What Are You On?
by East River Pipe
  • Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Jan 24, 2006
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6

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  1. DaveJ
    Feb 26, 2006
    9
    I've followed this guy since his first Sarah Records single, and last night it hit me as I made a comp throwing together some of his finest moments from all the releases of the past 15 years (only 6 but I'll take every one of 'em). F.M. is one hell of a buried treasure and we are lucky he survived this harrowing bout with drugs/alcoholism. All this genius coming from a guy I've followed this guy since his first Sarah Records single, and last night it hit me as I made a comp throwing together some of his finest moments from all the releases of the past 15 years (only 6 but I'll take every one of 'em). F.M. is one hell of a buried treasure and we are lucky he survived this harrowing bout with drugs/alcoholism. All this genius coming from a guy who once lived in a train station, not caring if he lived or died. This release is quickly becoming my favorite, and that's saying a lot. I've made literally thousands of comps thru the years and always include at least 1 ERP song. This is about equal to the actual promotion he gets from not touring. Our pop generation's J.D. Salinger deserves a much wider audience, and he's not going to get it working at Home Depot.… Collapse
  2. DougP
    Feb 19, 2006
    9
    Beautiful sadness. Or sad beauty. Hits you in the bottle.
  3. EricR
    Feb 15, 2006
    8
    An underrated gem. I'm new to Cornog
  4. tomh
    Feb 12, 2006
    9
    Viewed against his own work, this album is just as good as 1996's MEL, which is a high compliment. Viewed against Cat Power and other "indie albums of the moment", it is superior. Unfortunately, WHAT ARE YOU ON will probably fall by the wayside, as East River Pipe does not tour and does little other promotion. What a shame.
  5. FMFats
    Feb 11, 2006
    8
    Concise pop gems.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. AllMusic
    80
    This is right up there with his best.
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  2. Billboard
    70
    Songs of losers and loss tempered by only a taste of wry humor.
  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    90
    A deeply satisfying work of storytelling through pop.... What Are You On? is emotionally complex in a way that few of the more prosperous songwriters of Cornog’s generation are capable of producing at this point in their careers.
    Read full review
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