The Mess We Made - Matt Elliott
The Mess We Made Image
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Recording under his own name for the first time rather than his usual Third Eye Foundation (definitely not to be confused with Third Eye Blind), Bristol, England's Matt Elliott returns with a dark, moody collection of lo-fi, sample-based electronica.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Alternative Press
    100
    Lound insanity is sexy; quiet insanity is sexier. [Sep 2003, p.118]
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  2. PopMatters
    80
    This record expects -- nay, demands -- multiple exposures. Its hidden delights and traps are equally patient.
  3. Mojo
    80
    On a couple of tracks here he feels the need to introduce some lame house beats and equally passe drum'n'bass, which is a shame because the rest of the time he creates a vocabulary that's utterly his own. [Jun 2003, p.100]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. Almost Cool
    78
    One of the most disturbing orchestral albums you'll hear.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. AntonisL
    10
    Let's get one thing straight...this isn't for guys who just can't stand melancholy. This is pure desperation in its most original and authentic morpheme. Matt Elliott is a genious...he proved that countless times though The Third Eye Foundation's albums and he proves it once again. Melodic soundscapes for a murky night. Like the soundtrack for the death of a just new-born child. Grief and desperation in every word and note, but weirdly in the end what is left behind is the flavor of a new travel/life/journey that begins on the ashes of the loss. Through all this pain Matt Elliton manages to instil you scrapings of optimism. If someone of you has seen the french film "The City Of The Lost Children", I'm sure he'll realize what I'm talking about here. The "Mess We Made" seems like it has immersed its musical soul in the dark canals of that city. "Songs" like "The Sinking Ship Song" and "The Dog Beneath The Skin" are simply some of the best you'll listen to this year and surely will leave you with a bitter feeling and some tears dropping from your cold memories. I'm astonished...an example from "The Sinking Ship Song"'s lyrics: "Though the wind may change This face still stays the same It just brings more rain Just to soak us But this time will pass Things like this never last So let's leave this farce Way behind us And we've all got to die So in the meantime let's leave Scream your name while you've still got breath Let's raise a glass to life and drink away the memories of those we have lost to death..." Just do yourself a favor and get this asap.… Expand

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