Zonoscope
by Cut Copy
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
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  1. Alternative Press
    Feb 23, 2011
    60
    Like most everything else here, it's a dancing no-brainer. [Mar 2011, p.92]
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  2. Clash Music
    Feb 9, 2011
    60
    Things are a little different now but like many of their contemporaries, Cut Copy have had to adapt to the landscape and Zonoscope is a considered attempt at a more kaleidoscopic approach.
  3. New Musical Express (NME)
    Feb 7, 2011
    50
    After the ubiquitous presence of '80s-indebted music last year, a follow-up with little stylistic deviation isn't a thrilling proposition: Take Me Over steals a hook from fellow Australians Men At Work, adds ooh-ooh backing vocals and just about gets away with it.
  5. Q Magazine
    May 2, 2011
    60
    Take Me Over makes a misplaced attempt at funk, which grates slightly, but it's hard to dislike the well tuned synths and dreamy choruses of tracks such as Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat. [Apr 2011, p.101]
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  6. Rolling Stone
    Feb 8, 2011
    60
    Australian synth-pop quartet Cut Copy do the Eighties eerily well. Too well, in fact. Cue up the band's third album, and you find yourself playing spot-the-influence.
  7. The Boston Phoenix
    Feb 16, 2011
    50
    The contrived sheen marring much of the album dissolves, and things get industrial real quick. That dark and uncharted - for Cut Copy - territory might be the way to go heading forward.
  8. The Guardian
    Feb 11, 2011
    60
    They throw the kitchen sink into Sun God, a 15-minute odyssey somewhere between LCD Soundsystem and disco, which could probably liven up any living room into an Aussie beach party.
  9. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Feb 4, 2011
    60
    Zonoscope is far from an outright failure, just more severe of a backslide than expected.
  10. Uncut
    Apr 13, 2011
    40
    This is departure lounge pop--antiseptic, pleasant, with Photoshopped pics of exotic locales scattered around, but none of the hedonism of actually being there. [May 2011, p.82]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 44
  3. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. cmcdonald5
    Feb 19, 2011
    10
    More dance and less rock than previous albums, but I think this is the best cut copy album yet, and well worth a listen. They won't lose anyMore dance and less rock than previous albums, but I think this is the best cut copy album yet, and well worth a listen. They won't lose any old fans with this album, and I think they will gain new fans as well. Only complaint is some songs go very long with little change in the repetition, but all the better to dance to at your end of the world party right?… Full Review »
  2. tanqueray77
    Feb 12, 2011
    4
    After the stellar dance-rock album "In Ghost Colours", I guess they decided to phone this one in. It is so soaked in all the left over, 80'sAfter the stellar dance-rock album "In Ghost Colours", I guess they decided to phone this one in. It is so soaked in all the left over, 80's synth garbage (OMD, New Order and Depeche Mode) that no one has bothered to meddle in to this point, leaving the entire venture pretty stale. Certainly there are a few dance-able tracks here and there, yet there is minimal to no rock influences this time around and most of all, the tone and tempo of leader singer Whitford's vocals are beyond boring. I've always felt their previous work sounded extremely spontaneous, fun and still provided uniquely interesting structures like no one else; "Zonoscope" shows another side of Cut Copy: unimaginative, non-unique and flat. Better luck next time...… Full Review »
  3. ChrisMiller35
    Feb 10, 2011
    10
    Consistency/innovative/dance-rock inspiring electro pop. Cut Copy is 3 for 3 on career albums and Zonoscope adds a great topping to theConsistency/innovative/dance-rock inspiring electro pop. Cut Copy is 3 for 3 on career albums and Zonoscope adds a great topping to the trilogy of musical euphoria. If you were expecting In Ghost Colours part 2 with hit after hit, CC responded with this new record full of organic new sounds and they passed with flying colours.… Full Review »
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