- Record Label: Kranky
- Release Date: Apr 7, 2007
User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 103 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 71 out of 103
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Mixed: 9 out of 103
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Negative: 23 out of 103
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- Most helpful
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MatthewBJan 4, 2008It's an album people seem either to love or to hate. So at least it's not a mediocrity, which is probably the worst thing of all. I think it's brilliant.
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JonathanW.Oct 6, 2008
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BohoGAug 10, 2009I'd like to know what the people who say this record sound like a fridge or whatever would say if they heard some drone which is genuinely lacking in harmony, or even slightly more obtuse than sotl. i mean wtf this is one of the most innately beautiful albums i've ever heard. people who don't like this just don't understand music.
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AndyB.Nov 18, 2007
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TenchC.Nov 19, 2007Stick to pop music you philistines. This is obviously above you.
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PeterS.Nov 19, 2007Phenomenal
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CaineS.Nov 27, 2007A must for any ambient fan. I listen to this one and "Tired Sounds" all the time when studying and doing homework.
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BrianE.Dec 12, 2007This is a subtle, beautiful album. People that don't get it probably don't understand a thing about ambient music. For shame.
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PeoplePeopleJan 20, 2008Nice Iban. Very thought provoking review "you"wrote there. How about not plagiarizing inches below the review. You just convinced me to buy this.
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BlakeBlakeJan 5, 2008Yeah its pretty, but how much pretty can a person take?
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StuPJan 9, 2008No it isn't for everyone but anyone who can't put on a pair of headphones, close their eyes and feel washed away by the gorgeous soundscapes must be very hard indeed. I have been listening to it constantly whilst marking 31 SAT papers and it has helped a great deal!
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GClarkApr 11, 2008This is just one of the greatest albums ever released in the drone music genre. If you like drone music, chances are you know Stars of the Lid already. If you don't... Well, why are you listening anyway? Drone music uses sustained sounds and is very slow. You've been warned. Stop trolling.
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AmbientFApr 21, 2008Excellent music for late night pondering. Well, for that matter, it is excellent music for any time of the day!
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TommyA.Nov 19, 2007
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LieuG.Nov 20, 2007Probably the most boring album of the year for most. Arguably the best album of the year for some. Undoubtedly the album of the year for me.
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MojoPiNNov 24, 2007Minimalist and beautiful, although I don't think it's the best album of the year. Give that to Radiohead for their strong melodies and lack of fear of experimentation. But as a mind-opening and different experience, yes, slow tones fading in and out with subtle grace and patience do win the day.
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blahblahDec 17, 2007
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CHOct 21, 2008Pretty? Pleasant? It sounds like people need to learn how to listen to other forms of music aside from voice. If voice or repetitive beats are needed to capture your attention, you might want to reconsider voting at all for such an album or genre. This album is simply stunning.
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NathanKNov 15, 2007Fantasticly crafted sounds.
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JohnH.Dec 13, 2007
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Jul 4, 2011
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ChillyB.Dec 2, 2007
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MartyM.Dec 8, 2007If you'd like to hear the next stars of the lid album, lie down next to your fridge for about 50 minutes complete rubbish.
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RobinC.Nov 18, 2007This is a joke,right? These critics have such a wacky sense of humour.
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CarmichaelC.Dec 12, 2007It's liking (or pretending to like) this sort of thing that gives critics a bad name.
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DennyF.Dec 8, 2007The album reminds me of what Brian Eno does better, esp. Music For Airports.
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ChrisCNov 17, 2007Indie kids decided that the new vogue was a bunch of random tones slowly fading in and out? Why didn't they send me a memo?!
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IanM.Nov 21, 2007Wow, this album makes The Field sound like the Chemical Brothers. Can't tell one song from the next.
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EdRNov 21, 2007It's just plain boring, really, isn't it?
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AndrewCNov 26, 2007This is good music for a snooze. As for it's genius, the critics need to stop being pretentious idiots and take the music for what it is rather than what is viewed as hip.
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MattA.Nov 16, 2007This album licks my balls. It's even worse than The Field and so I guess it makes sense in an ironic way that it beats out that atrocity of an album for best of the year on this web site. The critics need to get a clue that they aren't proving anything by raving about this crap. It's aimless electronic nonsense and anyone with ears and half-decent taste in music can tell you that.
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MarkNov 29, 2007As the music drifts in an out of consciousness I found myself doing the same thing. If I wanted to make a physical comparison, this album is something of a desert. Like the deserts dunes this undulating soundscape ultimately leads you nowhere until you die of thirst.
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SpencerTDec 12, 2007The next person who says they love this album MUST explain why it isn't just another 80s/90s sci-fi movie soundtrack. There is NOTHING novel about the sound or melody (both words are singular - not plural) in this album.
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CCDec 14, 2007There's a difference between minimalism and beautiful minimalism, this one falls into the former.
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mrNov 16, 2007finally some respect this is genuinely some of the most brilliant music of our times, and its time people take notice keep the lids on!
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AlexA.Nov 18, 2007Best ambient album I've ever heared.
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6138May 2, 2008Incredible album, every realease of this guys is better and better compared to its predecessors. not foor everyone, but if you like ambient/drone/classical-contemporary music you can't be wrong with this!
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J.K.Nov 17, 2007By the numbers new age ambiance with a compulsively depressive bend. All of the incredibly simple, inoffensive and slow moving compositions offer little in the way of dynamism, depth or progression. The song titles are actually more interesting than the songs themselves. Perfect listening for those quiet nights when you need a little help falling asleep.
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JamieNov 20, 2007
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WeT.Dec 1, 2007This is beautiful evocative stuff that's almost impossible to be classified in a genre. And I even think it's a good thing that there are voters around to give a 1 or 2 star rating. This music isn't for the masses. It is to be savored in a warm place and be given a spin every now and then. My number 1 for 2007.
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EricCAug 19, 2008
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AntonyPSep 11, 2009Just returning to this, I didn't get it at first, but this is really a classic, like in fact most Stars of the Lid records.
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BrennanL.Nov 16, 2007Number one album for 2007? Surely you jest! I like this album too, but this is far from the title of Album Of The Year. It's pretty much a little-more-than-mediocre ambient album.
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JohnE.Nov 16, 2007Probably my favorite Stars of the Lid album to date. It is stunningly beautiful and introspective and combines the best parts of SotL's past works.
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powellNov 16, 2007cue backlash.
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AliciaM.Nov 18, 2007
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CraigW.Nov 18, 2007
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KarlNov 22, 2007I don't like it as much as their previous timeless outing (a bit too new-agey in places) Nonetheless it's nice to see these guys getting some recognition here (album was released like 6 months ago), their last few albums have contained some of the most moving and affecting music I've ever heard, i esp. love avec laudenum and tired sounds.
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MycroftW.Nov 26, 2007Like with the Field I have no idea why the critics have taken to likening this record so much, unlike the Field I in fact quite enjoy listening to it.
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TwoodNov 28, 2007to quote Gertrude Stein "there's no there, there."
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ShaneS.Dec 10, 2007
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IbanLDec 16, 2007Not only is this an inaccessible record but it has no redeeming qualities either. I liked The Tired Sounds of the Stars of the Lid because it had some really beautiful moments on it. Yet this is just so boring and sleep-inducing. 2 hours of absolutely no change. Sincerely, I'm really surprised that people can get to like (and adore) this.
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DDTiredDec 16, 2007Anyone else think that the low scores are all coming from the same bored dude?
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NickD.Dec 2, 2007This album should come pre-packaged with some hard drugs because I'm assuming that's the only way this dreck is enjoyable.
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AlexH.Dec 9, 2007
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PaulCJan 23, 2008
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MattDApr 21, 2008Perhaps the most important music being made today.... Stars of the Lid could just bridge the gap between classical and pop music.
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andymNov 15, 2007usually - when I see a rating this high, I'm skeptical, but I have to say...I agree with all the accolades. This is some of the best ambient music since its beginnings.
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AndrewM.Nov 16, 2007If you're looking for the best album of 2007, your search is over. You have found it.
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MattNov 18, 2007
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MichaelN.Nov 19, 2007I'm not sure what the critics here are thinking because they seem to have a nice chart going and then you look at the top 2 albums and they are just ambient noise. If i want to go to sleep, i'll be a machine that plays ocean noises. If i want to listen to music, i'll put on a record that actually includes instruments and chord progressions.
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DD.Nov 19, 2007Have you ever seen the movie crash? This might be the soundtrack, at least it sounds like it.
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JeremyFNov 22, 2007
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Stevej.Nov 26, 2007Are you kidding me? this record is awful and boring... of all the other minimal electronic out there this is an overall 9.1 i cannot believe it.
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DanielHNov 27, 2007
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discombobulatorDec 18, 2007Stars of the Lid have gotten me through my end of year exams. This was the soundtrack to my study sessions. I'd never heard of them before this.
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DorksHDec 28, 2007Excellent music to fall asleep to. Not much more though. I guess people who like their music really, really slow, yet disturbingly dissonant at times, should give it a listen. At the end of cd1 I'm wondering how it would sound at double or triple speed.
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Jun 23, 2011
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Jan 10, 2013
Awards & Rankings
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It's an awesome thing, this album, and anyone, virtually anyone who encounters it will be in some way moved by the impure music it contains.
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Call it music for lucid dreaming, call it music for daydreams, or call it music for simply strolling in the dusk, this is another album that will stretch time and take you to another place.
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If nothing else, Stars of the Lid have achieved Adam's goal of making music "to really relax to," abjectly defying intent listening, laying waste to the established vocabulary of music production and appreciation.