Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. Sep 25, 2023
    86
    The record showcases their most cohesive and potentially most versatile stylistic palette to date. Returning fans will find the likes of “softscars”, “ghosts” and “bloodbunny” full of familiar glitchy flourishes, and “inferno” within a stone’s throw of Serotonin II’s understated reveries, but there’s a much more ‘physical’ presence to the music here.
  2. Sep 22, 2023
    85
    Even at its darkest, though, softscars is a blast, its turbo-charged riffs and sticky melodies all but begging you to crank the volume up to levels that will require future ENT visits. And there are plenty of purely fun moments here too.
  3. 80
    Its musical journey mirrors yeule’s life progression, pairing alternative rock with electronic glitch just as yeule couples their human self with their cyborg persona. This creates spectacular results, opening up to raw and honest emotion all while maintaining the mystery.
  4. Sep 28, 2023
    80
    With its unabashed focus on large, universal emotions softened by the weight of adult experience, softscars is a beautiful blast from the past, made brighter with its emotionally timeless themes and crunchy rock aesthetics.
  5. Sep 25, 2023
    80
    This harsh, noise-fuelled musical heartbeat is a thrilling new phase, cementing Ćmiel as a fearless creative voice.
  6. Sep 21, 2023
    80
    The album’s consistent layer of distortion and commitment to brooding unify the songs and solidify Yeule’s unique, and grim, musical style. With Softscars, Yeule expands, refines, and masters their creative vision.
  7. 80
    It’s an impressive step-up from an artist who was already operating miles ahead of their peers. ‘soft scars’ can be an emotionally excruciating experience, but it finds yeule connecting with their humanity in ways that seemed impossible just one year ago.
  8. Sep 21, 2023
    80
    While it's not always as easy to listen to as yeule's previous recordings, softscars contains some of their strongest songwriting and most daring sound design, and feels like the most honest expression of their vision to date.
  9. Sep 21, 2023
    80
    The music — a mix of digital sound with electric and acoustic guitars and live (or at least live sounding) drums — complements their newfound humanist approach to songwriting. 2022's Glitch Princess shattered pop music into a million little pieces. Here Ćmiel has glued things back together, but the cracks are still visible in the way they pair genre tropes.
  10. Sep 26, 2023
    79
    Their voice is more supple and sensual than we’ve heard before, even as they present themselves as anhedonic, numbed by “meaningless space”.
  11. Sep 27, 2023
    70
    In weird ways, softscars works as a satisfying slice of artful pop for the Anthropocene that oozes catastrophe.
  12. Sep 21, 2023
    70
    yeule’s willingness to play with sonic landscape and sci-fi dystopia means their version of emo is more infectiously haunting than the blueprint.

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