“Preoccupations thrive in the shadows on New Material”
“The band’s third full-length is an easier and more melodic entry into their spindly post-punk. Here, their defeatism takes on a new tenor: battle-worn, sincere, and not quite so antagonistic.”
“The last Preoccupations record had them facing up to an identity crisis; they were having to ditch the Viet Cong moniker, the fallout from which had followed them incessantly even as the self-titled debut that they’d released under the name had been meeting with rave reviews. As inelegantly as they dealt with the controversy to begin with, when they finally faced up to the issue and reinvented the”
“New Material's subjects are too broad for incisive commentary, and its themes of disenfranchisement and helplessness are played too straight for dark comedy. Ultimately, it's about as expressive as those one-word titles would suggest. ”
“New Material is Preoccupations' most lackluster album so far.”
