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The Onion (A.V. Club)

While not a huge sonic leap forward for Minus The Bear, Planet shows the band eager--and more than able--to take a deep breath and explore its emerging maturity and depth.

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Alternative Press

The tightly wound dance numbers are dancier ("Knights"); the slow sex jams are sexier ("White Mystery"); and new keyboardist Alex Rose gives the synths a much stronger role than ever before, both with brilliant countermelodies and sublime textures. [Sept 2007]

Sputnikmusic

It is easily one the band’s best album and possibly the best album of the year.

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Amazon.com

Most songs keep well away from a standard verse-chorus structure, with lyric and instrumental passages stitched together like some indie rock Frankenstein, but Minus the Bear keeps the melodies potent and the emotion high enough to prevent Planet of Ice from drifting into impenetrable shoe-gazer territory.

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No Ripcord

Planet Of Ice marks Minus The Bear at the top of their game.

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Pitchfork

Planet of Ice is better than its predecessor, "Menos el Oso," but only slightly so.

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Filter

Ultimately, the only thing stopping Planet of Ice from being the band’s best work is that they seem to so desperately want it to be, lending a strange (and too serious) heavy-handedness that nearly buries these slow-to-mid-tempo burners.

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Spin

The band's latest is sublimely elegant and more maturely conceived.

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PopMatters

This is headphone indie rock, but with plenty of wondrous aural attractions to keep your wandering mind from straying too far.

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Delusions of Adequacy

This album is both immediately gratifying and deceptively interesting.

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Drowned In Sound

Planet Of Ice is an oddly sour letdown, a high-quality album that suffers only from the reception and perception of its forefathers.

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The Phoenix

Minus the Bear seemed more serious about their music than about its presentation.

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NOW Magazine

Some songs lack raw emotion but have sombre vocal melodies and engaging lyrics.

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Prefix Magazine

The album flows seamlessly from song to song, but the overall feel is sedated.

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Stylus Magazine

Planet of Ice's cerebrally structured songs pull in too many directions to pack a proper punch.

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Tiny Mix Tapes

The most egregious offender is Planet of Ice's last song, 'Lotus,' which clocks in at close to nine minutes, thanks to clumsy feedback inserted somewhat inappropriately between the beginning and end of what must have started out as a fairly straightforward rock song.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes

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

E R. gave it an8:
Very good actually, flaw is the songs aren't arranged in proper order.

Tony gave it a6:
I've been a bear fan for a while but really didn't care too much for this one. I feel like there are fewer WOW moments than before. The lyrics are kinda bland too.

Jack N. gave it a9:
Planet of Ice is amazing. Really catchy hooks, amazing guitar solos, interesting sonic textures. The band kind of lost me with Menos El Oso, which seemed to be catering to MTV emo kids with short attention spans. But Planet of Ice stands up nicely against Highly Refined Pirates, and shows that a band can evolve and grow up without becoming a cliche.

Mark gave it a7:
That Tiny Mix Tape review is, in fact, pretty unfair. This isn't a life-changing album, by any means, but it's still pretty solid, and a listenable effort all the way through.

Alex gave it an8:
If you liked El Oso, you will like this. It's more of the same great sound with a more funk. I love Tiny Mixed Tape's review saying the songs were too long. So what if the songs average 5 minutes? Like every good song in the history of music has been under 5 minutes long. Bad review. Not the best album of the year or anything, but very very good.

Shaping M. gave it a10:
The best MTB album yet. Took a couple of listens through before i 'got' it, but once it clicks into place, the whole album sounds glorious from start to finish. Less immediate than El Oso, but rewards the listener with more finely crafted songs, less standards verse/chorus arrangements, and some truly great guitar playing. Best indie / rock album of the year so far.

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