Gets better with more listens
936662
With the hype and over-playing of "i predict a riot", the Kaisers had a lot to live up to and they come close to the hype.  There are some excellent melodies and mostly catchy tunes. Overall, the record is not as upbeat as "riot" which is as good as it gets on this release.  There are some very obvious nods to Blur and Madness in their songwriting (2 tracks almost sound note for note like Madness tunes), but that isn't a bad thing.  If you have to wear your influences on your sleeve, those are 2 good bands to emulate.  The slower tracks grow on me the more i listen to the record and i think after about the 5+ listens i've had so far, the only song that i would skip entirely is the last song.  It's too bad most of their songwriting magic went into "i predict a riot" but this is still better than most other "mainstream alternative" offerings. Recommended.
1217600
When i first listened to it it was clearly Our Lady Peace, my favourite band, but seeing as i didn't know the music i sat there entranced. To begin with it was too hard to differentiate between songs when you've never heard any of it and it's just in the background, but then after listening once through it was even more exciting.

  As time has gone on, Our Lady Peace has become more and more refined and this new album is no exception. Ultimately beautiful and melodic, it brings a new level to music that has been produced to perfection. Many would say that this is their best album yet, however i have to point out that sometimes slightly more raw music is the most interesting, i.e. their older, slightly more diverse music.

  I still have to give this album the hightest rating available though, because it is an amzing album of perfected levels. With variation in pace and instrumental focus it would be hard to get bored of this music and when you know it well enough, it is a good choice for background music as it won't distract you.

  Overall, i say that this is a further development in Our Lady Peace productions and deserves a lot of credit. Listen to the album!
3614247
This album grows on you with each listen, and after a week with it I am really enjoying it. I think this is their best work since RTR or Clayman, but then I have enjoyed all of IF's releases. Sure, I like their old stuff. But I enjoy the new sound too.

The second half of the album is definitely the best. My two favorite songs are "Condemned" and "March to the Shore." Come on guys, play one of them for me in Philly on April 24! I can't understand why they did not include the B-sides they put on The Mirror's Truth EP on ASOP but I have both, so no loss to me!  Keep it up IF!!!! \m/
4498888
On my first listen to this album, I found myself siding with the naysayers; I loathed it, despite liking what came before. Interestingly, however, the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me. It's now gotten to the point where it is my favorite FF album.
2643905
"Slow & Steady Seduction, Phase II" delivers, but with some issues. It is best to skip past the first few tunes. The top of this album sounds too corporate radio friendly. Some of Anya's charm is washed out when appealing to such mainstream sensibilities. (I will admit that 'Cut it Out' has actually grown on me.) The album finally fires on all pistons with 'Drop Dead Blues.' From here on out, the album returns to Anya bliss. The rest of the album enjoys that time-tested brand of clever girliness. The sound generally ranges from rock to indie folk. 'Vertigo' is one of the highlights. Not replicating her previous work, this material is more produced. Leaning away from indie folk, this new direction gives "Slow & Steady Seduction" a more commercial presentation. At times this new production employs electric guitars, large scale vocal dubbing and a philharmonic orchestra. The spectacular oddity here is '&Aacute;guas de Maro.' As sang by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Elis Regina, I have long been enchanted by the Bossa Nova classic. Anya's rendition is pure ear candy. Comparatively, these songs are good but not as strong as those on her debut. The humor isn't quite as funny, the observations aren't quite as poignant and the melodies aren't as compelling.  Length is another issue with this sophomore album. Even before removing the first few songs, the total length is only 35 minutes. Should you buy "Slow & Steady Seduction?" Coming from somebody who's been listening to Anya since the "Exercises in Racketeering" EP was first released, yes. "Slow & Steady Seduction, Phase II" is a good album, but if you're new to Anya Marina, start with "<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Miss-Halfway/dp/B000HKKREC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Miss Halfway</a>."
1355662
Give it a few listens.  It grows on you.  I think it is a pretty good album.  Not like some of their better known earlier albums, but I have been listening to it regularly the last few nights.  Give it a chance and you may change your mind about it.
341900
Not as good as the first album, but contains many songs that I continue to play months later.  Run, Hallow Moon, I am are the ones everyone should already know, if you listen to the radio - but there are also some other gems here.  An album I can listen to all the way through without needing to skip a song.
4153307
I read a lot of reader reviews for this album and I realize that a lot of fans are disappointed.  That being said and understood, this is a great album that really improves after a few listens.  Brett is still treading water lyrically, but manages to put together a few great lines here and there.  The music, though, is mostly gorgeous and contrary to one of the reviews I read here, Richard Oakes's guitar playing is a highlight, not a detriment.
Anyway, I'm a longtime fan who still thinks that Suede are something special.
1991376
I am not one to blindly rate everything an artist does with 5 or 4 stars simply because I am a huge fan of everything they've done prior. Nor am I the guy who will slam an artist I like because they grow or need to move in a new direction. That said, after listening to this album multiple times over the last few months to give it time to grow on me, I would say that it is Banhart's weakest album for multiple reasons. This work is sounding more and more synthetic, if not even chintzy on some cuts - and is starting to hone more closely to familiar aspects of indie rock. As much as  I liked a track like "Fr Hildegard von Bingen," oddly my ears heard Bossanova era Pixies in it and early Modest Mouse. Many of the songs feel overcrowded with instrumentation without contributing to any melody, hook or textual relevance. It is one of the cases where even though there ARE good tracks and strong points, 7 albums and a few EPS in, you're probably going to be reaching for older albums when you want your Devandra fix. This is the case with most artists who get past album 5 or 6.  Changing musical styles, the drift away from their original vision, the exhaustion of finding something new to say and our own over familiarity with artists we like all contribute to this response. I don't necessarily object to more intricate production or the addition of keyboards or synths in work like this, but I don't feel it was successfully employed here. Very few artists can reinvent and maintain such a high caliber over time. You listen to Mala and the work and artistry is there...just not freshness, pleasure or even catchiness. It sounds a bit overworked and stale to me.
1150493
At first, I was a little put off by this album because it is so different from his previous work.  But since I have really enjoyed his work with the Posies, and his first two solo albums, I continued listening to "Soft Commands", and found that, though it's not an instantly compelling album, it gets better with repeated listens.

Possibly, the main flaw of the album is that, other than "Don't Die Young", most of the songs fall into the ballad category of songs.  And though they are good songs, I found myself getting a little bored by the lack of extreme tempo changes.  This album would have been easier to listen to, all the way through, in one setting, if there had been a couple more fast and mid-tempo songs thrown into the mix.

That said, around my seventh or eighth time listening to the album, I found that I like these songs a lot better if I listen to them two or three songs at a time, rather than trying to listen to the whole album straight through.  Ken has really written some good, stately songs for this album.  "Known Diamond" and "When U Find Someone" are particularly standouts.

"Known Diamond" might be Ken Stringfellow's best song to date.  It is a very stately, soulful ballad.  It really deserves to be a hit, and a 'standard' that other artists would cover in the future.  I could really hear Elton John or Joe Cocker having success covering this song, even after making changes to make it fit their individual styles.

"When U Find Someone" reminds me of a Beach Boy's style ballad musically, while the story of the songs lyrics reminds me a little of Don Henley's "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" because the basic gist of the story is that "The country may be at war, but ain't it good to be in love with this girl?"

Overall, I find this to be a really nice album.  As I said earlier, you might have to listen to it several times before it really starts coming together for you; and it listens better as individual songs than it does as an album that you can play straight through; but it really does have some good songs that you'll find creeping back into your mind later, when your not listening to the album.
4726057
I loved the first album so much, that I had a hard time with any of the new ones...but after playing this one a few times.  I AM HOOKED.  I love it.
3430851
I actually hated this album the first half dozen times I listened to it, but as I continued to listen and give it a chance I've grown to love it. It's kind of off putting at first, but it will really grow on you and lately it seems like all I want to listen to.
4501862
Can listen for quite a while without getting sick of it.
4562897
I enjoyed this album that I purchased on a whim because of the song "Electric Feel". While at this point it still stands out as my favorite track, there are others that are growing on me. Kids and Pieces of What are certainly working their way into my brain.

Recommended as chill-out or general listening, well worth the money.
1705371
Like some other reviewers, I wasn't impressed the first time I listened to this album and I put it away for a while. For some reason I dug it out a couple of months later and was surprised to find that it had started growing on me like crazy. It quickly became my favorite album and I spent many Saturdays listening to it while tearing around the local park on my skates. The lyrics aren't the most interesting or intelligent ones you'll hear, but this band is more about style than substance -- and style they have in spades.
3358723
I've been a NIN fan for years, and every time a new album comes out, I'm not sure I like it at first. But I give each one a few listens before deciding. After about five times through, I start to really like each one. Hesitation Marks is no different. At first I wasn't so sure I liked it, but after listening to it about 10 times now, I REALLY like it. In today's age we're used to downloading single tracks we like and just listening to those. If you do that, you'll probably end up listening only to Copy of A, Came Back Haunted, and All Time Low. And you would really be missing out on pretty good album if you made that mistake.
3032754
Most Gomez albums take a few listenings before they really grab me, at least the majority of songs. For example, the second I heard the title song from How We Operate, it was an instant favorite, but the rest of the album had to grow on me. I had to overcome the sense that this was just too poppish. Coming after How We Operate, this carries on in a somewhat similar vein, but does have a bit more of the old style Gomez song complexity to it. The first song to really excite me was Airstream Driver, and now several others are making their way.

I got the deluxe CD, which includes a great concert performance from last year in Chicago, mainly the "classics."It was odd to look out at a filled, smoke free auditorium. (Gomez will be at the Fillmore in 2 weeks, and I can guarantee that the air will be very hazy there.)

I was thrilled that Gomez was still touring and releasing new work. With Ian's CD last year, and his seeming to live in LA, I was concerned that Gomez was splitting up.