Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Martin C. Strong | 8/10 |
| Melody Maker | favorable |
| Musician | favorable |
| Pitchfork Media | favorable |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Spin | favorable |
| Sputnikmusic | 4/5 |
| Yahoo! Music | mixed |
Although it did not chart, Congregation received very positive reviews from music critics upon its release. Michael Azerrad of Rolling Stone called it "superb". Daniel Fidler of Spin called the album "a clean move toward musical excellence" and commented that it "shows the band bursting its Sub Pop chains with catchy, heavy guitar riffs, downright lovable song arrangements, melodies that jerk your emotions back and forth, and yes, endearing, raspy vocals that wail, moan, scream, and shout". Brad Webber of the Chicago Tribune described the album as "a more accessible brand of music than normally associated with the Seattle-Minneapolis axis of grunge guitar groups." He found The Afghan Whigs to be "on rock's cutting edge" and commented that the band "stirs a torrent of emotions on neatly paced songs".
J. D. Considine of Musician characterized the band as "clever enough to find hooks in the sort of gnarled riffs and guitar noise Fugazi plays for atmosphere", as well as "canny enough to avoid most of the mannerisms that make much Amerindie rock seem so cliched." Considine concluded in his review, "The best reason to join this Congregation is that the songs are catchy enough to hold their own against the best work of bands like Dinosaur Jr. or the Replacements." In a mixed review, Option commended the album's "sheer listenability", "clear recording and dynamic performances", but criticized Dulli's subject matter and panned the band's cover of "The Temple". Melody Maker ranked the album number 25 on its year-end best albums for 1992.
With the album's critical acclaim and their steady touring, the band attained a cult following and was courted by several major labels who wanted to sign them. Frustrated with the distribution limitation of a small record label, they signed to Elektra Records after their final release for Sub Pop, an EP of soul cover songs called Uptown Avondale (1992). Their major label debut Gentlemen was released in 1993 to critical acclaim and mainstream exposure.
Read more about this topic: Congregation (album)
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