Beat poetry for survivalists

"Amerikanske Peter Buck, guitarist i nu opløste R.E.M., har [overraskende] slået sig sammen med britisk rocks mest talentfulde gnavpot, Luke Haines, [som] har udgivet en lang række meterværker - som forsanger i The Auteurs, Black Box Recorder, men også i eget navn ... Det er Haines, som driver dette til noget stort. Med sin hviskende, let nasale, ja, nærmest forsmåede stemmeføring hælder han sin galde ud over samtlige af albummets stærke sange ... Også denne gang brillerer manden med sangtitler, som - i sig selv - er hele pladen værd: "Apocalypse Beach", "Andy Warhol Was Not Kind" og "Ugly Dudes Blues". Ja, så er stemningen ligesom sat. Men lad ikke Luke Haines løbe med hele æren. Peter Buck bidrager med langstrakte, uprætentiøse guitarrif af den slags, som gjorde R.E.M.-sange som "E-bow The Letter" udødelige ... Ja, hvem har egentlig brug for R.E.M., når man kan få plader som denne?".

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"Alluring collection of psych, sleaze, post-punk and garage rock. It's filled with the wry, off-the-wall lyrical fancy we've come to expect from Haines down the years, and his out-there excursions are afforded confident passage by Buck's innate grip on daring beat group sensibilities. "Jack Parsons" celebrates a notorious rocket scientist and occultist with a catchy slab of hook-filled chamber-pop, "French Glam Man Band" takes the form of a sinister summit between Nick Cave and David Bowie, while the fuzz and growl of "Ugly Dude Blues" sounds like what might happen if The Jesus & Mary Chain unveiled Iggy Pop as their new frontman ... These 10 tracks suggest enormous fun was had every step of the way, the record's thrills transferring to the listener from the crash of its very first chord".

"The album is more Haines than it is '90s R.E.M. ... Buck's guitars are supportive throughout, inspired by Haines's alternative universes".