• Record Label: Rykodisc
  • Release Date: Oct 4, 2005
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. The standouts are too numerous to mention, and all in all, Ladytron have set a new peak, getting to the heart of their best previous moments and expanding on them.
  2. Filter
    86
    Ladytron have decisively transcended any particular froth of trend that may have sprouted up around them. [#17, p.98]
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    Get past Ladytron's aloof exterior and you'll discover bristling guitars that anchor the most pneumatic of beats--and supremely catchy songs that pulse with life. [7 Oct 2005, p.76]
  4. The Witching Hour is the most urgent and immediate of their career. The earlier records were sort of toylike and plastic; this not only has a pulse, it has chilled blood in its veins.
  5. Those who have loved Ladytron’s move toward a mix of harsher electro and lighter pop elements will find this a welcome progression, and seemingly a natural one, too.
  6. Witching Hour could stand to be about two tracks shorter, but its quality comes as an unexpected, and highly welcome, surprise.
  7. Where Ladytron's first two albums might have felt to some to be alienating and monochrome, like a shallow bender on champers and very nice drugs, but a shallow bender nonetheless; 'The Witching Hour' is blessed with a far greater palette of sound and sensation, and is as fine a spell as you'll succumb to all year.
  8. While Witching Hour has the band sounding more adventurous, there's a consistency to the tracks that holds it all together.
  9. Witching Hour is the album that Ladytron always seemed capable of, and its dark, dreamy-yet-catchy spell makes it the band's most sophisticated, and best, work to date.
  10. This is their most humane work, with abrasive atmospherics akin to those of My Bloody Valentine.
  11. Breathlessly exciting and enormously sexy, "The Witching Hour" is just the soundtrack for your next S&M session.
  12. Uncut
    80
    Working with a major label has brought a new sheen to the Ladytronic wall of sound. [Oct 2005, p.94]
  13. It’s rare for an album to transport you so fully onto its own terrain, and Witching Hour is a worthwhile retreat.
  14. The Witching Hour doesn't vary much from the pattern established by its predecessors, but it's every bit as beguiling.
  15. Here, finally, is a goth album for people who hate goth, an electronic album for people who hate electronica, and a pop album for everyone else.
  16. Mojo
    70
    [Ladytron] have evolved into a dark behemoth, trading much of their Moogy plinky-plonk poise and gentle subversion for ominous rock thunder. [Sep 2005, p.96]
  17. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    A record that rather makes one want to have sex. [24 Sep 2005, p.47]
  18. Alternative Press
    70
    Overall, Witching Hour abounds with sugary swirls of Cocteau Twins melancholia retooled for a post-electroclash world. [Dec 2005, p.218]
  19. Under The Radar
    60
    An uneven album of some great songs interspersed with mediocre, uninspiring tracks. [#10, p.106]
  20. Q Magazine
    60
    A curious third outing. [Oct 2005, p.117]
  21. Magnet
    50
    Its successes just about match its failures. [#70, p.100]
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 81 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 81
  2. Negative: 13 out of 81
  1. Dec 8, 2021
    8
    More pure electro Ladytron, and some lacking sounds with minimal reverb that Ladytron is known for.
  2. Jan 1, 2021
    10
    Those who have loved Ladytron’s move toward a mix of harsher electro and lighter pop elements will find this a welcome progression, andThose who have loved Ladytron’s move toward a mix of harsher electro and lighter pop elements will find this a welcome progression, and seemingly a natural one, too. Full Review »
  3. Jan 1, 2021
    10
    The standouts are too numerous to mention, and all in all, Ladytron have set a new peak, getting to the heart of their best previous momentsThe standouts are too numerous to mention, and all in all, Ladytron have set a new peak, getting to the heart of their best previous moments and expanding on them. Full Review »