- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Entertainment WeeklyMoon-eyed stoners looking for a 21st-century Pink Floyd should seek out the Beta Band. [7 May 2004, p.86]
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Yet another triumph for the Beta Band.
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PlanetA raging success. [#7, p.72]
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While the trippy Scottish foursome's third disc may make a few nods to reality when it incorporates boring things like, you know, choruses and verses, songs like "Assessment" and "Liquid Bird"--all electronic gurgles and off-the-wall vocals--still wave the freak flag.
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Q MagazineIt all feels so much more intentional than before, the mix of pop and experimentation they've long striven for. [May 2004, p.99]
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MojoTo dismiss Heroes to Zeroes as a mere exercise in rock homage underestimates The Beta Band's charm. [Apr 2004, p.102]
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Heroes to Zeros, in spite of a few uneven tracks, makes the cut.
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We've rooted for them and been scantly rewarded, but at last they’ve done it - 'Heroes To Zeros’ is great and they know it.
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This is the sound of an emboldened, beefier Beta Band, certainly, the new songs sounding fuller, freer and more confident than ever before.
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UrbEasily the best and most original album the Betas have ever made. [May 2004, p.84]
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Under The RadarDropping the experimentation down a notch seems to have allowed a great batch of songs to shine through. [#7]
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Immediately alluring without sacrificing eclecticism.
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Heroes to Zeros may not wholly reconcile mainstream expectations with the Beta Band's desire for personalized expression, but it does come as close to aligning those twin poles as anything the band's recorded thus far.
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It's difficult to get a handle on what the group is, but tough to deny that it's always doing its own thing.
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"Heroes to Zeros" is clearly the product of long hours of multitracking, with just enough song in each track to hang all the instrumental ideas on.
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Alternative PressThe Beta Band have added muscle to their rickety rock chassis without losing their past work's wood-fairy charm. [Aug 2004, p.106]
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There is very little experimentation on the album, at least in relation to previous albums, but there is also a wider spectrum of songs.
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The Beta Band's best moments often came when they worked in extremes-- minimal sampled beats followed by insane, multitracked chipmunk vocals and massive, reverb-soaked drum fills. Here, as with Hot Shots, the band attempts to split the difference, and in doing so, sacrifices the momentum that made their first two albums so thrilling.
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SpinBeautifully arranged and produced yet feels like something on display behind milky glass. [Jul 2004, p.112]
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Stylus MagazineReview 1: It’s unfortunate that this band is so unsure of themselves, least of all lyrically. [score=50]; Review 2: Heroes To Zeros strikes a balance between enervation, subtlety and creativity. [score=80]
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The Beta Band have reached out into traditional rock dynamics with mixed results.
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Several tracks are shapeless and patchy, and Mason's floating-in-space vocals sound cripplingly disengaged.
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Taken as a group, Heroes to Zeros' slower songs are the musical equivalent of a month-long sinus infection: heavy on the repetition, sleepy detachment and sensory deprivation.
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Frustrating... We know that the Beta Band have one jaw-dropping album in them. 'Hot Shots' was nearly it, but certainly this is not.
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FilterYou want to praise them for their attempts to define a unique voice, but a unique voice isn't necessarily an interesting one. [#11, p.96]
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UncutA slightly disappointing attempt to hammer their quirks into a more commercial rock shape. [May 2004, p.99]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 15 out of 17
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Mixed: 2 out of 17
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Negative: 0 out of 17
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DannyHJan 11, 2005Truely excellent album, some of the best stuff they have put out
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Oddik,NorwayJun 29, 2004Without doubt, one of the best album so far this year. Hope to see you guys soon at a gig in Norway, Oslo.
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BenJMay 28, 2004