Wonky - Orbital
  • Band Name: Orbital
  • Record Label: ACP
  • Release Date: Apr 3, 2012
User Score
6.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9

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  1. Kansler
    Apr 11, 2012
    9
    After an all-too-long hiatus, the Hartnoll brothers are back with a vengeance. Wonky is a powerful album, perhaps more powerful than anything they've released since their heyday. The production is impeccable, and Flood's mixing skills are put to good use here, extracting every essence out of every beat and bleep, creating a tapestry of sound both immediately approachable and with a panorama of hidden depth. The songs themselves are very varied, ranging from the dance floor hits of Wonky, Beelzedub and Stringy Acid to the more ethereal and soundtrack-friendly mood pieces like Never, One Big Moment and Distractions. The arch, from the first song to the last, is very strong, with only one questionable choice thrown in the mix - namely, the Zola Jesus collaboration, New France, which is interesting but ultimately an ill fit to the flow of the album - and the momentum of emotion and energy leaps from one high to another high, with the quirky ease of an acid-tripping, Kraftwerk-loving butterfly.

    This is their best album this side of the millennium, and a fantastic return to form to the original innovators of electronic home-listening music. They have produced something more than a dance album. Sure, it takes elements from current trends, like Dubstep and electro-house, but it sounds uniquely Orbital and very much like a logical progression to their work in the 1990's, in that it combines beat-oriented and dancefloor-friendly machinations with an audiophile's fascination with aural detail and a dedication to emotionally dictated musical architecture. Highly recommended.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. No Ripcord
    Jul 23, 2012
    70
    Wonky is a very structured album, and although quality control may lapse slightly toward the end, it deserves to be considered a triumphant return.
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  2. Under The Radar
    Jul 9, 2012
    70
    Wonky is the sound of what a band has learned along the way. [Jun 2012, p.160]
  3. Beats Per Minute (formerly One Thirty BPM)
    Jun 20, 2012
    74
    Imperfect it may be, but as a concise and focused return, its is an unequivocal triumph.
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