• Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Apr 5, 2005
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 24
  2. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. There isn't a weak track on the album.
  2. A taut, economic album with emotional songs at its heart. Yep, we’re as surprised as you.
  3. Spin
    83
    Infusing their music with real personality and humor, sexiness and humility, they've neatly transcended the air-quote graveyard. [Apr 2005, p.105]
  4. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    As inviting and accessible as anything released this year. [2 Apr 2005, p.50]
  5. Filter
    78
    Odyssey doesn't suck. Imagine! [#15, p.94]
  6. If there’s a single quality that ties these songs together, it’s consistency of scope and sound.
  7. Odyssey is Fischerspooner's attempt at kicking and screaming their way out of punchline hell, so it's a bit of a surprise how good everything sounds.
  8. Fischerspooner hasn't re-written the playbook with this one, even if they've managed to somewhat reinvent themselves.
  9. Urb
    70
    Terrific tunes. [Apr 2005, p.102]
  10. This time around, the tunes are stronger and the arrangements are thicker.
  11. The songwriting is definitely more consistent than before.
  12. Under The Radar
    70
    An album that delves deeper and is more varied but loses some of the fun of their debut in the translation. [#9]
  13. This isn't a perfect album, but it is a great pop leap for Fischerspooner.
  14. Mojo
    70
    While [it] lacks the glitterball dazzle of Emerge, its many-coloured moods result in bankable Moroder moments, baroque ballads, and an ECG-blowing cover of Boredoms' O.
  15. Odyssey makes their transition from flag-waving fashionistas to serious, rewarding band smooth and entirely believable.
  16. Fischerspooner still underdevelops its melodies and overcooks its mixes, but Odyssey contains a fair number of songs like the opener, "Just Let Go," a lean dance track with a memorable chorus, buzzing guitars, and some deft keywork.
  17. Their first album, more art than pop, had an admirable conceptual purity. Now that they're a proper band after all, they turn out to be a rather ordinary one.
  18. Uncut
    60
    For an international pop act on a major label, this is a daring album. [May 2005, p.109]
  19. Alternative Press
    60
    Much of the album reflects a tension between melancholia and euphoria that sounds more like an epic battle between Fischerspooner's love for New Order and Pet Shop Boys--but with beefier, disco-fied beats. [May 2005, p.174]
  20. Odyssey is a little late and a touch weaker than its previous counterpart.
  21. Entertainment Weekly
    58
    What it doesn't have is much in the way of songs, or sincerity. [8 Apr 2005, p.66]
  22. The lyrics are clumsy, the synth-pop melodies bland and the genius long gone.
  23. Blender
    20
    Jettisons their saving grace--a big, glitter-streaked wink--for limp stabs at profundity. [Apr 2005, p.117]
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 29
  3. Negative: 2 out of 29
  1. bobbyk
    Jan 14, 2006
    9
    Odyssey is one of the most underated albums of 2005. With the exception of Wednesday, there isn't much filler here. Excelent pop Odyssey is one of the most underated albums of 2005. With the exception of Wednesday, there isn't much filler here. Excelent pop melodies with electronic beats without being "electroclash." Full Review »
  2. Sean
    Dec 14, 2005
    10
    My favorite album of the year. Awesome!
  3. worrybot
    Dec 11, 2005
    10
    my first exposure to fischerspooner was through a photo in some magazine of either fischer or spooner, i can't remember, in vampire drag my first exposure to fischerspooner was through a photo in some magazine of either fischer or spooner, i can't remember, in vampire drag make-up, parading aournd on stage with a mic stand. i initially brushed them off as some gimmick laden, style-over-substance flash in the pan. but this album is exceptional- dancable, spacey pop- and might be my favorite of the year. Full Review »