Copia - Eluvium
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 34 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 34
  3. Negative: 5 out of 34

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  1. MarkW
    Mar 6, 2007
    10
    Magnific album, a masterpiece and a piece of art. The best album of the year, amazing!
  2. BrianC
    Mar 6, 2007
    10
    The first essential album since Spoon's 2005 Rock-Masterpiece, "Gimme Fiction", and one of the best avant-garde records of this decade (along with "Up in Flames" by Manitoba, "Rounds" by Four Tet, and "Endless Summer by Fennesz"). This album is an exercise in aural beauty and invoking feelings of passion and admiration. Though clearly different, it is similar in emotive ability to Talk Talk's masterpieces, "Spirt of Eden" and "Laughing Stock". Pretty albums sound like they should be cliche, but post-rock albums are actually more prone to making soundtracks to fear (for example, Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and even Explosions in the Sky's second album). Of course, even the rareness of the subject matter doesn't make it a unique idea. Rather, "Copia" is great not because it introduces a new idea, but because it perfects the idea, and completes it more masterfully than any albums in recent memory. This is easily 2007's best album (as of March 6, 2007 - and given that I haven't listened to any leaks). It has a timelessness that many avant-garde pieces posses. Buy it now!! Rating: 9.4/10… Expand
  3. laurenm
    May 10, 2007
    10
    beautiful and perfect
  4. Alex
    Mar 2, 2007
    10
    This album is simply beautiful.
  5. JohnJ
    Jul 29, 2007
    10
    Gorgeous and stunning album. Definitely one of my favorite albums of 2007. And yeah, if you don't like "background music" or whatever, why listen and review it?
  6. RayR
    May 2, 2007
    9
    One of the best, most layered ambient offerings I've heard in the last 5-7 years. This really is a lovely album. However, don't expect to be able to listen to it in a place other than one's quiet living space or in bed with you special someone. I was totally bowled over by the first track "Amreik." Listening to it in my car I found myself having to pull into a nearby parking lot not only to hear the lusciousness of it but to wipe away the tears I found wetting my eyes.… Expand
  7. KevinR
    Mar 8, 2007
    9
    Soothing, beautiful electronica that serves as a reminder of what good music truly sounds like.
  8. AnandG
    Mar 20, 2007
    9
    Granted the canvas was offered by Eno and some coloring at times by Satie, Robert Wyatt or Philip Glass but it is Eluvium all the way even though those three aforementioned names ought to pique your curiosity about this artist. Yeah yeah ambient and yet this minimalist approach blends nostalgia with such solemnity that some pastoral elements become easily grandiose. It just hits the spot with its beauty and its happy thread. For sure in my Top Five of 2007 even after only three months into it.… Expand
  9. TristramC
    Mar 24, 2007
    9
    To the uninitiated (I was one before this record) I just want to say, this is not NPR music. This is not piano music for new agey 50 year old divoree females with shiny skin and faux smiles. You know the type, the ones who can't get enough of Andre Rieu or Sarah Brightman. I not really sure why. All the parts are there. It has something to do with method. It also has something to do with integrety. Do you remember the first time you heard Moby's "God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters" and it was grand, majestic & beautiful yet there was a little voice inside telling you it was hackwork. Its like that except that little voice is silent.… Expand
  10. MatthewC
    May 23, 2007
    9
    Brilliant work, it's wondefully crafted. I've fallen asleep wiith it on a few times now...
  11. JosephK.
    Jun 16, 2007
    9
    An excellent album that reminds me of Sigur Ros, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson and Brian Eno. Very minimalist, while Matthew Cooper really knows how to pick out the most majestic chords the listeners can ever handle.
  12. AndrewF.
    Jun 19, 2007
    9
    I'm in love with this album. It really swept me away at first, and then I sort of let it drift down to the bottom of my playlist. However, now that I'm listening to it again, I'm even more moved. I really enjoy the complex sweeping chord changes in the longer tracks. One of my favorite albums so far in 2007.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. All Music Guide
    90
    A magnificent set, awash in textures, atmospheres, moods, and emotion.
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  2. cokemachineglow
    70
    It sounds exactly like Eluvium, only with an organ and not a guitar, and with more overt classical aspirations than before.
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  3. Delusions of Adequacy
    90
    This is a just an amazingly pretty and graceful album.
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