• Record Label: Mush
  • Release Date: Mar 16, 2004
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 22
  2. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. A thoroughly engaging exercise in uneasy listening.
  2. I’d recommend ten to anyone who bought oaklandazulasylum; to anyone else, I’d recommend both with some urgency...this is the real thing, and you’ll never know how much you needed it until you hear it.
  3. As rap, this hardly registers. As political commentary, it’s too obtuse to make much impact. But as eclectic, genre-bending music with an ear for interesting sounds and a knack for making ambiguous lyrics memorable, cLOUDDEAD’s second effort is uniquely promising and satisfying.
  4. Ten is half as long as the band's debut and much more focused; each performer shows improved range and sharper talents. And yet, it's still a mixed bag.
  5. The mesmerizing quality they create through drone beats and varied vocals engage the listener in a whirlwind of noise, and it rarely ever lets up.
  6. This is hip-hop for post-rock fans and vice versa.
  7. After a few listens Ten emerges as an extremely clever audio novel.
  8. It’s so intriguing that I continually find myself tuning and listening to it over and over again.
  9. Truly unlike anything else you'll hear this year, hip-hop or otherwise.
  10. Mojo
    80
    The flow is smoother, and the whole thing has a more compressed, accessible feel, without compromising the essential psychedelic madness at its heart. [Apr 2004, p.113]
  11. Uncut
    80
    Everything they do is infused with an undeniable, albeit sometimes unfathomable, psychedelic spirit. [Mar 2004, p.92]
  12. Urb
    80
    Closer in spirit to Matmos' The Civil War than to any rap record, Ten dares you to let your inner child out to play. [Mar 2004, p.108]
  13. Alternative Press
    80
    Gen-Y stoners who'd trade their favorite bong to inhale a hip-hop Pink Floyd, the exchange line starts here. [May 2004, p.108]
  14. Filter
    88
    By not making sense as we know it, cLOUDDEAD creat music that is open to interpretation. [#10, p.96]
  15. Spin
    75
    Suggests a gullier Cocteau Twins. [May 2004, p.108]
  16. The A.V. Club
    70
    Some of cLOUDEAD's lyrics are too precious and oblique not to shrug off, but the good ones rub rich images from their absurdist couplings. [24 Mar 2004]
  17. The Wire
    70
    Ten is forever on the point of falling apart but somehow doesn't. [#241, p.55]
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. Apr 12, 2016
    10
    a really awesome CD. love the production here, it has a unique sound that separates it from other artists out there. like many other artistsa really awesome CD. love the production here, it has a unique sound that separates it from other artists out there. like many other artists that uses experimental hip hop, these guys did a great job. Full Review »
  2. bozzobob
    Sep 28, 2005
    10
    wikid
  3. JeffM.
    Jul 27, 2005
    10
    re-Joyce my ears! This album reminds me of all those strange noises you make as a kid, trying harmonies and variations to create a moment re-Joyce my ears! This album reminds me of all those strange noises you make as a kid, trying harmonies and variations to create a moment that happens and dies forever in your back yard. (Other people did that, right?) This work -all of cLOUDDEAD's work- uses thoughts as the palette, and (some would argue) hip-hop as the medium. I prefer not to stuff this in a genre, I think the pressure of that, the expectations of that could be what caused cLOUDDEAD to end. "Our Name" is a shameless, somewhat veiled statement of "screw off, we're done then." I often wonder why... but I hear it was to save their friendship, not being pushed over the edge by fans/pans/critics. Either way, this album made me even more sad they're gone. It's top notch. Full Review »