Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 32
  2. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. One of the most assured, unashamedly danceable albums that we’ve heard for quite a while.
  2. An album that nails both the balance and the imbalance promised by any true fusion of rock and dance music.
  3. This is the smartest fun music (and the most fun smart music) I've heard this year.
  4. Louden Up Now is easily the best record to come out of the [new wave dance punk revival] movement; its ten tracks are filled with fervor, hooks, passion and power.
  5. !!! has put together an end-to-end burner here, full of songs that will move your ass and stick in your ear for weeks.
  6. Magnet
    80
    Make no mistake: You will dance. [#64, p.80]
  7. Old loves Liquid Liquid, ESG and A Certain Ratio haven’t been abandoned and their percussionist still works overtime, but the spirits of Prince, Kraftwerk (both on the wryly self-referential "Dear Can"), Chic and even ABC (on the politicised "Shit Scheisse Merde Pt 1") make cameo appearances.
  8. A funkdafied smart-bomb that's one part Brooklyn, one part Madchester, guitar-meets-echo-chamber, a little Kompakt but still a little sprawling.
  9. Alternative Press
    80
    If bastard of ceremonies Nic Offer would shut his piehole, Louden Up Now! would improve 50 percent. [Aug 2004, p.106]
  10. Urb
    80
    Sound[s] like the most genuine "no wave" tribute album yet. [Jun 2004, p.83]
  11. Under The Radar
    80
    What's so exhilarating about this record, despite all its precise playing, is the casual way in which it shifts rhythmically, never seeming to follow a specific course, yet never losing its way. [#7]
  12. Q Magazine
    80
    Music that makes you 10 percent sleazier than you were--now where's that dancefloor? [Jul 2004, p.110]
  13. The caveat is that this is primarily dance music, and doesn't make for a super-compelling listen on a full attention basis.
  14. Blender
    80
    Eighties punk-funk meets '60s idealism and reefer-toking? Make way for the hipster hippies. [#27, p.134]
  15. Filter
    76
    Sounds like the house mix for a Marxist disco. [#11, p.92]
  16. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    Some of the cuts get lost in a stagnant loop. [25 Jun 2004, p.166]
  17. Sounds like a funky offshoot of the Stone Roses, mining blissed-out acid grooves, hypnotic rhythms and the kind of distant, detached vocals that don't sound like vocals at all.
  18. Planet
    70
    Resolutely bottom-heavy and abstract. [#7, p.73]
  19. The Wire
    70
    There probably isn't a track here you won't be hearing in some club, park or block party throughout the summer, so you might as well start now. [#245, p.51]
  20. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    For their righteous dance moves alone, these guys are for keeps. [5 Jun 2004, p.56]
  21. So the production is great, the songbook is varied, and the band is tighter and more ambitious than ever-- the only problem with Louden Up Now is the unfortunate paucity of ideas within the songs themselves.
  22. The only real downside to Louden Up Now is the surprising amount of filler surrounding the meaner cuts.
  23. Nimble as they are, !!! are definitely a little too certain of their own funkiness.
  24. Uncut
    60
    It's exuberant dorkiness, as well as fluidity of playing, that makes !!! stand out. [Jul 2004, p.106]
  25. A decent album, then. But one containing an EP that would've had us going "!!!!!".
  26. The music is still missing one crucial element—hooks. There really aren’t any of which to speak, and no amount of production skill and instrumental finesse is able to mask that.
  27. Their dark disco punk is as close to a New York sound as anything these days.
  28. They write some good tunes, and they have some appropriately strident abuse for lyrics. But there’s not enough for an album.
  29. Spin
    58
    Unfortunately, the elements that clicked so well on "Giuliani" prove an awkward fit on !!!'s sophomore full-length. [Jul 2004, p.111]
  30. If you take away the 9 minutes of their already-released big single, you could probably squeeze a tight EP out of Louden Up Now, but as a full-length [it] starts with a bang and ends with sort of a whimper. Fun to filler in 53 minutes.
  31. Now, this wouldn't seem so bad, or filler-friendly, if !!! offered an advancement on "Giuliani." Alas, no.
  32. While the album certainly has cuts worth hearing, it's just not a satisfying listen.
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 22
  2. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. inesc
    Jul 25, 2007
    10
    if this is even possible, they're even better live.
  2. HollyP
    May 19, 2006
    9
    a great great one. really good dancing ice bass
  3. karlat
    Dec 29, 2005
    9
    definately on my top ten albums this year. There are no bad songs. Glad I came across it. Good band to see in concert too.