Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015
by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
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  1. Blurt Magazine
    May 4, 2015
    80
    The operative term, then, is explosion, and the JSBX effectively conjure the jittery, edgy, colorful vibe of the city they live in.
  2. Mojo
    Apr 22, 2015
    80
    The razor-wire riffs some of their best. [May 2015, p.98]
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  3. Magnet
    Apr 15, 2015
    80
    Spencer lays down as much hog-calling jive as can fir on the tape. [No. 119, p.59]
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  5. AllMusic
    Mar 27, 2015
    80
    Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015 isn't quite the best album of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's career, but they've never made one that documents the frantic energy and atmosphere of their live show as well as this.
  6. musicOMH.com
    Mar 24, 2015
    80
    A satisfyingly down and dirty album that works up a sweat reeking of the Big Apple.
  7. The 405
    Apr 3, 2015
    75
    The result is that, after a succession of disappointing pastiches, the boys have gone back to the good old days, and reawakened a three-headed monster.
  8. cokemachineglow
    May 12, 2015
    70
    Freedom Tower is a Blues Explosion record, no doubt, and in that sense it’s not for everyone.
  9. Dusted Magazine
    Apr 22, 2015
    70
    There’s a sense of stagery in this album, as there is in all JSBX discs....
  10. PopMatters
    Apr 13, 2015
    70
    The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have found a formula that works, and you can’t really argue with the results when the music is as good as it definitely is.
  11. The Quietus
    Apr 9, 2015
    70
    Of course such is the collage gonzoid splatter-gun style of the Blues Explosion and their huge canon of songs its almost inevitable that they might inadvertently chance on something shiny from their own back catalogue and contort it.
  12. Uncut
    Mar 30, 2015
    70
    Freedom Tower showcases three men who grasp that great rock'n'roll can be at once rudimentary, virtuoso and preposterous. [May 2015, p.80]
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  13. Under The Radar
    Mar 24, 2015
    70
    Freedom Tower may not reach the dizzy, boundary-pushing heights of the Explosion's experimental '90s peak but it still beats the hell out of most of the feeble music out there and when Spencer howls, characteristically, "I'm number ONE," he's pretty darn convincing.
  14. Pitchfork
    Mar 24, 2015
    70
    The album’s backward-gazing perspective doesn’t detract from the fact that Freedom Tower contains some of the Blues Explosion’s most inspired, vital music since their mid-'90s peak.
  15. Consequence
    Mar 24, 2015
    67
    A record as chaotic and full of life as the city that inspired it, Freedom Tower sweats with feverish energy. In the end, the Blues Explosion succeeds in honoring New York’s bevy of musical riches, even if it’s in their own off-kilter manner.
  16. Record Collector
    Apr 3, 2015
    60
    Mostly, this is same ol’ same ol’ JSBX: maybe no bad thing, but it won’t grab you by the collar.

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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. interference
    Mar 31, 2015
    8
    You could call this a return to form for JSBX. It's only fault is that this is the band that released the phenomenal Now I Got Worry and theYou could call this a return to form for JSBX. It's only fault is that this is the band that released the phenomenal Now I Got Worry and the groundbreaking Orange.
    When you can get past this, you are left with a great album where the Blues Explosion finally does again what it does best; conquering the world with some dirty blues, rock & funk.    … Full Review »