- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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What we have here is a long-awaited stepchild of IDM and hair metal sensibilities, joined by the omnivorous appetite of hip-hop.
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The band's sound is both fresh and nostalgic, and so pretty that it seems overly harsh to criticize them too much at this point. It's just that Ratatat is good enough to suggest that, with a little more diversity, the group could do even better things.
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Alternative PressRatatat seem harmless, but these melodies will seep into your brain. [Jun 2004, p.111]
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Q MagazineA happy mess of ideas, fun and riffing. [Jul 2004, p.122]
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Things immediately slow down on the second song and stay subdued throughout most of the album. Once I realized that the rest of the songs weren't going to be as blazing as "Seventeen Years," I was able to enjoy it much more.
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The end result is a sugar-high of electronic keyboard and guitars reaching glam-rock heights and booty shaking lows, all based around very simple, classical ideas of song-structure.
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Altogether, Ratatat is a great album, taking the sound Daft Punk constructed on Discovery and transforming it into a remarkably intricate, painstaking work of instrumental genius.
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The biggest problem with the release is that it's simply a little too programmed for it's own good.
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SpinWithout French accents or anime babes, this kind of thing just feels incomplete. [Jul 2004, p.110]
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Like early arcade-game programmers, Ratatat are working with a greatly reduced palette, and the synth reductionism means they're never going to escape cute.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 25 out of 28
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Mixed: 1 out of 28
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Negative: 2 out of 28
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KellyPAug 19, 2005The best album I've ever heard...ever. It's a revelation, simply beautiful.
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MattyBJul 8, 2005
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JohnJan 20, 2005