• Record Label: Warp
  • Release Date: Apr 19, 2005
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 27
  2. Negative: 0 out of 27

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  1. zami
    Jul 23, 2005
    8
    A wall of sound that ricochets off the insides of your mind leaving crater marks to marvel over. Untilted is unforgettable, unbelievable and simply unreal!!!
  2. TodD
    May 2, 2005
    10
    As good as anything else they've done. It sounds good, its exciting, its funny, its sad. Music!
  3. AramisG
    Apr 20, 2005
    8
    I don't use the word genius when describing pop (like it or not the IDM sub genre falls within the "pop" music genre). Having said that, what Autechre is now, is about as far away from typical pop music as you get while still having itself rooted in pop traditions (repetitive beats, melodies, etc.). Basically Untilted is a morass of layered fluctuating beats that usually give way to I don't use the word genius when describing pop (like it or not the IDM sub genre falls within the "pop" music genre). Having said that, what Autechre is now, is about as far away from typical pop music as you get while still having itself rooted in pop traditions (repetitive beats, melodies, etc.). Basically Untilted is a morass of layered fluctuating beats that usually give way to or mask a simple melody. Autechre's beats bind them and prevent them from ever really drifting into abstraction. Instead all of the songs tend to "morph" into something pretty different than what they were previously. Conceptually, this isn't anything new for Autechre given that they have been leaning in this direction since the early 90s. If you want to objectively be critical about Untilted (in terms of what Autechre has been doing), basically it is less drone-like than Confield and more cohesive than Draft 7.30. They seem to be honing their musical direction and it is allowing them to have more of a cohesive range with "their sound". Personally I find Untilted to be very enjoyable. LCC, Pro Radii and Sublimit are highlights for me. Pro Radii has an especially beautiful melody and sounds strangely like a hommage to Skinny Puppy. I don't know if I will ultimately like it as much as I did Confield. It really depends on how much personal time I will be able to allocate to focused listening. Expand
  4. AdamX
    Apr 20, 2005
    10
    Stunning. Autechre back to form at last and not without rewriting the electronica rulebook as well. The perfect compromise between Confield and Tri Repetae...
  5. BMR
    Apr 27, 2005
    9
    This album proves that its impossible to please everyone. I like it, but I'm not really concerned with Autechre's creative "forward" momentum. Perhaps this is Autechre's neo-classicist album. Ah whatever, just listen to the music and leave the commentary to the critics.
  6. TerryS
    Sep 27, 2006
    9
    From beginning to end, just the sort of album to blow away any doubts that the nonbelievers would have about autechre. Alot of people seem keen on bringing up Confield as comparison to anything that ae have done, when really Confield is only comparable to itself. Everything is ALWAYS new. Even when old ideas are reinterpreted, they can only come out more twisted than the original concept. From beginning to end, just the sort of album to blow away any doubts that the nonbelievers would have about autechre. Alot of people seem keen on bringing up Confield as comparison to anything that ae have done, when really Confield is only comparable to itself. Everything is ALWAYS new. Even when old ideas are reinterpreted, they can only come out more twisted than the original concept. This album just kicks an insane amount of ass without an apology. Expand
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 20
  2. Negative: 1 out of 20
  1. Q Magazine
    40
    Most is all too predictable and finds Autechre stuck in an experimental rut. [May 2005, p.121]
  2. Uncut
    80
    Unlike their many imitators, Autechre's music refuses to relax, ensuring them a longer radioactive half-life. [May 2005, p.106]
  3. While in recent years the work of Autechre has widened to include bursts of melody alongside their cut-and-paste sonic structures, it’s here on 'Untilted' that Booth and Brown get the mixture right.