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Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005)
by Bright Eyes


7.4

based on 19 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 16 votes
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Rate this album

Bright Eyes @ Saddle Creek

This B-sides, rarities and covers compiliations includes 16 Conor Oberst tracks of varying fidelity from the past eight years.

LABEL:	Saddle Creek
RELEASE DATE:	24 October 2006
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock

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...

Entertainment Weekly

These B sides and studio ephemera, by turns folksy and noisy, demonstrate his appeal. [27 Oct 2006, p.73]

Prefix Magazine

This album works adequately, maybe exclusively, within the folds of Bright Eyes' self-contained space, and that's really not such a bad thing.

The Phoenix

Noise Floor is a smattering of moods and modes all tied together by Oberst’s love-it-or-loathe-it voice.

New Musical Express

Each tune is utterly lovely in its own right, but--my God--are they depressing. [7 Oct 2006, p.39]

All Music Guide

This captures a less self-conscious Oberst, which is often a better Oberst.

Rolling Stone

Several of these [tracks] match Oberst's best work.

Blender

This orderly collection of messy leftovers suits his disheveled talents. [Nov 2006, p.137]

Drowned In Sound

On the whole, Noise Floor is a fascinating concoction of delights that documents the rise of one of underground USA's most prestigious talents.

Under The Radar

Half of the fun of this collection is watching Oberst working out his dead ends. [#15]

Stylus Magazine

It has some nice tracks, some experiments and more than a few keepers, and, yes, it’s almost exclusively a fan-only proposition.

Pitchfork

While the album isn't arranged chronologically, listening to it as such reveals the series of intuitive leaps between lo-fi bedroom folk that emphasized monotonous gloom and cacophonous samples to comparatively laid-back country biased toward majestic arrangements and electronic beats.

musicOMH.com

Part of the problem is that faced with a performer as low-fi and minimal as Conor Oberst in the first place, many of the unfinished demos presented here, such as I Will Be Grateful This Day and Seashell Tale, sound much, much too thin.

PopMatters

The songs on Noise Floor don’t rank with his best, but there’s a reckless spirit to the endeavor that’s alluring, and representative of his music overall.

NOW Magazine

It may not be the best introduction to the band, but it's a must-have for hardcore fans of Conor Oberst's vocal discordance and stripped-down musical tantrums.

Uncut

Sometimes enthralling, sometimes throwaway. [Nov 2006, p.120]

Q Magazine

A set of modestly sparkling gems. [Dec 2006, p.147]

Spin

There's a lot of Conor the Character Actor in these folk-rock set pieces. [Nov 2006, p.96]

Amazon.com

Noise Floor presents a mixed bag that will enthrall hardcore Conorites but leave others frequently reaching for the skip button.

cokemachineglow

It shows little of Oberst’s usual dramatic flair.

The average user rating for this album is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

drew c gave it a9:
these are b-sides??? there are a couple duds (mainly the earliest stuff) but i think very few artists can create non-album tracks this good. his song writing amazes me!

Jeremy F gave it a6:
Not his best, but a few fantastic songs. um... yeah, Kevin. Bryan Adams is a great example. And Isobel Campbell... two in one year. Both exceptional.

Joseph Pie in the sky gave it a5:
Mediocre at best.Not too many quality songs on there, but still easy on the ears

Nasha Crablegs gave it a9:
beautiful, one of my favourite bands of all time.

benzo24 gave it an8:
great song, great album.

Doug R. gave it a7:
Kevin, Ryan Adams actually released three last year. Double album the year before that. Neil Young did two in one year not too long ago. Haven't actually heard this record yet but I like Connor and have heard a lot of his early demos/stuff. So Icansafely give it a 7 no problem.

Kiley L gave it a7:
yeah, ryan adams, 3 in 2005.

Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005) by Bright Eyes

Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005)
by Bright Eyes