Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 25
  2. Negative: 0 out of 25
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  1. Uncut
    Dec 20, 2010
    60
    Though this showcases the group;'s customary modular wit, it doesn't give Laetitia Sadier much to work with tune-wise. [Dec 2010, p.106]
  2. Dec 13, 2010
    60
    At its best, it blows Chemical Chords out of the water but at its worst, it's uninspiring and dull.
  3. Q Magazine
    Nov 17, 2010
    60
    Not Music presents more of their signature future-retro pop exotica. [Dec. 2010, p. 114]
  4. Nov 15, 2010
    60
    It's an aspect of the band that surely deserves recognition, and Not Music, uneven and understated, is its fitting epitaph.
  5. Nov 12, 2010
    60
    Stereolab will always provide excitement, but in the past, part of that excitement came from a band having no idea of how they should sound, so that the result threw polemics and tangents together with an unmatched grace.
  6. Nov 11, 2010
    60
    It is music, of course, but not new music – Stereolab are on hiatus, after all. So here are another 11 tracks from the sessions that produced their 2008 album Chemical Chords, plus a couple of remixes.
  7. Nov 16, 2010
    50
    Not Music is one of those albums of extras that disappointingly lays bare why these tracks were excluded from those that initially found a release.
  8. Mojo
    Dec 20, 2010
    40
    Not Music can feel a little like trying to solve a series of Sudoko puzzles, the brain fully engaged but the heart untaxed. [Dec 2010, p.97]
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Nov 21, 2010
    9
    From the Chemical Chords recording sessions, the tunes on Not Music have the same great production and artistic flavor. In places, the soundsFrom the Chemical Chords recording sessions, the tunes on Not Music have the same great production and artistic flavor. In places, the sounds broaden out a bit into new territory, but the overall effect still astounding. These guys remain the best kept "secret" in all of alternative music. Full Review »