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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Scale
Universal acclaim
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 25 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: K7
Release Date: 30 May 2006
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Electronic
Summary
Like a more accessible, poppier version of Matmos, UK electronica artist Matthew Herbert likes to record concept albums with instrumentation derived from real-world objects. 'Scale' (which again features Dani Siciliano on vocals) samples 723 items (including coffins and fuel pumps) in its 11 politically-charged dance tracks.
Also By This Artist: Plat du Jour
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Dani Siciliano: Slappers
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...
NOW Magazine
Think of it as avant-garde composer John Cage trying his hand at disco and getting it right.
Read Full Review >Prefix Magazine
A lean, focused record, Scale is Herbert's best record to date, and a must-buy for any dance-music fan.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Though Herbert has outdone himself and matches his ambitions with his achievements, the songs are unmistakably his and Siciliano's, sounding like no one else, twisting and swinging and drifting with optimum vibrancy.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
It's too early to call Scale a classic, but... Herbert has achieved one of the deftest balances of pop music and politics heard in some time. [#13, p.86]
Pitchfork
Herbert has outdone himself when it comes to his usual conceptual three-ring circus. But, crucially, this time he's put all that theoretical effort into his most memorable songs.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Inch by inch -- concept, production, groove -- Scale will measure your desires and dole out exactly what you want: depth, politics, creativity, or club-ready curios.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Some of his recent work has prioritized conceptual aims at the expense of his formidable musical talent, but Scale strikes a balance with songs as melodic and inviting as any he's ever composed.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Herbert sneakily subverts Scale's apocalyptic thematic thread into something warm and danceable. [2 Jun 2006, p.83]
BBC collective
Warm and quirky. Pleasantly bizarre. Sophisticated and daft. Herbert at his best.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
[The songs'] politicism is woven so masterfully into the lush electronic pop medium that you’re never coerced into consideration of any one issue.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
A pleasure, featuring some of his most winging music since [Roisin] Murphy's Ruby Blue. [Jul 2006, p.118]
Uncut
Entertainingly eccentric pop, even if at times it seems to pull in too many directions. [Jun 2006, p.103]
Urb
Scale slips into un-passionate, boring territory--in part due to the vocalist, who make sthe whole thing sound somewhat homogeneous. [May 2006, p.86]
The Wire
Herbert still seems like the same oddball he ever was. But the first half of Scale underlines how much fun there is to be had in playing the misfit. [#268, p.56]
Tiny Mix Tapes
If Dani appeared on a few less tracks here, Scale may have been one of the year's finest.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
So we've got pop music too lightweight to do much more than fancy up the background and a conceptual underpinning, that, due to the seamless way it's blended into these songs, is near imperceptible.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jay T gave it a9:
Yes, some of the elements here are familiar, but anyone calling this abum predictable doesn't listen to anything but the most surface elements. It's a deceptively accessible and glitzy album with an increible amount of depth of arrangement and composition. Very close to being an absolute classic, but kind of loses steam in the second half.
matt t gave it a10:
great and creative masterpiece, one of the best of 06. definitely deserves more listens in 07. I agree with Javier on the Knife and Junior Boys but I'm From Barcelona is by far one of the best new bands and has one of the best new releases.
Javier M gave it a0:
Probably the worst album of the year beside the I´m from Barcelona one...Matt, is that electronic?..C´mon!!! This is cheap and awful.There was a time when u used to be cool and good enough, but now u´re terrible. Forget the critics, this is bad and predictable music, created with the worst taste on earth. Please!! Do the critics listen to the music the review?, Do they know anything about electronic?.. Check The Knife or Junior Boys new releases...Matt and the critics, you all just pull people´s leg... Don´t buy this album, just ignore it.
Matt A gave it a10:
The sheer uniqueness of Herbert's methods in Scale is reason enough to praise this avantgarde effort, but it's the fact that such a bold concept ended up sounding so wonderful that makes this album shine and shine and shine. This is easily the best album of the year.
Alex V gave it a9:
I get chills listening to this album. It's as jazzy and soulful as ever despite the glitchy sampling.
[Anonymous] gave it an8:
more listenable than any of his previous releases, Scale is the quintessential blip on the radar indicating the approach of an ominous force.
Karyn W gave it a0:
Initially boring but after a few listens the vocals make you want to tear the stars down from the sky and crush them.
