- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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For Screening Purposes is worth checking out for those who like their music prickly but with an undercurrent of pop to it, too.
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BillboardThe deafening dialectics often feel contrived, making Test Icicles sound like a fun "project," not a real band. [28 Jan 2006]
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BlenderDeadening, obnoxious stuff. [Mar 2006, p.115]
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The lack of variety here is as unsurprising as the rehashed chord progressions between songs.
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Without question, for all its eclecticism, "For Screening Purposes Only" is a dumb, disposable record that no one will listen to in 12 months' time.
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It's a fairly fun album, albeit not one that sticks with you.
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Entertainment WeeklyHalf the time it's a match made in hipster heaven. [27 Jan 2006, p.85]
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MojoSheer liquid mayhem. [Dec 2005, p.98]
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Unfortunately, it must be said that the results of this musical experiment aren't always as successful as they might have hoped.
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This is a record that wipes the board clean. It's a record that will invigorate and re-energise.
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The UK trio is hard, fast, and viciously catchy, but above all scary.
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'For Screening Purposes Only' reeks with the all-pervading whiff of vapid irony.
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Forgettable.
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For Screening Purposes Only is rock without a filter.
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Q MagazineBristling with invention. [Dec 2005, p.156]
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For Screening Purposes Only reminds you that art and ADD can work together just fine.
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SpinThe frail bodyslams on the band's debut album throb and stagger as if throbbing and staggering were against the grain. [Feb 2006, p.88]
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A highly enjoyable album... one that’s louder than the Liars, more fun than the (new) Strokes, and ten times more dynamic than the Arctic Monkeys.
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They've become a word-of-mouth sensation on the basis of their live shows, which must be amazing, because in their recorded form the Icicles are generic metal caterwaulers.
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The New York TimesThis is music that tries to be over-the-top and uncool: too hard, sometimes. But more often the songs are too contagious and exuberant to dislike.
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If you can get past the hype, you'll find that For Screening Purposes Only is a solid, sometimes spectacular debut from an exciting group of young'uns.
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UncutIt's all far more familiar than might be expected. [Nov 2005, p.111]
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UrbThe songwriting here is stellar enough to overshadow the caustic manner in which Sam Merrann screams simply for the sake of screaming. [Mar 2006, p.119]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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DelroyFunkApr 26, 2006wow, this is just noise, worst album ive heard in the past 5 years
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BrandonHApr 15, 2006
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BenLMar 16, 2006