Aethiopes
by billy woods
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
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  1. Beats Per Minute
    Apr 21, 2022
    88
    The album’s overwhelming atmosphere invites you to pore over the tracks, to take in each detail the light reaches, then comb over them again for everything you’ve missed.
  2. AllMusic
    Dec 14, 2022
    80
    Densely packed with historical references and acute lyrical imagery, Aethiopes requires numerous listens and extensive research to fully comprehend, yet even on cursory listens, the album's scope, detail, and creativity are highly impressive.
  3. Pitchfork
    Apr 21, 2022
    80
    The album’s final stretch encapsulates its elaborate brilliance.
  5. Sputnikmusic
    Apr 21, 2022
    80
    Tight as heck, gorgeously thematic, lovingly orchestrated, produced within an inch of its life (i.e. well), seamless, vital, other compliments, all of them. An album with a pulse.
  6. The Wire
    Apr 21, 2022
    70
    He remains a fascinating and fearless artist. But one can’t help but miss the outre experiments of Terror Management, where he bombed away over noise rock flurries and sepulchral beat loops alike. [May 2022, p.54]
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User Score
9.2

Universal acclaim- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. spacemanrecords
    Apr 22, 2022
    10
    Billy Woods Aethiopes earns my first 10 this year. This is truly an incredible piece of work that will continue to unfold itself on eachBilly Woods Aethiopes earns my first 10 this year. This is truly an incredible piece of work that will continue to unfold itself on each listen. Hell, I've listened 15 or more times and I still feel this overwhelming sense of misunderstanding of some of the content in here.... Billy Woods, is clearly an intellectual, and he constantly challenges the listener to want a better understanding of the messages and stories being told...

    The production by Preservation... WOW. Allow me to detail my experience with the soundscape... In my first 3 listens I felt a slight bit of disconnection by the simplistic and almost empty sounding beats, yet something about them REALLY drew me in. Something within me was making me want to keep revisiting these sounds despite initially not understanding them... Now many listens later, it feels as though I have unlocked something special, and the sonics speak to me on a deep level...

    Prepare because I am about to make an absurd connection; Much like Bon Iver 22, A Million (one of my favorite all time records), this project REQUIRES the listener to be fully present, and to focus on the soundscapes presented. you must be an "active listener" which lets be honest, is not a priority of the modern day music consumer OR creator.

    My thoughts fully transformed from, "this is so disjointed and maybe I just don't GET it", to "this is an incredibly moving piece of story telling and mood setting". There is a trope where people my age (20s) might say "I was born in the wrong generation" when reminiscing on music of old... Hate to say it folks, but we are living in the absolute pinnacle of musical expression and freedom to create. I feel lucky to be here enjoying it.

    Its a 10. favorite songs are Versailles and Heavy Water    … Full Review »
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