Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best of 2009
Best of 2008
Best of 2007
Best of 2006
Best of 2005
Best of 2004
Best of 2003
Best of 2002
Best of 2001
Best of 2000
Best of the Decade
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
75
2562
54
30 Seconds to Mars
62
50 Cent
71
AC/DC
67
The Album Leaf
52
Kris Allen
68
Tori Amos
66
Animal Collective
84
Animal Collective
77
Annie
57
Apse
63
Asobi Seksu
59
Bad Lieutenant
83
Julianna Barwick
82
Beach House
72
Beak>
72
Bibio
65
Justin Bieber
76
Biffy Clyro
74
Blakroc
75
Mary J. Blige
78
Blockhead
52
Bon Jovi
54
Susan Boyle
57
The Bravery
39
Chris Brown
64
V.V. Brown
70
Basia Bulat
79
Chew Lips
74
Citay
65
Clipse
66
Cold War Kids
75
The Cribs
58
Dashboard Confessional
81
Dave Rawlings Machine
70
Delphic
78
The Doors
58
Echo & The Bunnymen
73
Edan
59
Editors
69
Eels
80
Felt
74
First Aid Kit
69
Flyleaf
83
Four Tet
82
Ben Frost
82
Fucked Up
83
Charlotte Gainsbourg
63
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
68
Githead
65
Joe Goddard
58
Good Shoes
72
Gucci Mane
75
Holopaw
82
Jesca Hoop
79
Hot Chip
72
The Hot Rats
88
Ray Wylie Hubbard
54
Hurricane Chris
66
Allison Iraheta
59
Jay Sean
82
Freedy Johnston
57
Nick Jonas And The Administration
73
Norah Jones
49
Juvenile
58
Ke$ha
62
R. Kelly
66
Alicia Keys
68
Kid Sister
81
King Midas Sound
63
Lady Antebellum
76
Lady GaGa
71
Adam Lambert
78
Lawrence Arabia
61
Leona Lewis
70
Lightspeed Champion
36
Lil Wayne
82
Lindstrom & Christabelle
77
Lissie
78
Los Campesinos!
70
Lostprophets
73
Magnetic Fields
71
Massive Attack
64
John Mayer
71
Paul McCartney
58
Katherine McPhee
86
Memory Tapes
72
Midlake
88
Motion City Soundtrack
63
Mr. Hudson
53
Mudvayne
75
Oh No Ono
70
OK Go
72
Ola Podrida
61
OneRepublic
80
Owen Pallett
90
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
60
Pit Er Pat
63
Priestess
70
Radian
79
Corinne Bailey Rae
54
Rakim
79
Real Estate
77
Retribution Gospel Choir
76
Rihanna
64
Rjd2
65
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
76
Sade
77
Gil Scott-Heron
72
Shakira
82
Shining
61
Snoop Dogg
62
Snow Patrol
71
The Soft Pack
80
Spoon
64
Ringo Starr
59
Stereophonics
76
Angie Stone
79
Surfer Blood
74
Switchfoot
75
Them Crooked Vultures
74
Robin Thicke
50
Timbaland
79
tUnE-YaRDs
80
Vampire Weekend
79
Laura Veirs
79
Tom Waits
78
Wale
66
Kanye West
76
The Whitefield Brothers
64
Robbie Williams
80
Yeasayer
62
Young Money
75
Neil Young
61
Rob Zombie
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Rise Above
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 17 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Dead Oceans
Release Date: 11 September 2007
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock, Indie
Summary
Dave Longstreth reimagines Black Flag's album "Damaged."
Also By This Artist: Bitte Orca
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...
Tiny Mix Tapes
Sonically, Rise Above is just another healthy dose of what Longstreth does best. Anomalous harmonies, quirky time signatures, and spontaneous rock-outs punctuate the album’s 11 tracks.
Read Full Review >Dusted Magazine
The result is one of the most formally radical indie records in recent memory. It also happens to be Dirty Projectors’ all-around best, not least because it most closely recreates the kinetic force of their live performances.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Dirty Projectors leader Dave Longstreth clearly had more than a remake on his mind--a mind whose wandering ways will be worth following for years to come.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Rise Above will drop plenty of jaws, and, like Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors are restructuring rock on a compositional level rather than a sonic one.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Dave Longstreth’s vision has always been determined and unique; it has never been this clear or viscerally exciting.
Read Full Review >Spin
It just might be a masterpiece all over again. [Nov 2007, p.118]
The Wire
It's an extraordinary and compelling celebration of a hardcore punk classic. [Oct 2007, p.71]
Uncut
It's the clever orchestration that elevates this above postmodern gag, all fluttering pipes and chiming guitar. [Nov 2007, p.98]
Prefix Magazine
Rise Above is deliberately challenging and obtuse; its ceaseless changes and refusal to settle are its most important similarities to Damaged's abrasive and exhaustive loudness. Translating Black Flag's anti-intellectual screed into arty free-jazz concept is one thing. That it actually merits repeat listens is another altogether.
Read Full Review >Lost At Sea
One coup this unexpectedly friendly record makes me miss is when my favorite records used to have a string of highlights as moments rather than memorable refrains.
Read Full Review >Sputnikmusic
Maybe it doesn't have the relevance as the original album, and doesn't quite live up to the legacy, but it is intelligently composed and often moving.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
They comfortably hang in that frustrating chasm between jazz and pop. [Fall 2007, p.79]
Drowned In Sound
There'll always be a suggestion that Rise Above is just namby-pamby, pretentious, art-for-art's-sake bollocks, and those whose ears pricked up at the Black Flag connection may well be disappointed that it rarely bears any similarity to its 'parent' album, but either way, at least it's interesting.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Dirty Projectors' David Longstreth deserves praise for the way he's reinterpreted "Damaged." [Dec 2007, p.116]
Paste Magazine
This is either one of 2007’s most refreshing or most grating albums, and there’s a hair’s breadth in between. Swerving but creative, Rise Above may wear on repeated listens but still it connects more than it should.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Alas, it's unlikely that the applause will stretch to actually wanting to listen as the looping metallic effects, heart-attack drums and seemingly played-backwards female vocals confuse more than impress.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Alex gave it a0:
This album is fucking awful. Good reviews for horseshit like this are why music criticism is a dying art.
Mac Mac gave it a10:
my 2nd favorite album of 2007. amazing, especially depression, rise above, gimme, gimme, spray paint. at first i was with liz - i hated the album - but give it five or six listens and if you still hate it, that's fine. my guess is that you'll end up loving it.
p mmmmm gave it a7:
Interesting concept, good record. i enjoy the contrasting and conflicting sounds, and it often comes together very well, sometimes however it is a pretty challenging listen, and i don't love all of these moments. in response to liz - don't be ridiculous. pitchfork gave this 8.1, while other publications rated it much higher. why not criticise them? oh my god some guy on the internet who writes for one site is killing rock and roll!!!!!! i cannot understand why people seem to think it's 'cool' to bash pitchfork. it's just a website. oh i know, it would be a much better world if some people weren't allowed to express their views. yeah, that makes sense. rock on.
Ryan M. gave it a9:
I can't stop listening to this record. From a songwriting standpoint it's inspiring as hell - with the New Attitude EP and this record, Longstreth is finally figuring out how to combine his jarring compositional instincts with something like pop accessibility. The only thing that occasionally bugs me about the album: in light of its central concept - rewriting Black Flag's "Damaged" album using only the lyrics as an anchor - certain songs seem to miss the mark in kind of an ugly way. "Six Pack", for example, is a great composition, but the change of tone here is so completely opposed to the original that it comes off like it's mocking it. "Police Story" has a bit of this, too. Other songs, however, transcend like crazy - "No More," "Spray Paint (The Walls)," "What I See," "Rise Above," etc.
Thomas K gave it an8:
Very good. The guitars remind me of some excellent African guitar pop i've heard before. Took me a listen or two, but at this point I can't get it out of my head. Buyer beware for anything before this album, though. Still very good, but the real question is: can they write their own lyrics with the same degree of sucess? (This album uses only Black Flag lyrics, with a result that transcends the original product, in both poignancy and auditory bliss.) If allowed I would give this album an 8.5. It is strong. They are pushing the boundaries...
Rowan S. gave it a10:
The way that the instrumentation of this album flows, it is never led by a single instrument, the backing choir is so vital to the harmony that you find yourself singing not only David's lead vocals, but the choir's as well. You know a band is interesting when you realize that he is singing and playing guitar in different time signatures at the same time.
Liz gave it a3:
Trying too hard to be weird. Randomly assembled bits can pass off as masterminded these days? Pitchfork, once again, killing rock and roll, one boring art school project band at a time. How could they even call this "rock"!? You can't rock out to this. This is thinking music, made for critics, without any true grit or feeling.
