Quaristice - Autechre
  • Band Name: Autechre
  • Record Label: Warp
  • Release Date: Mar 4, 2008
Metascore
71 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 22
  2. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. After many detailed listens, the record feels like their strongest yet, a bold statement considering the importance of their previous works.
  2. Quaristice--the band's 9th full length, with about as many EPs--is probably the best album Autechre could have created at this point in their career.
  3. 82
    The album is a suprisingly wonderful effort--perhaps even the duo's best in a decade. [Winter 2008, p.96]
  4. Its layers upon layers of ideas and electronic noise require a level of repeat digestion far, far removed from the instant gratification and heart-on-sleeve emotions dominating the musical landscape. And that's never a bad thing when done with the innate skill and passion for progression heard here.
  5. 80
    It's a fantastic collection, there's still nothing else remotely like it. [Apr 2008, p.104]
  6. 80
    It's their best since 1995's "LP5." [Apr 2008, p.83]
  7. Not since "LP5" has being impressed been so obviously secondary to enjoyment.
  8. Autechre albums have been famously challenging in the past, but Quaristice is an easier way in, and impresses with its structure, its continued innovation in texture and in the way every sound remains vital, even in the course of a seventy minute album.
  9. Quaristice does an excellent job of mixing the two sides of Autechre into one cohesive running narrative.
  10. Quaristice demands to be heard, but stubbornly refuses to be the soundtrack of your life. That's art, and perhaps it's only pegged as "difficult" because it won't sing along with you; neither will the Chrysler Building, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful.
  11. Even while Quaristice is in some ways the most listenable album they've created in a decade, it's ultimately no easier to parse, and can be very rough going indeed if you're not in the mood for their peculiar world.
  12. At times it feels like a lot is going on, others not so much. The pieces are all there, but it just doesn't add up to more than the sum of its parts.
  13. Quaristice seems most comfortable amidst the modern scrum, a soundtrack for mundane urban maneuvers.
  14. There's a more tangible sense of calm on Quaristice (Warp), the ninth full-length release by Sean Booth and Rob Brown, electronic programmers who record together as Autechre. But it flickers and fluctuates, often dissolving out of frame.
  15. Quaristice demonstrates Autechre's ability to pop in every few years with a firm grasp on the present state of electronic music and a strong sense of the compositional.
  16. There are ideas here that could have been developed into a stunning 10-track album. Unfortunately, Quaristice contains 20 'tunes', many of them elusively experimental ear-tormenters.
  17. Quaristice can occasionally be on the sloggish side. However, there's a lot to admire in such a brazen display of accomplishment, and, while it may not be looking to court the most gushing of affection, this will undoubtedly prove to be one of '08's most singular releases.
  18. 60
    Get past glitchy irritants like 'SonDEremawe' and an artful payoff of cerebral, booty-shaking decadence awaits on their ninth album.
  19. Quaristice, though it contains plenty of ingenuity and microscopic beauty across its 20 tracks, often feels trapped by its own twitchy algorithms.
  20. The music is challenging to be sure, but cannot be disregarded outright due to several moments where everything seems to click. [Spring 2008, p.88]
  21. When you have to think this hard about music, it becomes a somewhat joyless ride, especially since Booth and Brown deny the listener a single danceable beat until track 10.
  22. While the maverick spirit that drives this pair is admirable, it doesn't make the end result any more enjoyable. [Apr 2008, p.102]
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. EricC.
    9
    What's painful for some is awesome for others. Experimental electro can be a very intimidating genre, and Autechre doesn't disprove this. You actually have to look for beats and rhythms, and the sounds they throw in may sound sensless and random. But something just clicked when I heard this album for the first time, and I actually enjoyed it. The second time, and it became my favorite album of the new year. They're ultra-precise computer tricks are beyond what most of their peers are doing (if you would dare call Does it Offend You Yeah? or Morcheeba their peers). It also doesn't hurt that this album reminds me of the score to Blade Runner (not sure why, except for the broodingly beautiful opener and closer). If you don't think that this is music, then you can't be convinced. For everyone else who is willing to get engaged in their music, then Autechre have no rivals. Also, it blows my mind how some people lable them as dance. Try to dance to them, and put it on YouTube. Full Review »
  2. MatthewB.
    9
    The first time I listened to this I skimmed through the beginnings of a few tracks, and thought it wasn't anything special. However this album really only comes alive when you listen to it as a single and complete musical journey. It's their best album for many years. Full Review »
  3. SaltlickMcgee
    9
    I have found Autechre to be consistently fascinating, and this album is no different. I agree with that cokemachineglow guy that this is probably the best album they could have made at this point. It's actually very playful in a lot of spots. Nothing really feels rushed or cut off too soon, and nothing really drags too badly either. I already can't wait for the next one. Full Review »