Foil Deer

Speedy Ortiz - Foil Deer
Critic Score
Based on 28 reviews
2015 Ratings: #167 / 1021
User Score
Based on 156 ratings
2015 Rank: #306
Liked by 2 people
April 21, 2015 / Release Date
LP / Format
Carpark / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
DIY

A snarling, twisted, mischievous creation, ‘Foil Deer’ is a leaping, high-spirited joy of a record.

90
No Ripcord

With Foil Deer, the band show more strings to their bows than they have with any of their previous releases.

90
NME

‘Foil Deer’ sees Dupuis draw an emphatic line under her past ache for acceptance, angling her angst into sharp bursts of wiry college rock targeting the “riddle-rousing cowards” who made her that way.

85
The Line of Best Fit

This album makes you work, forces you to hit repeat not to relive sweet, instantly gratifying thrills, but to let it root into your brain to understand it better. 

83
Consequence of Sound

Dupuis and Speedy Ortiz walk along intersections effortlessly: now and then, power and fragility, intricate poetry and direct prose, pain and pleasure. Foil Deer does this as well as their excellent debut, but also takes some risks in its growth.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

The band’s strengths are all the same, but they’ve been developed, and their focus seems to have stabilized and sharpened.

81
Paste

Foil Deer never seems out of focus. Dupuis’ voice as a songwriter is growing more captivating with every release, her songs’ direction streamlined without growing predictable.

80
Drowned in Sound

With its genre manipulation and intensely poetic, socially aware lyrics, Foil Deer is a stronger, more assertive record with more to say for itself. 

80
Alternative Press

From the mangled hip-hop grooves of “Puffer” and the grimy guitar acrobatics on “Raising The Skate” to the screeching noise jags lurching through “Homonovus,” Foil Deer is a meticulous collection which deconstructs convention.

80
PopMatters

There’s enough on Foil Deer to show that Sadie Dupuis and Speedy Ortiz can be the captain and the boss of this generation of indies.

80
AllMusic

Song for song, this is some of Speedy Ortiz's best work yet.

79
Pitchfork

As the band continues to evolve around and with her, Speedy Ortiz’s music finally sounds as complex as its leader dares to be.

75
A.V. Club

Even if Speedy Ortiz isn’t afraid to take chances, its strength still lies in ’90s-minded indie rock that’s become its calling card. For the slackers of the world, that’s good enough.

70
Exclaim!

There was a sense that this record would be Speedy Ortiz's great leap forward. Instead, we get some tentative baby steps in the right direction, as the band settle for just really good instead of truly great.

70
Rolling Stone

Foil Deer is an upswing from the listless cynicism that clouded their 2013 breakout, Major Arcana: This time, Dupuis and fellow guitarist Devin McKnight take charge.

70
FasterLouder

Growing pains haunt some of the deeper cuts, stalling on mid-tempo attempts at maturation that, while admirable, don’t further their songwriting craft in the way they would have hoped.

70
musicOMH

Foil Deer isn’t an easy listen but it is a compelling one.

70
SPIN

Winging away from Major Arcana‘s dark, tense pockets ... stretches Speedy Ortiz thin at times on Foil Deer. But Dupuis doesn’t care.

60
Loud and Quiet

Some of the instinctive live energy of previous releases is lost amidst the precision and tracks could do with being rougher around the edges.

60
Under the Radar

It's difficult, ambitious, and very diverse. And while it's fun to see such a promising band trying to make big leaps, Foil Deer only succeeds when Sadie Dupuis and company stick to their roots.

Houdanny
54

Bleh

84

See Palehound's, Dry Food

daFigz
78

A smart, savvy record that happened upon me by complete surprise. Several spins later and I'm still digging the sound. This band will get better with time!

Houdanny
54

Bleh

84

See Palehound's, Dry Food

daFigz
78

A smart, savvy record that happened upon me by complete surprise. Several spins later and I'm still digging the sound. This band will get better with time!

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Track List

1Good Neck
1:37
2Raising the Skate
4:14
95
3The Graduates
3:57
90
4Dot X
3:38
70
5Homonovus
3:18
75
6Puffer
2:46
85
7Swell Content
1:48
75
8Zig
4:32
75
9My Dead Girl
4:22
80
10Ginger
2:38
75
11Mister Difficult
3:36
70
12Dvrk Wvrld
4:39
75
Total Length: 41 minutes
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Added on: January 21, 2015