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New Musical Express

Har Mar's best effort to date. [4 Sep 2004, p.72]

Dot Music

Essentially a homage to The Jackson 5/Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and fellow Minnesotan Prince, "The Handler" proves that Har Mar possesses a fine R&B baritone, is an able rapper and pens exceedingly funky, party-primed tunes with a perfect pop core.

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Uncut

Pristine production renders this as vital as anything by Justin Timberlake. [Oct 2004, p.104]

Urb

Har Mar wraps glorious, melodic R&B styled hooks around lyrics that sound dangerously inappropriate coming out of the mouths of matrons in minivans. [Sep 2004, p.114]

Rolling Stone

A horny, disco-infused party starter for those who like their funk with a side of irony.

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Filter

The Handler is no doubt marred by some tasteless postcoital nyuks... and outdated references. [#12, p.97]

The Guardian

That he carries off this foolishness is down to sweat and vocal chords.

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Blender

He's got some solid grooves... but a lot of them are borrowed. [Sep 2004, p.136]

All Music Guide

The Handler shows that Har Mar Superstar can also give new meaning to the term "trying too hard."

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Q Magazine

His falsetto voice, cutesy pitched-up female backing vocals and playground chant hooks are the stuff of kiddy pop. [Oct 2004, p.123]

Playlouder

A Victorian freak show with a cracking voice, but just a few stolen Prince and Stevie Wonder tunes, Har Mar Superstar seems to be humiliating himself and reaching for the lowest common denominator in search of lays and some fleeting personal success.

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Alternative Press

Man, this thing sucks. [Oct 2004, p.146]

Pitchfork

The Handler only meagerly amplifies what he was already doing, probably pleasing his no doubt respectable cadre of core followers, but handily turning off the rest of humanity.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 6.7 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

David H gave it a9:
What we have here, particularly in pitch fork's review, is a jealousy that a guy as schlubby as Har Mar gets laid ten times more than any album reviewer. Most of these reviews spend more time deriding Sean's sexuality than judging the music, and trying to tell Sean that "the joke's over." This album proves that the joke has become the truth. You can stop laughing. The point is mute. A great album.

Gary G gave it a 10:
The perfect pop album. I really don't understand the anger this guy seems to elicit from some people, because the music is like cotton candy ... with a healthy dollop of innuendo.

Matt gave it a 1:
He gets 1 for having a more aesthetically pleasing album cover this time around. To whoever said people hate Har-Mar because "pop has become a dirty word"... The reason Har-Mar isn't that listenable is because his music has terrible production values. He can't rap, he can't really carry a tune... In what way is this pop music, in any real sense of the word? Har-Mar Superstar is a novelty act that has ceased to remain novel long ago. Please, Sean, stop this. You can do better.

Koen De Crock gave it a 0:
hahahahahahahahaha. How the f**** can anyone like this pile of sh**. It is bad musically, vocally and it isn't even funny.

Gary D gave it a 10:
Pitchfork hates the fucking thing .... which means I ran to the store to pick it up. Guess what? It really is a great record. It has hooks galore, variety, and has the potential to be very popular. In short, it's pretty much everything the hipster assholes at Pitchfork hate ... and the rest of the world responds to.

Richard L gave it a 10:
This is pure, sparkling pop ... in a world where "pop" somehow became a dirty world. Ignore the haters. This is the most joyous album of the year.

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The Handler

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