Luke Haines & Peter Buck Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind
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
The Pink Floyd Research Group
1 mention
"opener The Pink Floyd Research Group imagines unwanted calls"— Record Collector
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
Hot Artists
1 mention
"Hot Artists is exuberantly wonky, its writhing riff"— Record Collector
opener The Pink Floyd Research Group imagines unwanted calls
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
The Pink Floyd Research Group
Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind
Hot Artists
56 Nervous Breakdowns
Sufi Devotional
Children Of The Air
Nuclear War
Me And The Octopus
In Rock
Judy Chicago
Papa John
Radical Bookshop Now
Special Guest Appearance
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Re
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
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The Pink Floyd Research Group stands out for its instinctive, richly layered opener and sets the album's tone.
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The album's strengths are live-in-studio energy, sharp wry lyricism and a blend of poppy hooks with psychedelic swagger.