Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind by Luke Haines & Peter Buck

Luke Haines & Peter Buck Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind

80
ChoruScore
1 review
Early read
Jul 25, 2025
Release Date
Cherry Red Records
Label
Early read Broadly positive consensus

Early read based on 1 professional reviews. Luke Haines and Peter Buck revive a kinetic partnership on Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind, a record that channels live-in-basement grit into barbed pop songwriting. The opening impression answers the question of whether the collaboration succeeds: critics find it invigorating, anchored by taut performances an

Reviews
1 review
Last Updated
Nov 23, 2025
Confidence
90%
Scale
0-100 critics
Primary Praise

The Pink Floyd Research Group stands out for its instinctive, richly layered opener and sets the album's tone.

Primary Criticism

Shared criticism is still limited across the current review sample.

Who It Fits

Best entry point: start with The Pink Floyd Research Group and Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind.

Standout Tracks
The Pink Floyd Research Group Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind Me And The Octopus

Full consensus notes

Luke Haines and Peter Buck revive a kinetic partnership on Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind, a record that channels live-in-basement grit into barbed pop songwriting. The opening impression answers the question of whether the collaboration succeeds: critics find it invigorating, anchored by taut performances and Haines' sly, half-asleep lyricism.

Across one professional review the album earned an 80/100 consensus score from Record Collector, which highlights standout tracks as clear entry points. “The Pink Floyd Research Group”, the title track “Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind” and “Me And The Octopus” emerge as the best songs on the record, praised for their glitter-band swagger and melodic immediacy. Additional cuts like “Hot Artists” and “Nuclear War” are singled out for balancing scabrous wit with poppy muscle, showing critics consistently value the album's tight arrangements and ironic lyrical turns.

While only a single professional review is aggregated, the consensus suggests this collaboration is a rewarding follow-up for fans of both songwriters, marrying Buck's chiming textures with Haines' caustic wit. The record stakes its place in both artists' catalogs as a compact, spirited set of standout tracks that make a persuasive case for listeners wondering if Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind is worth seeking out.

Critics' Top Tracks

The standout songs that made critics take notice

1

The Pink Floyd Research Group

1 mention

"opener The Pink Floyd Research Group imagines unwanted calls"
Record Collector
2

Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind

1 mention

"blunderbuss title track, which shares echoes of R.E.M.'s Monster riffage"
Record Collector
3

Hot Artists

1 mention

"Hot Artists is exuberantly wonky, its writhing riff"
Record Collector
blunderbuss title track, which shares echoes of R.E.M.'s Monster riffage
R
Record Collector
about "Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind"
Read full review
1 mention
88% sentiment

Track Ratings

How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.

View:
1

The Pink Floyd Research Group

1 mention
90
04:09
2

Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind

1 mention
88
02:40
3

Hot Artists

1 mention
85
03:22
4

56 Nervous Breakdowns

1 mention
80
02:58
5

Sufi Devotional

1 mention
73
03:18
6

Children Of The Air

0 mentions
03:52
7

Nuclear War

1 mention
83
03:10
8

Me And The Octopus

1 mention
85
02:13
9

In Rock

1 mention
78
03:06
10

Judy Chicago

1 mention
80
03:09
11

Papa John

1 mention
80
03:19
12

Radical Bookshop Now

0 mentions
02:57
13

Special Guest Appearance

1 mention
80
02:29

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What Critics Are Saying

Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album

Re

Record Collector

Unknown
Jul 24, 2025
80

Critic's Take

Luke Haines and Peter Buck sound replenished on Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind, and the best songs - notably “The Pink Floyd Research Group”, “Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind” and “Me And The Octopus” - show why. The record thrives on taut, live-in-basement energy, a glitter-band swagger and Haines' ingenious, half-asleep lyrical flashes. “Hot Artists” and “Nuclear War” further underline the album's mix of scabrous wit and poppy muscle, making these tracks the top places to start when hunting for the best songs on this album.

Key Points

  • The Pink Floyd Research Group stands out for its instinctive, richly layered opener and sets the album's tone.
  • The album's strengths are live-in-studio energy, sharp wry lyricism and a blend of poppy hooks with psychedelic swagger.