We Have Sound - Tom Vek
Metascore
74 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. 80
    Finally: bedroom music from a guy who seems to know his way around the bedroom. [Nov 2005, p.141]
  2. 80
    By the end [Vek] makes a convincing bid for Rookie of the Year. [Oct 2005, p.81]
  3. The results are perhaps closest in spirit to Rough Trade-period Scritti Politti, all controlled experimentation and unexpected musical shapes thrown to enhance the songs, rather than indulge musical whims. [May 2005, p.112]
  4. We Have Sound is one of those albums that rarely has a down moment, and it's all thanks to Vek's ability to bring his diverse tracks together.
  5. With a penchant for sloppy dance beats and an ear for sonic minutiae, Tom Vek unites skill sets as antipodal as Rapture and Elvrum.
  6. A good debut, if strangely restrained. [2 Apr 2005, p.50]
  7. Beats and blips combine with electric guitars to form some pretty stark pieces of music, but all of the songs have enough meat to survive. [#11, p.113]
  8. A record brimming with potential.
  9. Most of Tom Vek's influences are at least fifteen years old and easily triangulated. But he's unencumbered by nostalgia. We Have Sound is so difficult to isolate from Vek's ass-backwards charisma, I wonder if the man might be a visionary.
  10. However ephemeral its pleasures, this is still a fun record well worth the frolic.
  11. These tracks would sound less like anemic demos if Vek had allowed himself to take advantage of a full studio and a real band. [3 Nov 2005, p.92]
  12. He's a post-techno indie geek making clattering, dead-end grooves with clumsy-but-endearing melodies splattered over the top like oil stains pressed in symmetrical folds of paper to make a Rorschach pattern that just happens to be a song.
  13. Even if you do persevere it's likely you'll find pleasure and irritation in equal measure, but at least he always provokes a reaction - a quality never to be underestimated.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. SeanT
    7
    pretty good but not as good as the hype suggests
  2. charlesDK
    9
    I love this album. Lots of simple bass guitar, beats that flirt with techno and brilliant lyrics. Each song has layer upon layer of sound and is really pleasing to listen to. The almost demo quality is definitely a positive in this case. A brilliantly rounded album that beats the majority of established bands hands down. Full Review »
  3. Edward
    10
    safe