Pitchfork Offers Up Its Review of Midlake’s The Courage of Others. And? Yeeeeeeeeeeeeesh.

So, uh… that just happened. For those too lazy to click, here’s the guts of it: 3.6/10. I know, right?

And these words from Pitchfork scribe Paul Thompson hit even more harshly:

“[T]here’s no bite to any of it, no
intensity, precious little conveyance of emotion. I wish there were a
single great song, one shining moment to point to as a beacon of hope
for what’s to come for these guys, but Courage just feels so monochromatic, so flatlined, even the tiniest signs of life have no power to resuscitate.” Read the whole thing here…

Won’t change my thoughts. I still find it an impressive–if, yes, somber and dense–listen.

Pitchfork’s take is still a pretty darn surprising, though. Especially considering how much the site contributed to the very hype machine that seems to fuel Thompson’s disappointment.

If nothing else, it makes for some fine chatter, yeah? I mean, I’m not even going touch a question like… say… I dunno: After so much early praise what, if anything, does a negative review from Pitchfork really mean?

I’ll leave that all to you.