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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
The Mess We Made
Universal acclaim
Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Merge
Release Date: 13 May 2003
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Electronic, Rock
Summary
Recording under his own name for the first time rather than his usual Third Eye Foundation (definitely not to be confused with Third Eye Blind), Bristol, England's Matt Elliott returns with a dark, moody collection of lo-fi, sample-based electronica.
Also On The Web: Matt Elliott @ Merge
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
Lound insanity is sexy; quiet insanity is sexier. [Sep 2003, p.118]
Flak Magazine
A nuanced, ever-shifting masterwork that reveals its biggest rewards to the listener who's got 53 minutes to experience the whole thing, start to finish, and who's willing to do this several times.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
This record expects -- nay, demands -- multiple exposures. Its hidden delights and traps are equally patient.
Read Full Review >Mojo
On a couple of tracks here he feels the need to introduce some lame house beats and equally passe drum'n'bass, which is a shame because the rest of the time he creates a vocabulary that's utterly his own. [Jun 2003, p.100]
Stylus Magazine
Anyone that expects the pulsating You Guys Kill Me would be better off sitting this one out, but Elliot has pulled off a tricky feat here: stripping down his sound to more orthodox "rock" instrumentation, without losing his edge.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Disturbing, complicated, and enthrallingly strange, The Mess We Made requires patience, and, ideally, an already established taste for Elliott's previous ambient output.
Read Full Review >Splendid
This music sounds a lot like something Edward Scissorhands might compose if he could just play the damn piano.
Read Full Review >The Wire
Delicacy replaces density here, but his capacity to unnerve remains on these sedately mournful chamber pieces. [#231, p.74]
Junkmedia
The abject despair of The Mess We Made can become tedious, and, more than most artists, Elliott depends on a listener who is willing forgive him his lack of subtlety.
Read Full Review >Uncut
An LP of spooked delicacy and wheezy, wayward charm. [Jun 2003, p.104]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Geoff O. gave it a 10:
Nicely developed from 3EF although now traveling a different path. Stangely melancholic
Antonis L gave it a 10:
Let's get one thing straight...this isn't for guys who just can't stand melancholy. This is pure desperation in its most original and authentic morpheme. Matt Elliott is a genious...he proved that countless times though The Third Eye Foundation's albums and he proves it once again. Melodic soundscapes for a murky night. Like the soundtrack for the death of a just new-born child. Grief and desperation in every word and note, but weirdly in the end what is left behind is the flavor of a new travel/life/journey that begins on the ashes of the loss. Through all this pain Matt Elliton manages to instil you scrapings of optimism. If someone of you has seen the french film "The City Of The Lost Children", I'm sure he'll realize what I'm talking about here. The "Mess We Made" seems like it has immersed its musical soul in the dark canals of that city. "Songs" like "The Sinking Ship Song" and "The Dog Beneath The Skin" are simply some of the best you'll listen to this year and surely will leave you with a bitter feeling and some tears dropping from your cold memories. I'm astonished...an example from "The Sinking Ship Song"'s lyrics: "Though the wind may change This face still stays the same It just brings more rain Just to soak us But this time will pass Things like this never last So let's leave this farce Way behind us And we've all got to die So in the meantime let's leave Scream your name while you've still got breath Let's raise a glass to life and drink away the memories of those we have lost to death..." Just do yourself a favor and get this asap.
