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Pixel Revolt
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Barsuk
Release Date: 23 August 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
Vanderslice continues his album-a-year pace (despite also serving as a producer on numerous indie-rock albums) with this typically literate and well-produced fifth disc, which was recorded with the help of The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle.
Also By This Artist: Cellar Door Emerald City Romanian Names
Also On The Web: JV @ Barsuk 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...
Slant Magazine
It fully merits high praise as both the best work of Vanderslice's career and easily one of the best albums of what has been a refreshingly strong year for music.
Read Full Review >Lost At Sea
It’s apparent that this album was made with particular care, as most of John Vanderslice’s works are, but there are many cases where a more mature display of music appreciation is taken; previously, when met with such dogged emotional complexity, Vandersilce would rely on experimentation. Here, he stares straight on.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
Pixel Revolt is the sound of a man trying to come to grips with the larger questions--the "why?" questions--and, if nothing else, the sheer attempt makes this an essential album for our troubled times.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Some might wish this gift for fastidious arrangements would carry over to the lyrics, which feature a bevy of look-it-up references and descriptions that might stymie attempts at easy listening. It doesn't hurt to do a little research or, like, pay attention to lyrics worth a damn.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
There’s just something about it --- I like Pixel Revolt, and I like it a lot.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
John Vanderslice has not created a compelling first listen. Perhaps, and only time will tell, he has created a compelling lifelong listen.
Read Full Review >Splendid
Vanderslice's stories differ from those on earlier albums largely in setting, but Pixel Revolt's musical elements have taken an astonishing leap from their predecessors.
Read Full Review >Magnet
In some ways, shedding the epic storytelling has given Vanderslice a more universal appeal. [#69, p.111]
Prefix Magazine
Pixel Revolt simply and beautifully reminds us that no matter how great a rock producer is, songwriting talent is as essential as it’s always been.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
A relatively warm, easy-to-embrace effort. [2 Sep 2005, p.79]
ShakingThrough.net
Pixel Revolt doesn’t reconcile the political and personal, and that may be the point. But it nonetheless makes for a frustratingly uneven listening experience.
Read Full Review >Mojo
Like a series of melancholy one act plays. [Jan 2006, p.131]
Urb
Much like Sufjan Stevens (but without the history professor schtick) Vanderslice is a one-man orchestra of plucked and bowed strings, living-breathing organs and lullaby vocals that narrate his musical characters with explicit detail. [Sep 2005, p.114]
Blender
What keeps the songs interesting isn't his understated singing but his delectable arrangements. [Sep 2005, p.138]
Neumu.net
Pixel Revolt feels, at the end, like two EPs packaged together and passed off as a full-length. The justification could be made that the fierce, angry and frustrated responses to international armed conflict and girlfriends leaving are very much the same, though that would seem to be kind of a stretch.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Lacks both a unifying theme and any broad cohesiveness, houses a number of terrific, tough-to-forget songs, and stumbles hard when Vanderslice wets his toes in murky lyrical waters.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
In the end, I am hesitant to say that this is Vanderslice's best album; however, it is undoubtedly his most rewarding. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time with it.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
An immaculately produced album, sonically and lyrically complex, but not necessarily engaging. [#10, p.107]
Alternative Press
Vanderslice's detached delivery of this riveting material, combined with the somnolent string arrangements, makes Pixel Revolt feel like a chilled-out remix of a book-on-tape recording. [Sep 2005, p.158]
Paste Magazine
An uneven album that encapsulates much of what's gone flat in the scene he helped ferment, along with the few flourishes that make him a vital creative force.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
The production is crisp and idiosyncratic as usual, but many of the songs fade into the background.
Read Full Review >Spin
Vanderslice is tortured and diffuse even by Death Cab standards. [Sep 2005, p.109]
Tiny Mix Tapes
Maybe it's the squeaky-cleanness of the sound and singing both that keeps me at a distance; a band like Okkervil River, both sonically and thematically similar to Vanderslice, succeed partially because they don't mind screaming and getting clumsy.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
More often than not his approach feels too clinical to really engage. [Apr 2006, p.120]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
alix s gave it an8:
John Vanderslice is sassy.
Justin J gave it a9:
Demanding lyrics coupled with top notch production quality lead to one of the best albums of the year in my book. Vanderslice's site reveals the story behind many of the songs as well as production notes for the record.
John V. gave it a9:
One of the best solo albums ive heard in a long time recommended
