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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Load Blown
by Black Dice
The Brooklyn-based band releases their latest album.
| LABEL: |
Paw Tracks |
| RELEASE DATE: |
23 October 2007 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock, Indie |
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...
90
Drowned In Sound
Black Dice still belong in the DIY basement space but with Load Blown they’ve made their most accessible album yet.
90
Tiny Mix Tapes
Possibly the most confident and successful of this third phase of Black Dice, the pieces here make no claims to exist as anything but the welcoming and obtuse freaks of rhythms gone awry.
80
PopMatters
For those looking for a bit of an adventure, this new music is surprisingly accessible.
80
Dusted Magazine
Load Blown is stunning. It engulfs. While sacrificing little if anything to compositional templates, the record is remarkable listenable.
80
The Wire
An excellent showcase of their different approaches. [Oct 2007, p.55]
80
Spin
The layered results are mesmeric, giving their introverted noise a new, laserlike intensity. [Nov 2007, p.114[
80
Village Voice
It's the kind of detailed withdrawal that makes for excellent headphone music.
78
Pitchfork
It's fun to hear Black Dice go straight for the jugular throughout the aptly-titled Load Blown, and hit the mark every time.
75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
the disc is refreshingly user-friendly.
75
Stylus Magazine
Load Blown does more than enough to keep "very" and "awfully," respectively, in the mix.
70
Blender
This is mostly music to zone in and out of--periodically, new sounds and rhythms croip up and coexist in rough approximation of grooves, catching the ear; other times songs drone in the background, either beatifically ot forgettable. [Nov 2007, p.146]
68
cokemachineglow
Load Blown is damaged as a whole, even despite its overwhelming internal coherence that makes for few surprises along the way.
60
Urb
Because the sound is based on repetition, yet it bounces off every wall it touches, the album can be like a bad trip inside the mind of a schizophrenic and new listeners may not be ready, but for the others who’ve supported the band in the past, it can be a welcome respite from the sound they’re used to.
60
Uncut
You leave Load Blown feeling that Black Dice, unlike many of their kin, are actually genuine experimentalists--even if it's with the caveat that sometimes it all rather blows up in their face. [Nov 2007, p.96]
60
Delusions of Adequacy
Load Blown, superficially, is more of the same; sample some 30 second clips online or in your local record store and it's believable that this is a continuation of what they've been doing the past few albums. The entirety, however, exhibits otherwise, and isn't nearly as fulfilling.
60
Q Magazine
The Brooklyn trio have delivered an impressively bonkers set comprising three EPs. [Nov 2007, p.134]
50
Under The Radar
This feels a little lazy, like an ugly electronic quilt, its patchwork of half-assed electronic explorations hitting the mark every so often. [Fall 2007, p.72]
50
Alternative Press
You either listen without prejudice or deem it the most pretentious, boring swill on the planet. [Dec 2007, p.176]
40
New Musical Express
There are glimmers of loveliness in the industrial-calypsos of 'Drool' and 'Bananas,' but that just makes the wilful awkwardness all the more frustrating.
The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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