Los Angeles
by Flying Lotus
  • Record Label: Warp
  • Release Date: Jun 10, 2008
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Pitchfork
    85
    With its accomplished fusion of debris and warmth in a place somewhere between b-boy head-nod and laptopper experimentalism, Los Angeles is a big step forward for a still-young career, an album well worth revisiting years from now--preferably on vinyl, where the pops and clicks can only multiply.
  2. AllMusic
    80
    Loaded with 17 tracks, it's an entertaining and fitting addition to the Warp catalog that makes for some highly hypnotic video arcade/coffee parlor mood music.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    80
    The record is almost as seamless as it is engaging, and it subtly commands your attention from start to finish.
  5. Dusted Magazine
    80
    There is a coherent sound throughout the album––psychedelic electro-hop perhaps––while each song develops fruitfully without ever being dragged out.
  6. Observer Music Monthly
    80
    It's an inventive reimagining of hip hop with huge basslines underpinning the otherwise cinematic atmosphere.
  7. Sputnikmusic
    80
    Flying Lotus has once again proved that he is an artist that can consistently reinvent himself and make his new sound just as effective as it was before
  8. Urb
    80
    Los Angeles is a beautifully complex and widespread full-length from one of LA’s most creative and perceptive music producers.
  9. PopMatters
    80
    It’s a gritty, spacey, and ultimately beautiful record that is sure to give Flying Lotus some much-deserved attention.
  10. Spin
    80
    Flying Lotus' spaced-out visions are the album's trump card, a computerized mesh of hip-hop beats at dub-like tempos.
  11. The Wire
    80
    He's come up with a debut album that combines vaulting ambition, real musicality and a deceptive deftness of touch. [Jun 2008, p.47]
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  12. cokemachineglow
    77
    Assured in its fastidiousness, with enough schizophrenia to make whiplash a factor, Los Angeles cements Flying Lotus’s status as the best producer in a burgeoning scene bursting with talent, categorization eluding whatever scene that may be, whatever it means to be a producer.
  13. Prefix Magazine
    65
    It does manage a nice arc in terms of overall pacing, with some interesting though not entirely successful vocal works at the end (“Testament” and “Infinitum”). Yet the album feels a bit too similar for how crowded it is.
  14. Uncut
    60
    It is, like LA itself, heavy on style. [Sep 2008, p.88]
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Awards & Rankings

61
#61 Best Album of 2008
82
#82 Most Shared Album of 2008

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 53 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 53
  3. Negative: 1 out of 53
  1. Zixon
    Sep 18, 2022
    9
    2nd favorite from Flying Lotus, behind You're Dead. Gritty textures and drums, brilliant sound design. **** masterful
  2. All_ButTrU4
    Aug 25, 2022
    7
    Lots of ambience and static hold it together in a futuristic blend of Los Angeles fusion that makes for a highly enjoyable album.love theLots of ambience and static hold it together in a futuristic blend of Los Angeles fusion that makes for a highly enjoyable album.love the spacey, cos-mo sound the songs have, i can see the influence that flying lotus had from artists MF Doom, Madlib and J Dilla when it comes to crafting impressive beats. a very impressive piece of work for his second album.It's very cohesive, but always has a new interesting beat to throw you. It also follows a story curve. The first few tracks introduce the sounds, then Golden Diva, Riot, and GNG BNG come along (a great series of tracks) are give you action. Then it slowly calms down until the more introspective tracks near the end. It's absolutely amazing. I… Full Review »
  3. clem666
    Apr 6, 2021
    6
    Since the beginning Flying Lotus has his own style and ability to fuse brilliant samples into its raw experimental kind of music. On thisSince the beginning Flying Lotus has his own style and ability to fuse brilliant samples into its raw experimental kind of music. On this first studio album it feels like he still has to find his own musical identity. Those tracks almost all have the same atmosphere and approach: it is rude, grey, dark and gritty. I had too often the feeling that beats searched themselves and that the tracks didn't manage to craft their own identity. By listening to this album I felt lost in an ocean of FlyLo's undeniable creativity but also repetitveness. A lot sound truly unstructured, uncertain and unsubstantiated.

    Fortunately, at the end of this project, Fying Lotus added singers who helped them create what I think are better songs especially 'Auntie's Lock/Infinitum'. The end appears to be far more attractive and enjoyable since the artist eventually stops using those overly abrasive noisy beats to head towards calmer and softer tracks. Laura Darlington beautifully (but also repetitively) helps him progress that way.    … Full Review »
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