Draft 7.30
by Autechre
  • Record Label: Warp
  • Release Date: Apr 8, 2003
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 22
  3. Negative: 2 out of 22

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  1. NicholasP
    Jun 9, 2003
    5
    Certainly nothing as special as say, LP5, and Confield. Of course, since Autechre have such a consistently good back catalogue, a few mishaps here and there are excusable. It's a confused, drawn out and somewhat shapeless record with a few moments of strength, such as the last track.
  2. AndrewD.
    Mar 10, 2008
    10
    Listening to this album felt as if I was being strangled by a robot, the only matter in which I could breath being digital binary, and I just continued to drown in robotic and metallic bliss. Draft 7.30 is probably one of the most experimental albums ever made in the history of music.
  3. Gerrit
    Apr 25, 2003
    10
    together with LP5 the best Ae ! (the vinyl is perfectly mastered, it sounds even better than the gantz graf EP)
  4. PaulB
    Jan 9, 2005
    8
    I am not stunned that Confield gained a higher score; after all, it is a much less enjoyable, more abrasive mess than Draft 7.30. That's the point with Autechre fans, isn't it? The less enjoyable, the better you say it is? Well, if you are looking for fragments of melody & rhythm (remember those?) without losing the complex textures and landscapes, this album would be a better I am not stunned that Confield gained a higher score; after all, it is a much less enjoyable, more abrasive mess than Draft 7.30. That's the point with Autechre fans, isn't it? The less enjoyable, the better you say it is? Well, if you are looking for fragments of melody & rhythm (remember those?) without losing the complex textures and landscapes, this album would be a better place to jump into latter-day Autechre. Very solid.… Expand
  5. ChrisJS
    Apr 25, 2007
    10
    A brilliant album which has grown on me to become my favorite release from Autechre so far, and one of my all time favorite albums as well. During the first many listen-throughs, Draft 7.30 was a "difficult" experience for me - in the sense that it's a quite complex album. But recently I've started to see/hear it as a very well-constructed whole with a distinct atmosphere that A brilliant album which has grown on me to become my favorite release from Autechre so far, and one of my all time favorite albums as well. During the first many listen-throughs, Draft 7.30 was a "difficult" experience for me - in the sense that it's a quite complex album. But recently I've started to see/hear it as a very well-constructed whole with a distinct atmosphere that lives on in every track. It's noisy, but not in a "white noise" way - rather, the noisy parts seem extremely precise and deliberate, almost surgical. As other people have mentioned, it sounds almost non-human - like the sounds and rhythms one would expect from machines on a planet in another solar system - rhythms which sustain some kind of complex logic and doesn't surrender into random chaos. Draft 7.30 sounds cold and downright mean at some points, but it's extremely interesting to listen to.… Collapse
  6. Morgan
    Sep 19, 2008
    10
    Nothing special on first listen. However, after getting better acquainted, this has grown to be one of my favourite albums. Have been listening to it about once a week for nearly four years and still haven't tired of it's intricacies. Patience required, but highly recommended.
  7. Charles
    Apr 11, 2003
    9
    Autechre: The shape of a sound. Close your eyes and listen to any ae track and you realize how accurate their name matches their music. Track one XYLIN Room starts you off on a dark journey through the brilliant aural minds of Sean and Rob. The sticky scratches perfectly compliment the intertwining drop of a menacing drumming, which sounds as though a spell is being cast on you throughout Autechre: The shape of a sound. Close your eyes and listen to any ae track and you realize how accurate their name matches their music. Track one XYLIN Room starts you off on a dark journey through the brilliant aural minds of Sean and Rob. The sticky scratches perfectly compliment the intertwining drop of a menacing drumming, which sounds as though a spell is being cast on you throughout your sound system. Once you get to TAPR you start to wonder "why is there not a live album released?" From start to finish Draft 7.30 is yet another satisfying, albeit dark release from the masters sound manipulation. … Expand
  8. R
    May 12, 2006
    8
    This album fascinated me, being one of the first seriosuly experimental albums I heard, and I found it a rewarding experience when you finally learn to like the tracks. If anything, it just suffers from being a little dull, perhaps due to the fact that the synths and the few melodies that they are often lie in the background while the drums make most of the songs. This is not always a bad This album fascinated me, being one of the first seriosuly experimental albums I heard, and I found it a rewarding experience when you finally learn to like the tracks. If anything, it just suffers from being a little dull, perhaps due to the fact that the synths and the few melodies that they are often lie in the background while the drums make most of the songs. This is not always a bad thing, but not much really jumps out at you here. Although not as ground-breaking as Confield, their previous album, this album 'let's you in' a bit more. Confield was conceptually clever and well made, but musically it is often alienating. Although on the initial listen this sounds just as cold, it is a little easier to warm to I feel. I strongly disagree with those that recommend LP5 above this - inconsistent and mostly rubbish… Expand
  9. D.Talbot
    Nov 12, 2007
    9
    Not as hard as Confield, but still as intense and branching as you'd expect from Booth and Brown.
  10. jatv1994
    Jan 28, 2013
    9
    I heard this album quickly and with no concentration whatsoever, so i was disappointed, i thought this was Autechre's weakest album, i was upset and frustrated, i gave the album 10 more listenings, conclusion: Its one of Autechre's best albums.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Uncut
    80
    By the time we reach "Surripere" we could be listening to a toughened-up Aphex Twin, poignant harmonies battling against oblique but splintering beats. [May 2003, p.92]
  2. Pitchfork
    62
    An unfortunate combination of familiar methods, beats and timbres won't overshadow the ultimately uninspiring music.
    Read full review
  3. Urb
    70
    Draft's second half will hold more sway over those pining for the minor-key melodiousness of works through Tri Repetae++. [Jun 2003, p.93]
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