Welcome, Stranger!
by The Blue Aeroplanes
  • Record Label: N/A
  • Release Date: Jan 6, 2017
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Q Magazine
    Jan 17, 2017
    80
    Happily, after nearly four decades, The Blue Aeroplanes can still bottle lightning. [Mar 2017, p.107]
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  2. Mojo
    Jan 11, 2017
    80
    Here the formula is still fresh and potent, with punchy production, twisting song structures and sweeping choruses. [Feb 2017, p.96]
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  3. Uncut
    Jan 11, 2017
    80
    They nevertheless sound irresistibly fresh and zesty. [Feb 2017, p.23]
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  5. The Observer (UK)
    Jan 11, 2017
    60
    You do wonder what he would sound like with a less self-consciously hidebound band, but once again Langley veers between the mundane (Dead Tree! Dead Tree!) and the captivating (Poetland) with Puckish – and punkish – inconstancy. Ranting here, muttering there.
  6. Drowned In Sound
    Jan 11, 2017
    40
    Welcome, Stranger!, unfortunately, leaves the listener largely nonplussed. And while a lot of these tracks are perfectly nice-sounding, it feels a bit tragic to consign a record by the Blue Aeroplanes to the background.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. abelcomeon
    Mar 7, 2017
    9
    Gerard Langley returns with the band's best album in years. With echos of the band's best album 1990's Swagger, Welcome, Stranger carries aGerard Langley returns with the band's best album in years. With echos of the band's best album 1990's Swagger, Welcome, Stranger carries a wallop. Punchy, melodic guitar lines carry Langley's spoken-word poetry, perfectly delivered. Solid songs throughout, not a clunker to be found, the Blue Aeroplanes have embraced a drum-driven 60's garage rock vibe. "Dead Tree! Dead Tree!" is one of the best songs by the band, period. "Poetland" is profound and lovely.
    An arty, rocking album, Welcome, Stranger is a fine return to form.    … Full Review »
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