GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Music

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

74 Absentee
69 AC/DC
72 Ryan Adams
66 Trace Adkins
67 The Aliens
66 All That Remains
93 Amadou & Mariam
80 Amon Amarth
66 Anastacia
46 Brett Anderson
75 Theresa Andersson
66 Annuals
79 Antony And The Johnsons
76 Apollo Sunshine
58 David Archuleta
76 Aterciopelados
72 Attic Lights
75 Joan Baez
80 Belle & Sebastian
61 Beyonce
80 Blitzen Trapper
69 Bloc Party
83 Bound Stems
73 Brightblack Morning Light
64 The Broken West
64 The Bronx
74 Ane Brun
50 Buckcherry
77 Lindsey Buckingham
92 Buena Vista Social Club
78 Calexico
73 Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
64 Castanets
69 Catfish Haven
66 Chairlift
63 Tracy Chapman
73 The Chemical Brothers
60 Kenny Chesney
66 Tony Christie
82 The Clash
66 Cold War Kids
69 Coldplay
67 David Cook
70 Nikka Costa
51 Cradle Of Filth
60 Crooked Fingers
78 Rodney Crowell
75 Crystal Stilts
77 Rivers Cuomo
70 The Cure
62 Kimya Dawson
72 Dead Confederate
72 The Dears
81 Deerhoof
81 Deerhunter
70 Brett Dennen
78 Department Of Eagles
73 Angela Desveaux
68 Devin The Dude
73 Dido
79 Ani DiFranco
58 DJ Khaled
82 DJ/rupture
66 The Donkeys
54 Dr. Dooom
61 Dragonette
79 Dungen
86 Bob Dylan
82 Eagles Of Death Metal
79 El Guincho
57 Electric Six
74 Brian Eno + David Byrne
64 Everlast
75 The Fireman
62 Ben Folds
69 Free Blood
74 Friendly Fires
84 Fucked Up
71 Fujiya & Miyagi
77 Gang Gang Dance
78 Morgan Geist
74 Giant Sand
81 Girl Talk
69 Girls Aloud
82 Glasvegas
67 Gojira
83 Grails
61 Growing
67 Guns N' Roses
67 Gym Class Heroes
76 Hauschka
65 Her Space Holiday
75 High Places
49 Hinder
71 Jolie Holland
79 David Holmes
81 Horse Feathers
64 Howling Hex
58 Jennifer Hudson
78 Hush Arbors
70 I'm From Barcelona
68 Jack's Mannequin
72 Jake One
73 James
59 Japanese Motors
64 Jem
80 The Jesus And Mary Chain
81 Johann Johannsson
68 Grace Jones
60 Tom Jones
75 Damien Jurado
69 Kaiser Chiefs
64 Keane
76 Toby Keith
70 The Killers
63 Kings Of Leon
77 The Knux
78 Koushik
74 Lady GaGa
72 Ladyhawke
75 Lambchop
73 Ray LaMontagne
74 Land Of Talk
68 John Legend
75 Jenny Lewis
71 Little Joy
60 The Little Ones
57 LL Cool J
81 Los Campesinos!
76 Love Is All
81 Patty Loveless
73 Ludacris
79 Luomo
73 Madlib
65 Margot & The Nuclear So And So's
68 Mercury Rev
78 Metallica
70 Metronomy
57 Ingrid Michaelson
76 Mogwai
77 Juana Molina
67 Monkey
79 Mount Eerie
46 Mudvayne
73 Murs
61 Nelly
51 New Kids On The Block
77 The New Year
79 Ne-Yo
51 Nickelback
57 Nightmares On Wax
60 The Nightwatchman
62 Noah And The Whale
66 Oasis
68 O'Death
70 Of Montreal
79 Okkervil River
77 Old Crow Medicine Show
54 The Organ
65 Joan Osborne
77 Brad Paisley
82 Pale Young Gentlemen
78 Amanda Palmer
65 Parenthetical Girls
76 Parts & Labor
74 Passion Pit
67 Peter Bjorn And John
66 The Peth
51 Kellie Pickler
69 Pink
73 Benoît Pioulard
70 Pivot
54 Plain White T's
40 Daniel Powter
74 The Pretenders
51 Pussycat Dolls
84 Q-Tip
42 Queen + Paul Rodgers
71 Rafter
74 Raglani
57 Razorlight
69 Lou Reed
74 Religious Knives
62 Rex The Dog
65 Rise Against
76 Roots Manuva
74 The Rosebuds
66 Darius Rucker
83 Arthur Russell
82 Raphael Saadiq
60 Sam Champion
68 School of Seven Bells
75 The Sea And Cake
60 Seal
69 Seasick Steve
65 Secret Machines
81 Pete Seeger
71 Serena-Maneesh
68 The Shaky Hands
72 Blake Shelton
58 Jessica Simpson
89 The Smiths
72 Todd Snider
68 Snow Patrol
62 Spinto Band
68 Squarepusher
65 Starfucker
82 Marnie Stern
62 The Streets
73 The Subways
81 Taylor Swift
74 T.I.
66 Talkdemonic
64 James Taylor
66 Ten Kens
72 Robin Thicke
67 Thievery Corporation
79 Tindersticks
88 Shugo Tokumaru
75 Emiliana Torrini
70 T-Pain
65 Travis
70 Tricky
66 Trivium
88 TV On The Radio
92 Underoath
56 UNKLE
74 Chad VanGaalen
76 Vivian Girls
78 Volcano!
84 Butch Walker
57 Scott Weiland
74 Kanye West
73 White Denim
78 Wild Beasts
78 Wilderness
71 Hank Williams III
72 Lucinda Williams
67 Michelle Williams
70 Brian Wilson
73 Lee Ann Womack
75 Women
63 XX Teens
72 Rachael Yamagata
60 Yo Majesty
72 Young Jeezy

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Ratatat
by Ratatat

Ratatat reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 72 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.1 out of 10
based on 14 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

This is the all-instrumental (think somewhere in between Out Hud and Daft Punk) debut album for the New York duo of Evan Mast and Mike Stroud (who formerly operated under the name Cherry).

LABEL: Beggars Banquet / XL
RELEASE DATE: 20 April 2004
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Indie, Rock, Electronic

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...

84
Pitchfork
What we have here is a long-awaited stepchild of IDM and hair metal sensibilities, joined by the omnivorous appetite of hip-hop.
Read Full Review
80
All Music Guide
The band's sound is both fresh and nostalgic, and so pretty that it seems overly harsh to criticize them too much at this point. It's just that Ratatat is good enough to suggest that, with a little more diversity, the group could do even better things.
Read Full Review
80
Alternative Press
Ratatat seem harmless, but these melodies will seep into your brain. [Jun 2004, p.111]
80
Q Magazine
A happy mess of ideas, fun and riffing. [Jul 2004, p.122]
70
Tiny Mix Tapes
Things immediately slow down on the second song and stay subdued throughout most of the album. Once I realized that the rest of the songs weren't going to be as blazing as "Seventeen Years," I was able to enjoy it much more.
Read Full Review
70
Dusted Magazine
The end result is a sugar-high of electronic keyboard and guitars reaching glam-rock heights and booty shaking lows, all based around very simple, classical ideas of song-structure.
Read Full Review
70
Stylus Magazine
Altogether, Ratatat is a great album, taking the sound Daft Punk constructed on Discovery and transforming it into a remarkably intricate, painstaking work of instrumental genius.
Read Full Review
70
Almost Cool
The biggest problem with the release is that it's simply a little too programmed for it's own good.
Read Full Review
67
Spin
Without French accents or anime babes, this kind of thing just feels incomplete. [Jul 2004, p.110]
65
Neumu.net
Like early arcade-game programmers, Ratatat are working with a greatly reduced palette, and the synth reductionism means they're never going to escape cute.
Read Full Review
60
Urb
Certainly a nice full-length, though it would be interesting to see what a vocalist could add to their formula . [Jun 2004, p.86]
60
Blender
They’re crotch-pumping arena pimps and introverted minimalists.
Read Full Review
60
Under The Radar
The lack of highs and lows in each song gives the album a repetitive and anti-climactic feel. [#7]
50
Splendid
Their songs routinely beg for a spoken message, to the point where their originals sound like dub versions.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Finn JK gave it a9:
Instant love. I'm struggling not to give it a full ten. The main reason it doesn't max out is the chiptune'ish backdrop. I love the sound - but it's not generally compatible with a lot of people. So, I'll give it a 9, as it appeals to me, but not a whole lot of my friends...

david r. gave it a10:
Nice. So I guess it's 2006 and that's all we're getting from Ratatat.

Piero D gave it a2:
lame

Leonardo F gave it a9:
a great album.

Kelly P gave it a10:
The best album I've ever heard...ever. It's a revelation, simply beautiful.

Matty B gave it a10:
One of my favorite albums in years, beautiful guitars, and wonderful simplicity makes the songs vibes loud and clear If its not your thing it's not your thing, but suggesting that Ratatat add vocals is like suggesting that Jackson Pollock should try painting some landscapes, or still life.....its just dumb.

stoop blur gave it a10:
super awesome. much more original sound than one would be led to believe. electronica for people who like rock

Read more user comments...

Discuss this album in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: MLB | Spore | iPhone 3G | Paris Hilton | Antivirus Software | GPS | Recipes | Shwayze | NFL

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use