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Critic Reviews
90
It brims with excitement throughout; packing the same level of excitement and anticipation that fuels a debut album, an effect that is impressive and enviable, as – any band that has lasted beyond a decade will attest – it poses a great challenge to retain the same energy and enthusiasm that artists’ possess in the early stages of their careers.
7y
90
This record is a far cry from a mocking treatise on performativity; it's strongly felt, unceasingly surprising and just a whole lot of fun.
7y
80
White Denim again prove that they are one of the best around.
7y
80
What they now lack in raw, ferocious edginess, they make up for glorious driving riff on Performance.
7y
80
‘Performance’ doesn’t necessarily take White Denim in a drastically different direction, but it captures so many of the different sides of the band’s multi-faceted sound that it feels expansive and wholesome.
7y
80
Performance is, thankfully, anachronistic to the point of absurdity – if you close your eyes anywhere in this record, you’ll be transported to somewhere deep in the '70s, where there are no genres because nobody really cares about that kind of nonsense.
7y
80
White Denim go in hard for glam on their seventh album, but their penchant for psych is never too far from reach and Performance shimmers from end-to-end.
7y
80
This is an album which demands that you give it your full attention, one that suffers from being merely your tag-along friend on tiresome road trips.
7y
70
For a four-piece rock band from Texas, they still remain pretty difficult to classify and almost impossible to ignore. Play loud and enjoy.
7y
70
White Denim's Performance somehow makes you feel like you'll get your shit together; by making complex sounds and riffs seem simple and natural, it evokes a "you got this" feeling within that reassures you everything's going to be alright.
7y
70
In all, Performance is an immensely controlled assortment of what White Denim does best-which might please some and (eventually) bore others.
7y
65
On their shaggy, wild-eyed seventh album, the Austin rockers sound like a band rejuvenated—or, at least, a band that remembers what people liked about its music in the first place.
7y
60
Petralli could have done with somebody reining him in at points here, but if all he set out to do was leave ‘Stiff’ firmly in the rear-view mirror, then he’ll consider ‘Performance’ a resounding success.
7y
60
If you're in search of The New Sound you won't find it here but if you're after some fuzzy Southern rock, warbling organs and drawling vocals ‘Performance’ delivers in spades.
7y
60
Performance may be lacking in progress, but the effortlessness of their experiments is still very much present, and nine albums in, White Denim remain as playful as ever. Overall, longtime fans of the band are likely to be satisfied, if not dazzled, by their latest effort.
7y
▲ = Magazin, Moves On, It Might Get Dark
▬ = Performance, Fine Slime, Double Death, Sky Beaming, Backseat Driver, Good News
▼ =
Very contrived indie psych, over-produced, pulling from just ab every genre imaginable at different times, and there isn't a truly good song to be found as a result of their trying so hard. Maybe Sky Beaming if I were pressed to choose.
Magazin [100]
Performance [97]
Fine Slime [101] (+)
Double Death [97]
Moves On [98]
It Might Get Dark [98]
Sky Beaming [97]
Backseat Driver [97]
Good News [96] (-)
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Track List
| 1 | Magazin 3:38 | 90 |
| 2 | Performance 2:25 | 85 |
| 3 | It Might Get Dark 3:36 | 78 |
| 4 | Sky Beaming 3:18 | 78 |
| 5 | Double Death 3:27 | 85 |
| 6 | Fine Slime 4:45 | 85 |
| 7 | Moves On 3:52 | 70 |
| 8 | Backseat Driver 3:16 | 65 |
| 9 | Good News 4:21 | 73 |
Total Length: 32 minutes
