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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Hypnotic Underworld
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 14 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Drag City
Release Date: 03 February 2004
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Experimental
Summary
The experimental/psychedelic Japanese collective returns with their first album in five years, with co-founder Taishi Takizawa re-joining the group as a member (in addition to continuing to serve as the band's producer).
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...
Mojo
Their masterpiece--the re-interpretation of Western rock history as some consenual power-prog dream narrative where Led Zeppelin and Soft Machine are more important than The Beatles. [May 2004, p.105]
The Wire
It's simultaneously the group's most successful integration of the various strands they've chased over the years and their most ambitious and expansive work to date. [#241, p.50]
All Music Guide
Hypnotic Underworld is a new high-water mark from one of rock's most interesting bands.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Ghost have emerged as one of the most formidable (and important) rock bands I know. And Hypnotic Underworld is their rollicking masterwork.
Read Full Review >Billboard
Ghost sounds so together that even its nods to jazz fusion and prog rock sound utterly convincing.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Ghost remains one of the more chaotic and interesting outfits working today, and Hypnotic Underworld proves another worthy addition to the group's idiosyncratic catalog.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
As sumptuous and sublime as much of Hypnotic Underworld is, Ghost tend to noodle too long.
Read Full Review >Splendid
The music is fantastic, but the sinking suspicion that there's something else going on that you can't possibly fathom becomes pervasive by album's end.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
All told, one weird trip. [May 2004, p.102]
Uncut
Flutter[s] between commune jazz, zen folk and straightforward hippy rock. [Apr 2004, p.106]
Neumu.net
Hypnotic Underworld is, paradoxically, actually the least hypnotic and least underground album Ghost have made thus far.
Read Full Review >Tiny Mix Tapes
Although Ghost has an uncanny ability to pair their improvisational style with recognizable structures, there seems to be something missing in the overall design of this album.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
At times their odes to the long-gone era of '60s psychedelia get lost in their lofty ambitions. [Apr 2004, p.84]
Logo
It’s all very strange yet thoroughly intriguing, but it does leave you pondering the question of what direction Ghost are planning to move in next.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Matias M gave it a10:
First time that I have heard this album, I said: "What I am doing listenin this!?" but, for a strange reason, I simply just can't push the STOP button. Today this is one of my favourite discs
Jeremiah C gave it a9:
Psychedelic Rock at its best. The structure of this album forces to listen to it as a whole. Very impressive and mindcapturing.
Amir N gave it a 9:
Stellar, stellar rock. The pure tightness and multi-instrumental skill on display here makes nearly every other release so far this year look amateurish. You couldn't dream of better bass lines, and well, pure technical skill.
