(Everything is) parenthetical…
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[5.71]
Edward Okulicz: I am a confirmed “Here (In Your Arms)” devotee, because it’s still both a near-perfect wuss rock song, and an outstanding example of how some canny choices can mask a singer’s inherently annoying qualities. Forrest Klein has a few of those — not only does he have that kind of pathetic whine you normally only get in sensitive acoustic Brit singer songwriters, he also gets sulky. The power-pop is just powerful enough to get the song over the line — wimping out over chunky beats is a fail-safe for the weak.
[6]
Jonathan Bradley: In a year in which Daft Punk glimmered bright but underwhelmed and The 1975 were unexpectedly essential, why not make room for a combination of the two in the form of a comeback from a mid ’00s pop-emo afterthought? Hellogoodbye retain the retro-pop cheese but lose the twinkling ache, which merely makes “(Everything is) Debatable” the next dot point on their career trajectory; they never made better material than the instant messenger punk of their debut EP.
[5]
Juana Giaimo: After the popularity of “Here (In Your Arms)” faded away long time ago, most people forgot about Hellogoodbye. But not only is the band still together, they have just released their third album! For those like me who have been absent for this band’s career, it’s surprising and a relief to hear Forrest Kline’s tender voice without the excess of Auto-Tune. But for the rest of the track, it’s easy to notice that the band was heavily influenced by Passion Pit’s synthpop to the point in which it sometimes lacks some identity. However, the “du-ru-du”s work (as they always do).
[7]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: So you guys are jocking first-album Passion Pit now, right? Goofy Motion City Soundtrack and second-tier synthpop didn’t work out for you before? The Drive Thru legacy has to live on somehow, I suppose.
[3]
Will Adams: It’s not embarrassing; it’s debatable. It’s not science; it’s arbitrary. It’s not a clear path to which we’ve assigned ourselves; it’s random, but we still dance to it. It’s spritely Passion Pit pastiche, but it’s so much more.
[9]
Alfred Soto: My files don’t lie: I reviewed “Here (In Your Arms).” I don’t remember. Embalming second tier Blink-182 punk pop with electroglaze, it augured Foster the People. Little’s changed besides someone slipping Forrest Kline a few Cut Copy albums.
[5]
Brad Shoup: His baleful vocals dropped back a level. The groove is nice, quite up to date, but he seems almost… sullen, as if he’s tired of interacting with hooks.
[5]