
    7
    In some ways, "Magnetic" is the polar opposite to "Something For The Rest Of Us": light, summery, pop, and happy. While the sound mostIn some ways, "Magnetic" is the polar opposite to "Something For The Rest Of Us": light, summery, pop, and happy. While the sound most definitely works, it causes one fault that brings down the album drastically: instead of bringing something new to pop music upon deciding to become a pop band, the Goos used the same formulaic setup, the same lyrics, and same four chord progressions as every other pop band ever. That doesn't make it bad, or un-listenable, but certainly does not bring out the creativity we've seen them accomplish before, excusing "Come To Me".… Full Review »
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