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Apocalypse
by
Apocalypse Image
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 32 Ratings

  • Summary: Bassist Stephen Bruner collaborated with Flying Lotus on his second release infused by jazz, soul, and electronic music elements as Thundercat.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Delusions of Adequacy
    Sep 5, 2013
    90
    Bruner has elevated his game into something worth noting and more importantly, worth following.
  2. musicOMH.com
    Jun 3, 2013
    90
    This album is the full realisation of his talent as a bass player, musician and, most importantly, a songwriter. Apocalypse is, in short, a supreme triumph.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    Jun 21, 2013
    90
    Apocalypse is very literally a rewarding and difficult second album, with its roots in tragedy and loss and its furthermost fronds in hope and moving forward, an album that challenges listeners with an incredible level of subtlety, hidden depths and wash of openly expressed emotion.
  4. NOW Magazine
    Jun 3, 2013
    80
    If neither the lyrics nor bass lines break your heart, you might not have one.
  5. Clash Music
    Jun 14, 2013
    80
    While he’ll probably never eclipse the flaming star that is label boss FlyLo’s reputation, Bruner here shows that he’s both his collaborator and peer, fusing a multi-genre musical mentality with a brilliantly sharp edge of accessibility.
  6. Exclaim
    Jun 4, 2013
    80
    The album's winning touches come from Bruner's soulful vocal melodies. They're a calming element tying each of the record's varied creative efforts together beautifully.
  7. Slant Magazine
    Jul 8, 2013
    60
    Here Bruner again shows that he has the tools for crafting tuneful compositions, but presents little that's dynamic enough to anchor an entire album, resulting in innocuous background burbles that never come off as especially attention-grabbing.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. CiphirSol
    Dec 3, 2014
    10
    Thundercat AKA Stephen Bruner is a longtime session musician who I believe is just now coming into his own and getting the attention heThundercat AKA Stephen Bruner is a longtime session musician who I believe is just now coming into his own and getting the attention he deserves. Fantastic album for studying, writing or otherwise doing something creative. It can fade into the background just as well as it can jump out and grab you.… Collapse
  2. Andremax
    Jul 12, 2018
    9
    The most versatile Thundercat album, mixing organic and electronic with maestry. Creativity, daring, musicality, groove and virtuosity makesThe most versatile Thundercat album, mixing organic and electronic with maestry. Creativity, daring, musicality, groove and virtuosity makes presence start to end.… Expand
  4. Brutaljuice
    Jul 31, 2013
    8
    This Album was for Austin Peralta, his bandmate who passed away. The bass lines and lyrics are meaningful and you have to really listen to theThis Album was for Austin Peralta, his bandmate who passed away. The bass lines and lyrics are meaningful and you have to really listen to the album to appraciate what he has done. Though it may not be as good as The Golden Age of the Apocalypse for some, it does shine. It's an honest and sometimes raw album with a lot of emotion pouring through.… Expand
  5. Sarge
    Jul 17, 2013
    6
    I'll start by saying this is not my type of music, and I only listened to the album digitally online via Rhapsody, but the quality was great.I'll start by saying this is not my type of music, and I only listened to the album digitally online via Rhapsody, but the quality was great.

    Nice first couple of track. Good background music. The mood of the album changes to a bit of medium paced funk that is soft toned with a soulful vocal that is more in focus on 'Special Stage'. The next song 'Tron Song' keeps the soulful melodic vocals in most of the spotlight, but brings back the leftfield style, which is a good combo on the track, although a bit schizophrenic at times.

    With the sixth song, somewhat ironically called 'Seven', the vocals disappear (almost) completely, and Thundercat's leftfield experience shines through with the addition of a nice funky guitar solo toward the end. Full quality traditional funk is on display with the humorous 'Oh Sheit It's X'. Thundercat loses me on "Without You" which is a little a too far out there and spread apart. I give him a pass because the next song 'Lotus and the Jondy" is great in so many ways including a cool background drum with solo halfway through that takes the song to a nice nightclub-style ending.

    The album bounces around with style and genre, but ends with a very good outro called "A Message for Austin Praise the Lord Enter the Void" which is a song with an orchestral inspired intro with string instruments, pauses in the middle and then transforms into what I could call a tribal lullaby that toys with becoming leftfield-ish, but just skims the surface of the style.    … Expand
  6. tequileros97
    Sep 22, 2013
    5
    This album doesn't feel as great as The Age of Apocalypse. His singing on most of his songs seem worse than on his previous album. There wereThis album doesn't feel as great as The Age of Apocalypse. His singing on most of his songs seem worse than on his previous album. There were only a small handful of tracks I enjoyed, like the closing track A Message for Austin. I would recommend listening to his first album before you check out this one.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Best Album of 2013
86
#86 Most Shared Album of 2013

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