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- Critic score
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- By date
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Q MagazineFeb 2, 2011The title's maths may not add up, but he's onto a winning formula. [Feb. 2011, p. 115]
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Jan 10, 2011He's not relying on anybody else out there to make something unique for him to sample; he's making them all himself. Joel Zimmerman only has to rely on deadmau5, and the party won't ever stop. And the mouse is far from dead.
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Dec 21, 2010Still, his range is admirable and 4 × 4 appropriates just enough familiar tone to act as a mainstream dance sampler for the under-initiated.
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Dec 7, 2010With the illuminated big head and all, Canadian producer Joel Zimmerman's Deadmau5 alias is a blast to see live, but you can also bring quite a bit of that tech-house-meets-slammin'-electro excitement home with 4 x 4 = 12.
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Dec 7, 2010If the 'mau5 longs for a Moby-style breakthrough, his riffs 'n' blips will have to add up to something more.
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Dec 7, 2010The result may surprise some just looking to get lost in Glowstick Land: sure, there are plenty of K-hole zone-outs, but just as often Zimmerman puts songcraft and danceability ahead of the usual sci-fi-filter tricks.
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Dec 16, 2010Those who go to genuine underground parties every weekend will find it a bit lame, but considering the work of his fellow chart-topping populists, you could do a lot worse.
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Dec 10, 2010It's a colourful grab-bag, but Zimmerman's ear for stock clubland dynamics means that while 4x4=12 barely breaks sweat whomping the listener into submission, it also stops way short of revealing the man behind the mask.
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Dec 7, 20104x4=12 is audacious, mixing generic house grooves with eclectic fare like "Bad Selection," a kinetic jam with dog-whistle synth builds.
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Dec 7, 2010His third production compilation again shows that he is a master at doing simple electro house music very well: humongous beats and basslines blend with straightforward chord progressions and, when interest may start to lag, sonic diversions.
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Dec 7, 2010He takes the stage in headgear so cartoon-cute it could have been devised by an ad firm. Unfortunately, Deadmau5's albums sound that way as well.
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Dec 7, 2010As dedicated, efficient, and resourceful as deadmau5 is, he's ultimately unable to escape the severe limitations of his craft, and therefore can't elevate 4X4=12 beyond standard club fare.
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Dec 7, 2010Hipsters will hate it, but that's partly the point. Admitting he was "born and raised an Internet hate machine," Deadmau5 knows the power of provocation.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 97 out of 112
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Mixed: 8 out of 112
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Negative: 7 out of 112
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Dec 8, 2010
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Feb 23, 2011
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Dec 11, 2013