Electrique Album #21: "A CROWD OF OTHERS - PART 1"
Released: December 13, 2010
01 Sleigh Bells - "Tell 'Em"
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Zero"
03 Ladytron - "Destroy Everything You Touch"
04 Liars - "Plaster Casts of Everything"
05 These New Puritans - "Elvis"
06 MGMT - "Flash Delirium"
07 Klaxons - "Echoes:
08 The National - "Mistaken for Strangers"
09 Arcade Fire - "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"
10 Surfer Blood - "Swim"
11 Kasabian - "Butcher Blues"
12 The Faint - "Mirror Error"
13 Foals - "Electric Bloom"
Opening with enough fanfare for its three parts, the ambitiously and mysteriously titled "A Crowd of Others - Part 1" gets things rolling with the gunfire-racketing, cheerleading-like anthem, "Tell 'Em", yet there is nothing at all cheerful about the rest of the album. In fact, it is downright scary. A swirling, bare bones account of the unspeakable (and at times, detestable) horrors within one's mind.
-Expert Witness (MSN Music)
The lo-fi and distorted quality of the songs in this album provided a refreshing change of course to the radio-friendly direction Electrique appeared to be taking with "808" and "Runaway". It is actually rather unsurprising that Electrique resorted to indie rock after exhausting its reserves of catchy but cloying pop hooks but what surpassed expectations is how far(and high) it went. Frankly, it is difficult to compare this with the rest since it is clearly on a totally different level, both musically and thematically.
-XXL
Exchanging the self-empowerment theme of "808" with self-deprecation, "A Crowd of Others - Part 1" tackles alienation within and without. A theme which may be worthy enough to be discussed in an advanced psychology class.
-NOW Magazine
Aside from its differences in musicality and theme with the other Electrique compilations, another really admirable fact about this album is how it was able to present its central concepts without any hints of sentiment. Every song is a cold and calculated statement of fact and not a plea for help.
-Entertainment Weekly
As with some of the best indie albums, there is a real sense of danger here. Listening to it feels like one is rushing towards something sinister, something about to explode, especially in the heart-stopping, cliffhanger finale of the last track, "Electric Bloom". If the first installment is this awesome, what more can listeners expect with the rest?
-Rolling Stone
Listeners will have their eyebrows exercised as they attempt to fathom the meaning behind the vague and literally incoherent lyrics of most of the songs. Filled with allusions, metaphors, and other analogies, "A Crowd of Others - Part 1" will leave you confused until "Butcher Blues" and "Mirror Error" finally explains in more direct words what the whole album really was coming to.
-The Phoenix
As the album draws to a close, one cannot deny the feeling that one has just gone through a unique musical experience. Music this extraordinary may not be for everyone, and others may judge the whole affair as totally disinteresting, and yet what is smart about this album is how it actually anticipates that response. One only has to listen to "Butcher Blues": "I guess you've never been here, by the look upon your faces." One can call this first installment many things but one cannot call it dumb.
-Slant Magazine
Amazing how something which sounds so oblique can hit its target objective so accurately. Its design was failsafe. If you can relate, this is for you. If you cannot, then you're part of the "crowd of others".
-Pitchfork
There are no pretensions here in "A Crowd of Others - Part 1". The music was not made to be different for the sake of being different. There really is no better way to talk about aspects of madness other than these verging-on-the-nonsensical songs. Crazy, incomprehensible, menacing - it is how it sounds.
-PopMatters
The only bad criticism this album will most likely suffer is that, all things considered, it is too advanced for its target audience. Only those with a wealth of experience (both in music and in real life) will be able to like this album as much as how it was meant to be appreciated.
-Absolute Punk
"A Crowd of Others - Part 1" is not the type of album you would play on repeat. It was obviously not meant to be enjoyed in the more conventional sense. It is like a really well-made "talk" movie. It isn't visually stunning nor action-filled nor does it make you feel happy after watching it, but it makes you see things in a different light by making you realize that there is more to your own mind (or the minds of others) you haven't discovered yet.
-Prefix Magazine
***
You are free to download the album here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/1noAiDOl/A_Crowd_of_Others_-_Part_1.html
For other recent Electrique album reviews:
"808"
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=465668363304
"Robotboy"
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=413439363304
"Runaway"
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=420327913304
Released: December 13, 2010
album #21, december 2010
01 Sleigh Bells - "Tell 'Em"
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Zero"
03 Ladytron - "Destroy Everything You Touch"
04 Liars - "Plaster Casts of Everything"
05 These New Puritans - "Elvis"
06 MGMT - "Flash Delirium"
07 Klaxons - "Echoes:
08 The National - "Mistaken for Strangers"
09 Arcade Fire - "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"
10 Surfer Blood - "Swim"
11 Kasabian - "Butcher Blues"
12 The Faint - "Mirror Error"
13 Foals - "Electric Bloom"
Opening with enough fanfare for its three parts, the ambitiously and mysteriously titled "A Crowd of Others - Part 1" gets things rolling with the gunfire-racketing, cheerleading-like anthem, "Tell 'Em", yet there is nothing at all cheerful about the rest of the album. In fact, it is downright scary. A swirling, bare bones account of the unspeakable (and at times, detestable) horrors within one's mind.
-Expert Witness (MSN Music)
The lo-fi and distorted quality of the songs in this album provided a refreshing change of course to the radio-friendly direction Electrique appeared to be taking with "808" and "Runaway". It is actually rather unsurprising that Electrique resorted to indie rock after exhausting its reserves of catchy but cloying pop hooks but what surpassed expectations is how far(and high) it went. Frankly, it is difficult to compare this with the rest since it is clearly on a totally different level, both musically and thematically.
-XXL
Exchanging the self-empowerment theme of "808" with self-deprecation, "A Crowd of Others - Part 1" tackles alienation within and without. A theme which may be worthy enough to be discussed in an advanced psychology class.
-NOW Magazine
Aside from its differences in musicality and theme with the other Electrique compilations, another really admirable fact about this album is how it was able to present its central concepts without any hints of sentiment. Every song is a cold and calculated statement of fact and not a plea for help.
-Entertainment Weekly
As with some of the best indie albums, there is a real sense of danger here. Listening to it feels like one is rushing towards something sinister, something about to explode, especially in the heart-stopping, cliffhanger finale of the last track, "Electric Bloom". If the first installment is this awesome, what more can listeners expect with the rest?
-Rolling Stone
Listeners will have their eyebrows exercised as they attempt to fathom the meaning behind the vague and literally incoherent lyrics of most of the songs. Filled with allusions, metaphors, and other analogies, "A Crowd of Others - Part 1" will leave you confused until "Butcher Blues" and "Mirror Error" finally explains in more direct words what the whole album really was coming to.
-The Phoenix
As the album draws to a close, one cannot deny the feeling that one has just gone through a unique musical experience. Music this extraordinary may not be for everyone, and others may judge the whole affair as totally disinteresting, and yet what is smart about this album is how it actually anticipates that response. One only has to listen to "Butcher Blues": "I guess you've never been here, by the look upon your faces." One can call this first installment many things but one cannot call it dumb.
-Slant Magazine
Amazing how something which sounds so oblique can hit its target objective so accurately. Its design was failsafe. If you can relate, this is for you. If you cannot, then you're part of the "crowd of others".
-Pitchfork
There are no pretensions here in "A Crowd of Others - Part 1". The music was not made to be different for the sake of being different. There really is no better way to talk about aspects of madness other than these verging-on-the-nonsensical songs. Crazy, incomprehensible, menacing - it is how it sounds.
-PopMatters
The only bad criticism this album will most likely suffer is that, all things considered, it is too advanced for its target audience. Only those with a wealth of experience (both in music and in real life) will be able to like this album as much as how it was meant to be appreciated.
-Absolute Punk
"A Crowd of Others - Part 1" is not the type of album you would play on repeat. It was obviously not meant to be enjoyed in the more conventional sense. It is like a really well-made "talk" movie. It isn't visually stunning nor action-filled nor does it make you feel happy after watching it, but it makes you see things in a different light by making you realize that there is more to your own mind (or the minds of others) you haven't discovered yet.
-Prefix Magazine
***
You are free to download the album here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/1noAiDOl/A_Crowd_of_Others_-_Part_1.html
For other recent Electrique album reviews:
"808"
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=465668363304
"Robotboy"
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=413439363304
"Runaway"
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=420327913304
No comments:
Post a Comment