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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005)
by Bright Eyes
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...
83
Entertainment Weekly
These B sides and studio ephemera, by turns folksy and noisy, demonstrate his appeal. [27 Oct 2006, p.73]
75
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.

75
The Phoenix
Noise Floor is a smattering of moods and modes all tied together by Oberst’s love-it-or-loathe-it voice.

70
New Musical Express
Each tune is utterly lovely in its own right, but--my God--are they depressing. [7 Oct 2006, p.39]
70
All Music Guide
This captures a less self-conscious Oberst, which is often a better Oberst.

70
Rolling Stone
Several of these [tracks] match Oberst's best work.

70
Blender
This orderly collection of messy leftovers suits his disheveled talents. [Nov 2006, p.137]

70
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.

70
Under The Radar
Half of the fun of this collection is watching Oberst working out his dead ends. [#15]
67
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.

64
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.

60
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.

60
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.

60
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.

60
Uncut
Sometimes enthralling, sometimes throwaway. [Nov 2006, p.120]
60
Q Magazine
A set of modestly sparkling gems. [Dec 2006, p.147]
50
Spin
There's a lot of Conor the Character Actor in these folk-rock set pieces. [Nov 2006, p.96]
50
Amazon.com
Noise Floor presents a mixed bag that will enthrall hardcore Conorites but leave others frequently reaching for the skip button.

39
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.
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