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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Insignificance
Universal acclaim
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 5 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Drag City
Release Date: 20 November 2001
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
The Chicago-based avant-garde musician (best known for his work in Gastr Del Sol) offers up seven new tracks in his follow-up to 1999's 'Eureka.' Wilco's Jeff Tweedy adds guitar.
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...
Uncut
This is adventurous modern music which uses old rock and singer-songwriter traditions as the raw material to be manipulated. [Album Of The Month, Feb 2002, p.110]
Dot Music
'Insignificance' is an album fraught with contradictions: tightly funky guitars sit alongside angelic piano and crunching 70s rock riffs shoulder belligerently up to honeyed pop harmonies. These are fascinating contradictions glued together with a binding harmonic honesty.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
Insignificance is the release that finds him hitting his stride completely, seemingly mixing little bits of all the different styles that he's poked around with and boiling it all down into a cohesive little release.
Read Full Review >Nude As The News
Insignificance’s length of less than 40 minutes perhaps indicates that O’Rourke is not as serious about producing a pop opus as he is interested in getting a kick out of screwing around with pop song writing.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
O'Rourke revisits the lush orchestration and dreamy atmospherics he pioneered in Gastr Del Sol, but hanging out with Thurston Moore also appears to have had an effect. [Dec 2001, p.128]
Mojo
The only gripe is that at 38 minutes, Insignificance is too short. [Feb 2002, p.92]
New Musical Express
'Insignificance' lays down an awesome challenge to other guitar records - it contains more great ideas than most bands have in their entire career. It's the first unequivocal classic album of the new year.
Read Full Review >Magnet
The jaunty-yet-subtle tunes sneak up on you slowly, so you don't notice O'Rourke's corrosively misanthropic lyrics until they're inextricably lodged in your head. [#53, p.86]
L.A. Weekly
The fly in the ointment is the lyric content, which plumbs depths of misanthropy that make labelmate Bill Callahan (Smog) sound like Bobby McFerrin.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
A shockingly insightful and resonant look at the workings of a musician generally more given to hiding behind absurdly twisted turns of musical phrase than letting us in on the inner-workings of his mind.
Read Full Review >Neumu.net
Overall, the melodies are so tight they seem vacuum-packed, and the album delivers a platter of faultless rock songs.
Read Full Review >Spin
Proof that simple pleasures always beat academic detachment. [March 2002, p.137]
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Insignificance's ingeniously subtle songwriting project is one of O'Rourke's most affecting yet.
Read Full Review >The Wire
A pleasurable collection of comfortably played, understated, slightly skewed songs with smart lyrics. [#214, p.52]
Billboard
His least demanding work ever, steeped in the traditions of pop and rock.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
James D. gave it a 10:
Although there are more exceptionally compelling moments on O"Rourke's "Eureka", "Insignificance" is the most consistently satisfying his pop-era years to date. (Nearly) absent are any traces of his earliest chaos-theory inspired noise of his early years; moreover, his infatuation with '70's MOR radio sounds far less cloying than examples of such off of his recent solo efforts (if just as ironic). And his lyrics are easily as entertainingly misanthropistic as ever. Plus, it Seriously Rocks. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen.
Jim M. gave it a 9:
When i first picked up a copy a Eureka i had only heard a couple of things that Jim had done. When i got it home and played it i can honestly say i dont think i have (or ever will) hear anything like it again. So when Insignificance came out, i was first in line for a copy. Yet again he brings the bacon home and you can pigeon this album all you want Mr Piero Scaruffi but the fact is it rocks. Im not going to go into great detail about the arrangements and blah de blah but this guy is one of the few today who truly make the gee-tar sing and listening to his wicked lyricoligy is a joy, he could insult me any day of the week. Nuff said.
Joss S. gave it an 8:
Jim O'Rourke has put out his most pop/rock conventional album to date in Insignificance. However this album isn't conventional in anyother way. The album in infectious, that is if you actually listen to the albums tact. I can't come up with a more tactful album to be released this year. The songs range from 70's rock to full sounding pop, but they all maintain a O'Rourke flavor of precision. Even though the album is smart and tactful it remains a laid back and fun affair.
