Shrines

Purity Ring - Shrines
Critic Score
Based on 35 reviews
2012 Ratings: #155 / 1118
Year End Rank: #29
User Score
Based on 565 ratings
2012 Rank: #141
Liked by 43 people
July 24, 2012 / Release Date
LP / Format
Last Gang, 4AD / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

91
A.V. Club
Corin Roddick’s off-kilter instrumentals—warm washes of synths, chopped and pitch-shifted vocal samples, and skittish, hyperactive beats—envelope Megan James’ wistful coo to create a set of remarkable, accessible tunes.
90
The Fly
It’s a record that effortlessly juxtaposes chopped up electronics and ghostly effects with James’ supersweet voice to create eleven strange but simple pleasures.
90
Crack Magazine
Purity Ring have just joined compatriot Grimes in the ranks of 2012’s definitive sound. 4AD basically own us right now.
90
DIY
There hasn’t been an album this genuine, exciting and plain heartfelt since The XX’s debut – it seems inevitable that Purity Ring will go on to garner the same levels of recognition.
90
NME

‘Shrines’ is a euphoric treat in its own right, made all the more thrilling by its heady potential. 

85
Beats Per Minute

Shrines often operates like a series of paintings, each of its pieces a variation on a theme, the full breadth of the artist’s vision only realized within the context of the whole.

84
Pitchfork

Shrines is not about range, instead offering subtly different versions of a single, near-perfect idea.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

Shrines is sure to solidify its fan base while not necessarily changing the minds of those that had written them off.

82
Paste

There are some moments on Shrines where Purity Ring falls back on some of witch-house’s less-lovely tendencies, but those moments are entirely forgivable, given the totality of vision and the strength of execution throughout the rest of the record.

80
The Line of Best Fit
What separates this from the pack though, is that this psycho little workout is delivered with a uniformity of sound, a clarity of intent and a bushel of bold choruses to match the sexualised trauma of Megan James’ bold, bright and brilliant lyrics.
80
Drowned in Sound

There is something so deft about this LP that you can’t help but feel that it is more than merely a by-product of its kooky genesis.

80
The Skinny
This is glistening, perfect pop music with a vein of cold, dark intelligence running through it. Utterly enchanting.
80
musicOMH

Ignore the undertones of James' lyrics and you'll find an album that provides a fair few moments of pop brilliance.

80
No Ripcord

Purity Ring has crafted an album in Shrines that stands head and shoulders above the works of their peers.

80
FACT Magazine

Without compromising their rustic, Grimm fairytale undertone, they’ve turned in a chromed, hi-tech pop album.

80
Consequence of Sound

Shrines isn’t trying to capitalize on some moment where rapid hi-hats and deep bass mix with dream-pop vocals; it manipulates two elements to make something malleable, elusive, sexual.

80
Under the Radar

The record largely blurs together into a gloriously inscrutable haze, but certain songs resonate as sundry, singular experiences.

75
The 405

Shrines isn't perfect, but it's a bold debut and one that hints of potential greatness to come.

70
SPIN

The contrast between Purity Ring's two halves is special and compelling, but Shrines goes over best when Roddick's reverent sound and James' lustful fury synchronize and break you off properly, womb-stem-style.

70
Clash
The Canadian boy-girl duo’s debut is a whirl of delicate dream pop, fuelled by Corin Roddick’s chopped hip-hop beats and Megan James’ coquettish vocal stylings.
70
AllMusic

As it stands, Shrines is a fine debut, full of lighter-than-air synth pop that manages to be dark, sparkling, innocent, and knowing all at once.

70
Resident Advisor

Shrines melds the blurry mesmerism of Tri Angle acts like Holy Other and Balam Acab with slow-pitched R&B reclines and the kind of artfully-constructed but spacious pop of 4AD's second phase heyday.

60
Slant Magazine

Purity Ring is trying to do too much, and true to the less-is-more adage, the busier Shrines gets, the emptier it feels.

60
The Needle Drop

Purity Ring's approach to synth pop on Shrines blurs the line that separates dark and cute. While it brings the new LP some unique qualities, the overall experience of these eleven tracks is a bit one-dimensional.

60
Rolling Stone

That sense of distance permeates the music: dark, mutable, likably repetitive  synth whirr that recalls artfully creepy bands like the Knife.

60
PopMatters

Shrines holds skyward a handful of some of the finest offerings Planet Pop can muster in 2012, yet as an “album experience” it ultimately fails to merit a new religion.

45
XLR8R
Purity Ring suffers from the all-too-popular idea that pitch-shifted vocal samples and well-calibrated washes of reverb are enough to create haunting, enigmatic music, as opposed to crafting singular worlds of sound that convey the soul of their creator and resonate within the listener.
40
Tiny Mix Tapes
Catchy? Yes. Concerned with synthesis beyond reverb-leavened juxtaposition? Perhaps not.
bitterblossom12
87

I love this album I miss summer 2012.

depechemode4lif
58

A worse and more dated Grimes

KaneBumpy
87

Purity Ring used to be one of my favorite bands back in the day, and after giving this a relisten, I completely understand why. Fineshrine and Grandloves are brilliant tracks

Zuppy
95

So fucking good

indigomaria
60

very cool, some quite recognisable but i dont think synthpop is for me

sillyfunnyguy57
80

this album puts u in a trance like no other synth pop album combine that with so many creative lyrics. fineshrine is such a detailed love song.

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Added on: April 24, 2012