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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Broken Ear Record

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Astralwerks / DFA
Release Date: 06 September 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Experimental, Electronic
Summary
This is the fourth album for the Brooklyn noise-rockers.
Also By This Artist: Creature Comforts Load Blown Repo
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Terrestrial Tones: Dead Drunk
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Alternative Press
It's the best post-retro, pre-futurist, avant-antiquarian psychedelia of 2005. [Nov 2005, p.226]
Pitchfork
It's flighty, frustrating, and at times a little frigid, but intelligent and never lacking in momentum.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
It's less glossy than either of its full-length predecessors... and in addition to a bit of grit there is a stronger rhythmic center to what is happening here as well.
Read Full Review >Prefix Magazine
Broken Ear Record... seems to embrace a certain sense of pop influence, albeit far beneath the manic din of sonic exploration for which the band is known.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Tinnitus never sounded so good. [3 Sep 2005, p.74]
PopMatters
Broken Ear Record is a jittering jumble of giddy good times, slow rolling drone tones, fuzzy orange phasers, and disjointed jalopy junk beats. It is sound for the sake of sound, relieved of any expectation and allowed to roll around about and in the ears as freely as the pulse it projects.
Read Full Review >Urb
This glorious racket... has a beating, hideous heart to it. [Oct 2005, p.76]
Blender
There are magical, creepy moments here. [Nov 2005, p.131]
Under The Radar
For noisenicks, this is your makeout music. [#11, p.109]
Delusions of Adequacy
Although music lovers who normally don’t appreciate experimental noise will find some things of interest here, this is really an album for people who dig material a bit more avant-garde.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
Black Dice doesn‚t shy away from risks, and this record is just as daring as Beaches and Canyons or Creature Comforts.
Read Full Review >Playlouder
This is a record that brattily demands total attention, and as such, will either be lauded as a bold journey, or derided as pretentious indulgence.
Read Full Review >Uncut
The success rate is variable. [Oct 2005, p.94]
Stylus Magazine
Broken Ear is limited and bogged down with its exacting and overriding sense of rhythm and lack of true sonic experimentation.
Read Full Review >Splendid
Although the group's previous outings routinely got bogged down in forced experimentalism, Broken Ear Record at least keeps the pace sufficiently frantic, which allows us to excuse some (if not all) of its more self-indulgent moments.
Read Full Review >Dusted Magazine
Where Beaches blended human touch and electricity to create heart-stopping climaxes and an air of constant expectancy, Broken Ear attempts a streamlined repetition of the formula with much more emphasis on the electricity, and the whole does not equal the sum of the parts.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Too much... is just art for art's sake. [Oct 2005, p.121]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Sean T gave it an8:
excellent sounds that i have never heard before.
Nick M gave it a10:
My favorite album of 2005 so far.
Walter E gave it a9:
Fucking good, anyway.
Michael G gave it a10:
One of BDs best. What formula? That's just nonsense. AND the album cover of the year hands down.
MB gave it a10:
One of the strongest albums to come out this year. Pop brilliance from the boys who just won't let up. Intense. Rhythmic. Sounds from another world and one in which I'd gladly pitch a tent. And make sure to see them live. They stun.
