Minor Victories

Minor Victories - Minor Victories
Critic Score
Based on 22 reviews
2016 Ratings: #626 / 1004
User Score
Based on 86 ratings
2016 Rank: #277
Liked by 4 people
June 3, 2016 / Release Date
LP / Format
Fat Possum / Label
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Skinny

Minor Victories is frequently beautiful, and it’s the subtle application of the abrasive (on tracks such as Out To Sea) where this project really comes into its own; a few listens in, and captivation becomes its own reward.

80
PopMatters
In both exigency and tranquility it moves naturally; an unforced alchemy simultaneously specific to and outside of time and place.
80
AllMusic

While Minor Victories builds on its members' legacies, the band sounds more excited about the present and the future than looking back.

80
DIY
At no point of this record are you left hoping for another Editors anthem or new Slowdive music – yes that would be wonderful, but we now have Minor Victories to savour. Hopefully they’re here to stay.
75
Consequence of Sound

Minor Victories is the work of intimacy and candor. It goes beyond a one-off project and instead becomes a contained piece of longing and hurting. The cohesion behind it all should be the envy of any band whose members have the luxury of being in direct vicinity of one another.

70
Drowned in Sound

Minor Victories is a thoughtful and regal opening bow, but you’ll want for a little more teeth when Act Two comes into play.

70
Under the Radar

Overall, the experiments that succeed in Minor Victories pull the weight of the ones that don't and the collective product is praiseworthy from the standpoint of its dispersed alchemy alone.

60
Pitchfork
What’s missing ... is the central promise of a supergroup: the thrill of hearing established musicians in a truly different context. Minor Victories’ lineup may stem from different circles, but their approaches are so complementary that there’s rarely any tension or surprise.
60
Clash

The album sounds exactly like you would expect it to ... Throughout ... the frustration bubbles under the surface for the listener, that, competent and effecting as this album is, it could have been so much more. 

60
Loud and Quiet
Minor Victories don’t especially sound like any of the three projects that make up its membership and have forged a sound of their own, although not an especially revolutionary one.
60
Exclaim!

It's hard to maintain interest in an album whose ten tracks stretch out to 50 minutes with such little range.

60
No Ripcord

Minor Victories predictably commingles lengthy passages and oodles of noise with a gothic insouciance, occasionally touching on slight shoegaze elements to deliver a coherently attractive voyage that tends to linger in its perpetual gloom.

50
Paste

There are signs this side project could become the main project for everyone involved. There’s some beautiful string parts, synth that rolls off sullenly into a distant horizon, and a pretty mean glockenspiel on “For You Always,” but the vocals ruin it. They don’t fit at all. It makes the album hard to swallow in the end, like an amazing deep dish pizza covered in green onions.

ShoegazeJake
80

If you like Rachel Goswell of Slowdive, and would like to hear her vocals complimented by heavier, more post-rock / indie-rock instrumentals? Then this is for you.

Fallendomino
67

A supergroup, in my opinion, rarely lives up to expectations. Somehow, the parts are greater than the whole when it comes to supergroup formations--sorry Aristotle. That isn't to say there are no fantastical moments in "Minor Victories". For instance, the strings in "Breaking My Light" lend a grandiose sound to the song making it worthy of an epic finale (although it's the third track). However, the album only has fleeting moments where everything comes together elegantly; ... read more

Purchasing Minor Victories from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?


Added on: February 22, 2016