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http://www.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/4ac36397b6b45fbc6ff2a2bcc33921e0b8c1f45e.jpeg Simple Math

Manchester Orchestra

Simple Math

Columbia
Rolling Stone: star rating
Community: star rating
5 3 0
May 10, 2011

Manchester Orchestra wunderkind Andy Hull crystallizes a moment when "indie rock" isn't afraid to shout its personal failings to the upper arena tiers (see also: Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket). Simple Math is more intimate and more massive than Manchester's previous sets, as the Atlanta group supersizes the kitchen-sink approach of fellow Georgians in the Elephant 6 collective to depict a panoply of crises: spiritual, marital, chemical, whaddya got? "Virgin" uses a children's choir and steroided Salvation Army brass to parse lost trust; elsewhere, pop-metal guitar and prog-rock strings magnify the personal details. It's tough to look away.

Listen to "Simple Math": 

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