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New History Warfare, Vol. 2: Judges Image
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 14 Ratings

  • Summary: The second album from the Polaris prize-nominated saxophonist was recorded solo, live, and in a single take. Stetson employed circular breathing and used approximately two dozen microphones, placing them on the studio walls, throughout his bass saxophone, and on his throat to produce thisThe second album from the Polaris prize-nominated saxophonist was recorded solo, live, and in a single take. Stetson employed circular breathing and used approximately two dozen microphones, placing them on the studio walls, throughout his bass saxophone, and on his throat to produce this otherworldly-sounding album. Expand
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  • Record Label: Constellation
  • Genre(s): Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Avant-Garde Jazz, Free Improvisation, Saxophone Jazz
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Dec 13, 2011
    87
    New History Warfare has enough range that it seems to have opened up a whole new fanbase that might otherwise have no interest in avant-garde music.
  2. Dec 13, 2011
    82
    Feels like music I've been subconsciously craving without even knowing it exists.
  3. Dec 13, 2011
    80
    New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges is an album of somber beauty, its flashes of color existing amidst a broad spectrum of grays.
  4. Dec 13, 2011
    80
    New History Warfare 2 is superfine, breathtaking, at once unnervingly exploratory and highly accessible, a record which leaves you grasping in vain for adequate reference points and peer comparisons.
  5. Dec 13, 2011
    80
    It's the solo work that's so impressive: simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting.
  6. Dec 13, 2011
    75
    The album's impenetrable surfaces grow haunting after numerous listens: Stetson may never garner mainstream recognition like his Arcade Fire pals, but he proves undeniably compelling in his uncompromising musicality.
  7. Dec 13, 2011
    70
    This album and a few videos of Stetson playing (the guy is a monster) will probably be enough to convince most people that he's a genius, but you don't need to be that smart yourself to appreciate what is probably 2011's most unique album.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Mar 11, 2013
    9
    This review could have been written a year ago when I found this album. One person and one instrument really shouldn't be able to make theThis review could have been written a year ago when I found this album. One person and one instrument really shouldn't be able to make the music that he does on "From no part of me can I summon a voice." It is really the most radiant and brightest thing I've ever heard in my 34 years on this planet. Expand