W
by Planningtorock
  • Record Label: DFA
  • Release Date: May 24, 2011
Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. AllMusic
    Dec 9, 2011
    80
    W isn't as rousing as its predecessor, but it may be an even richer album; in its own way, it's just as audacious.
  2. PopMatters
    Jun 28, 2011
    70
    Whilst drawing on avowedly personal material W ultimately invites similar bewilderment, but whilst you might not get Planningtorock this is nonetheless an album that doggedly works, whoever it is that has made it.
  3. Dusted Magazine
    Jun 22, 2011
    70
    The truth of W doesn't look as good on paper, but give it time. It's more convincing than it has any right to be.
  5. Pitchfork
    Jun 6, 2011
    67
    As a whole, the record doesn't quite gel. The songs generally sound better out of context.
  6. Q Magazine
    May 31, 2011
    60
    It's hard work at times, but ultimately adventurous and rewarding. [Jun 2011, p.120]
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  7. No Ripcord
    May 24, 2011
    90
    Scrape back the artistic pretensions and what's left may be one of 2011's most purely enjoyable, and boldest, records.
  8. Uncut
    May 23, 2011
    60
    While the likes of Living It Out are perfecting mutant disco, Rostron's self-consciousness means this expertly produced set suffers from too much quirkiness. [Jun 2011, p.93]
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  9. New Musical Express (NME)
    May 23, 2011
    80
    Luckily Planningtorock, alias Janine Rostron, has delivered 'W', a masterpiece of art-pop experimentalism that gleefully expands on her debut.
  10. BBC Music
    May 23, 2011
    80
    James Murphy's (of LCD Soundsystem) decision to sign this shape-shifting creature to DFA Records makes perfect sense given her blend of art, electronics and mischievous humour, and while it's an undeniably alien world Rostron inhabits, it's an altogether convincing one.
  11. Clash Music
    May 23, 2011
    80
    An enthralling listen from a compelling artist prepared to push the unorthodox.
  12. The Telegraph (UK)
    May 19, 2011
    80
    Parping away beneath her synthesised fantasies and hypnotic dance floor dramas, you can also hear the unlikely stirrings of an Eighties sax-solo revival.
  13. Mojo
    May 18, 2011
    60
    Though the bleak, froideur-laden Going Wrong and Milky Blau also impress, here are moments when W reneges on Doorway's great promise. [Jun 2011, p.105]
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  14. musicOMH.com
    May 18, 2011
    80
    W is the work of a restlessly experimental yet surprisingly accessible maverick at the top of her game, and may well herald the breakthrough to a wider audience that its creator richly deserves.
  15. Drowned In Sound
    May 18, 2011
    60
    Less pretension, more tickling the perimeter of pop perfection next time please, Planningtorock--you can skip the beer belly though.
  16. Beats Per Minute
    May 17, 2011
    84
    It is the inability to identify a precise sound, while all the while remaining consistent, that is W's greatest achievement, a notion as ambiguous and tempting as Rostron herself.
  17. Consequence
    May 16, 2011
    70
    It might be tempting for some to initially dismiss Planningtorock as weird for the sake of being weird, but W exposes an artist who is experimenting with musical conventions, with bizarre and often captivating results.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. hydrawithears
    Nov 15, 2011
    8
    I will try to write this review without mentioning a singer with whom Planningtorock aka Janine Rostron is compared far too often not to theI will try to write this review without mentioning a singer with whom Planningtorock aka Janine Rostron is compared far too often not to the advantage of the latter (hint for those who know little about what is going on in music recently: they collaborated on a 2010 album about Richard Dawkinsâ… Full Review »
  2. e7daniel
    Sep 18, 2011
    8
    Planningtorock - The Breaks might just be my new favourite song of 2011. Doorway, Manifesto and 9 gel nicely. Planningtorock's music videosPlanningtorock - The Breaks might just be my new favourite song of 2011. Doorway, Manifesto and 9 gel nicely. Planningtorock's music videos flair an incredible art.… Full Review »
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