Coastal Grooves
| Blood Orange
Coastal Grooves
Coastal Grooves is the debut LP record by Blood Orange. It was released August 30, 2011 under Domino Recording Company. The album featured no guest appearances and was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid in Los Angeles. Domino Record Company describes the album as highlighting the glamour and drama of New York City in the 1980s. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Dev Hynes follows Test Icicles and Lightspeed Champion with a new solo project, a highly stylish album that frequently forgoes things like melodies, energy, and vocal choruses in favor of slinky, solitary guitar lines and seductively spare, post-punk atmospherics.
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Drowned in Sound
With a humble ten songs, Hynes banishes our woes and turns a shoulder to the glut of all too mundane music released this year, reminding us that someone can still make a perfectly influenced yet original collection of songs. This is how a record should be made.
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Consequence of Sound
Coastal Grooves is a splash of ideas and potential that never really comes together.
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NME
Soulful, tinged with the glamour and drama of NYC’s ’80s underground.
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The Guardian
On paper, its influences – surf punk, Prince, oriental pop, minimalist dance – smack of hipster posturing, but on record, they blend beautifully.
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Sputnik Music
Let’s just say it doesn’t have me at Hello, but depending on how the second date goes I may give Blood Orange my phone number.
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BBC Music
He’s found his voice now and he’s coasting. A winner.
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Soundblab
I did quite like some of Test Icicles stuff though and I will admit that Blood Orange is an excellent name. It's just a shame about the music.
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Tiny Mix Tapes
You may not be able to get blood from a stone, but that doesn’t mean that you can get it from an orange. Nonetheless, that doesn’t negate the pleasure of its sweet, sweet innards.
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Telegraph
Blood Orange is an irresistible synthesis of Eighties sounds.
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All Music
An album that is fashionably slick, altogether tragic, and deceptively beautiful.
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Exclaim!
At its best it sounds like a less polished Twin Shadow and when it stays close to the dance floor there's something rather appealing about what Hynes does. But there's too much confusion amongst the ten songs to recommend what is an album that is as musically confused as its maker.
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Under the Radar Mag
Coastal Grooves is easy enough on the ears, but the bulk of it doesn’t really connect, and it lacks the melodic gifts and pop sensibilities Hynes so magnificently displayed on “Dinner.”
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Retcon Nation
Some will argue that the album is an underrated classic that's far too out there for the mainstream and some will argue it that it's simply background music for hipsters with no real substance but to be fair, there is a good record here that just lacked the finishing touches to make it great.
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NOW Magazine
A gorgeous album, inside and out.
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The Independent
It's pleasant enough, but on the whole feels like Hynes' sketches towards an album, rather than the finished item.
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Black Plastic
More than anything Coastal Grooves proves Hynes continues to care about his art and that he doesn't care if you care. But trust me, you should.
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Screen Invasion
This is definetly the direction in which Dev Hynes needs to keep heading, further more theres plenty of room to add and improve. This could very well be and hopefully is the start of very good things to come.
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Popped Music
I totally appreciate the fact that, as always, music is very personal and whilst there are elements I really enjoy, other people are totally going to love this album, others will hate it. I think Blood Orange could well just be the new Marmite.
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Culch
Dev’s done it again. And long may he continue!
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Under the Radar Mag
While the adoption of a new moniker was probably unnecessary, it’s suggestive of an artist maturing into the person-slash-pseudonym he actually wants to be, and Coastal Grooves only cements this progress.
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The Line of Best Fit
Like one of the drag dancers of NYC, Hynes seems to be putting on a show and his mask is only a layer of make-up thick. But this doesn’t distract all too much from the clear strength of the record.
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Potholes in My Blog
Coastal Grooves is captivating and deserving of your praise.
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Contact Music
Coastal Grooves is intelligent and engaging without becoming a carbon copy of the music that has inspired it. It could be seen as a musical side step for Hynes, but it's certainly a welcome one.
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Metro
Blood Orange’s Coastal Grooves is an idiosyncratic slice of brooding retro pop.
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The Skinny
The parts don’t distinguish themselves from one another with any great conviction, though the whole stays classy.
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Detroit Sports Nation
Soulful, tinged with the glamour and drama of NYC’s ’80s underground.
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DIY Mag
You can forgive Dev for getting a bit carried away.
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Baeble Music
Coastal Grooves is a city that never sleeps, from the underground to the brightly lit sidewalks.
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Before You Live
Despite how corny Coastal Grooves is, Blood Orange proves himself as a passionate performer and bold producer.
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FACT Magazine
Coastal Grooves suggests it’s one worth sticking with a little longer than usual.
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South Brooklyn Post
Hynes is a blisteringly talented guitarist and musical composer.
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DMC World Magazine
Hynes has alighted on something pretty special here, using his own versatile voice to very effective means. Buy and be surprised.
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