Art Angels
by Grimes
  • Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: Dec 11, 2015
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 996 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 912 out of 996
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 996
  3. Negative: 52 out of 996
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  1. vote4ghosts
    Sep 28, 2020
    9
    As a major Grimes fan, this is her best album in my opinion. Belly of the Beat is one of my favorite songs, ever. You get elements of old Grimes from Visions and Halfaxa, but this album feels like such a positive evolution for her career. I adore all of her discography, but this is by far my favorite piece of art from Grimes.
  2. Wanesta
    Dec 28, 2021
    9
    Unlike all of her other records thus far, Grimes seems to finally let go and embrace the beauty of life on Art Angels. With the colorful electric production and the eccentric sounds, we find our favorite Canadian alien exploring the power of joy like never before. It's like if someone put their hand in a rainbow-colored bucket of paint and slapped you across the face with it. AUnlike all of her other records thus far, Grimes seems to finally let go and embrace the beauty of life on Art Angels. With the colorful electric production and the eccentric sounds, we find our favorite Canadian alien exploring the power of joy like never before. It's like if someone put their hand in a rainbow-colored bucket of paint and slapped you across the face with it. A near-perfect record and a new staple in electronic music history.… Expand
  3. TMSNReview
    Nov 20, 2022
    9
    Grimes' unique voice and the instruments cooperate amazingly. Here're my rates:
    1. laughing and not being normal: 8.7/10
    2. California: 9.6/10 3. SCREAM: 8.4/10 4. Flesh without Blood: 9/10 5. Belly of the Beat: 8.4/10 6. Kill V. Maim: 9.6/10 7. Artangels: 9.4/10 8. Easily: 9.3/10 9. Pin: 9.3/10 10. Realiti: 9.6/10 11. World Princess part II: 9.7/10 12. Venus Fly: 9.7/10 13.    Grimes' unique voice and the instruments cooperate amazingly. Here're my rates:
    1. laughing and not being normal: 8.7/10
    2. California: 9.6/10
    3. SCREAM: 8.4/10
    4. Flesh without Blood: 9/10
    5. Belly of the Beat: 8.4/10
    6. Kill V. Maim: 9.6/10
    7. Artangels: 9.4/10
    8. Easily: 9.3/10
    9. Pin: 9.3/10
    10. Realiti: 9.6/10
    11. World Princess part II: 9.7/10
    12. Venus Fly: 9.7/10
    13. Life in the Vivid Dream: 8.3/10
    14. Butterfly: 8.7/10
    Vocals: 9.5/10
    Structure: 9.3/10
    Overall: 9.2/10    … Expand
  4. kman5473
    Sep 5, 2016
    8
    I had been exposed to Grimes randomly by Youtube because I love other bands like Warpaint, Angel Olsen, Sky Ferreira, and St. Vincent. Up until last week, what I was getting exposed to was OK at best; I respected the conventions of bizarre/punk/goth/insanity, but nothing really stuck out to me as good enough to buy.

    Then--actually last Friday (September 2nd, 2016), I watched, "Kill V    I had been exposed to Grimes randomly by Youtube because I love other bands like Warpaint, Angel Olsen, Sky Ferreira, and St. Vincent. Up until last week, what I was getting exposed to was OK at best; I respected the conventions of bizarre/punk/goth/insanity, but nothing really stuck out to me as good enough to buy.

    Then--actually last Friday (September 2nd, 2016), I watched, "Kill V Main" for the first time and was BLOWN away. Not only did Grimes surpass her own level of writing/composing music, I genuinely believe she's pushed music a level higher in general. I don't even participate in the vampire/goth/punk scene, but this track is so good that I knew as soon as I watched the music video the first time I had to buy this album.

    I'm excited to see what Grimes does in the future, and investigate her music further. Overall, this album is solid, but not "perfect" in the sense that the album as a whole is groundbreaking. There are tracks that definitely are though. If you're questioning whether or not you like Grimes, watch Kill vs Maim, and if you love it than get the album!    … Expand
  5. JuanSebastian
    Dec 16, 2015
    8
    I'm a grimes fan since the exotic Visions was released and all can say about Art Angels is that I'm fully grateful for this piece of art. Of course this is not as similar as her older stuff but I think it works in terms of her style. Maybe it's a little too pop for her but it's not a 1989 (Taylor Swift) so I'm glad about that. The production also is satisfying. I can't decide on which isI'm a grimes fan since the exotic Visions was released and all can say about Art Angels is that I'm fully grateful for this piece of art. Of course this is not as similar as her older stuff but I think it works in terms of her style. Maybe it's a little too pop for her but it's not a 1989 (Taylor Swift) so I'm glad about that. The production also is satisfying. I can't decide on which is my favorite track, by now I'm obsessed with Flesh Without Blood, Realiti and Kill V.Maim. Go ahead and listen Art Angels, it's definitely not a waste of your time.… Expand
  6. asjklasjklas
    Nov 8, 2015
    8
    Claire Boucher AKA Grimes has enough idiosyncrasies to consider even her most musically polished, poppy, and, dare I say, feminine music to date unconventional by any musical standards, as her hotly anticipated Art Angels completely diminishes every single ethereal, experimental 'bedroom'-esque quality inhabited on her earlier releases in favor of a straightforward and streamlined soundClaire Boucher AKA Grimes has enough idiosyncrasies to consider even her most musically polished, poppy, and, dare I say, feminine music to date unconventional by any musical standards, as her hotly anticipated Art Angels completely diminishes every single ethereal, experimental 'bedroom'-esque quality inhabited on her earlier releases in favor of a straightforward and streamlined sound reminescent of J-pop, pop rock, power pop, and contemporary pop music from the early '00s. And while it's mostly a success on Boucher's end of the table, maintaining an accessible yet alien approach throughout, Art Angels also doesn't have any surprises similar on scale to 2012's Visions and certain tracks almost anonymize both her production and vocals, which can be largely dependent on that seemingly signature weirdness Boucher has been acclaimed for since the beginning.

    The carefree country music twang of "California", Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes's bubbly, cutesy Mandarin Chinese raps vs. Grimes' growly screams on "Scream", Grimes' continued screams and addictive K-pop flavored chorus of "Kill v. Maim", or Janelle Monáe turning grrrl power up to over 9,000 on the abrasive "Venus Fly"—Grimes obviously hasn't allowed Art Angels to fully submerge into the sugary sweet tropes that commonly overpopulate such a commercial genre. Then again, it's not safe to say that about all of it: "REALiTi", which receives one of the most unwarranted, unwanted, and unnecessary remakes of 2015, was already a near-perfect pop song and is an example of how Boucher's capable of rendering her uniqueness virtually mute on certain tracks on Art Angels.

    The disappointment in the abandonment of the experimental electronic soundscapes cascading on her earlier releases could've been compensated for had Boucher's many opportunistic quotes regarding Art Angels—how Visions and her lead singles are substantially less creative, how one song is supposed to be about a gender-bending space traveller Al Pacino, and that the album was full of diss tracks, none of which are noticeably true yet—only to raise expectations to a criminally lower degree of fulfillment. The overall outcome can't be correctly calculated because it'll assumingly divide her target demographic; it's an immediately effective pop album that still starkly contrasts the pop of today and yet it completely dumbs itself down when you compare it to her earlier releases and realize they too similarly had that effect, only on music altogether. I imagine that's an admittedly stubborn critique and Art Angels may gradually grow on me within the next few months or maybe even days, but it's one I can confidently cast out for now.

    Overall rating: 7.7    … Expand
  7. Zimbardo
    Nov 7, 2015
    8
    Pretty solid work by Claire. This is a far more radio-friendly album so those looking for the experimental sound of earlier albums may be disappointed, but this is top notch work which reflects an ability to create diverse tracks while hanging onto what makes Grimes Grimes.

    And lets all breathe a sigh of relief that this album didn't end up being full of tracks like "Go".
  8. KriticalChaos
    Nov 13, 2015
    8
    Before I start, let it be known that I am new to Grimes.

    So I heard Flesh without Blood while browsing through Youtube and was impressed, so I decided to check out the rest of the album. I was not disappointed. Grimes' free and unrestricted style is a breath of fresh air in a world full of tight, over-controlled music. The unapologetic swagger she presents herself with is amiable, as    Before I start, let it be known that I am new to Grimes.

    So I heard Flesh without Blood while browsing through Youtube and was impressed, so I decided to check out the rest of the album. I was not disappointed. Grimes' free and unrestricted style is a breath of fresh air in a world full of tight, over-controlled music. The unapologetic swagger she presents herself with is amiable, as you can tell she is just creating what she feels, not conforming to any standard. Being someone who likes to know the lyrics to what I'm hearing, I was a bit put off, but I guess that's sort of part of the journey, filling in the blanks yourself.

    There are many shining tracks on the album, but Flesh without Blood(a big F U to anyone who would diss the new style), Kill V. Maim(very catchy abstract tune), and REALiTi(basically about seeing the beauty in life) are the real gems here, while California and Art Angels fall short(as well as Scream in my opinion just because I have no idea what's being said.)

    All in all, Art Angels is a very solid album that personally made me think about certain things differently. My favorite lyric is from the closing track, Butterfly: "Why are you looking for a harmony? There is harmony in everything."

    After going through Art Angels, I decided to listen to her previous album "Visions", and I can't say anything other than she has evolved completely from what she was in that album. I can barely bring myself to listen to "Visions", but Grimes knocked this one out of the park with it's entirely different, optimistic style with a sense of purpose. Definitely do not judge an album by it's cover.

    I recommend the album to anyone who's into Dance, Electronic, Indie Pop, or anything really. It's worth a listen.

    PS. While it's still averaging a 3.5/5, You would not believe the flak this album is getting on Sputnik Music. I don't know what it is about that site, but the reviews never align with Metacritic. Visions is rated higher than Art Angels, which brings up a big red flag for me.    … Expand
  9. Muddsjr
    Nov 7, 2015
    8
    Grimes' long awaited follow up to her much loved Visions is generally more high spirited and the mysterious aura that alienated her sound is reduced greatly with the mainstream accessibility.
    At the same time, the commerciality doesn't destroy anything either. Art Angels is mostly success, with few mis-steps and disappointments.
  10. pinkraop
    Dec 7, 2015
    8
    The first third is all over the place but then the album becomes greater and greater. "Kill V. Maim" is one of the best songs of the year. Her singing, production and songwriting are unique.
  11. Neng-
    Jul 5, 2017
    8
    Art Angels is weird, but that is what makes it so unique, that awkwardness that Grimes carries from herself into her music, and it’s so genuine that I ended up loving this album without even expecting to like it at all!
    It’s no secret that this album seems like a step forward from his previous works (which she says took her no time at all) and that production quality that she gained and    Art Angels is weird, but that is what makes it so unique, that awkwardness that Grimes carries from herself into her music, and it’s so genuine that I ended up loving this album without even expecting to like it at all!
    It’s no secret that this album seems like a step forward from his previous works (which she says took her no time at all) and that production quality that she gained and the more time she spent here is shown in this album.
    Although some tracks are a little bit noisy and come across being more like a mixed of ideas that don’t match, there are some really well though pieces that makes me keep listening to this album.    … Expand
  12. victorcarter
    Nov 21, 2016
    8
    Grimes came through with a wonderfully odd and gorgeously put together pop album. It is truly singular and it doesn't feel like this can really be made by anyone else. Grimes has a great ability to craft songs with imagination. It just gets better with every listen.
  13. Kurai159
    Aug 25, 2017
    8
    This is so different from other Grimes album. This really creative, it looks like she has found her way to music. Even though I prefer her latest album Visions(2012) because it was more experimental and more dark, but it's only my opinion. I think Art Angles should be on the top of all charts possible, I love this album and Grimes voice makes this album even more magical. I gave it 8This is so different from other Grimes album. This really creative, it looks like she has found her way to music. Even though I prefer her latest album Visions(2012) because it was more experimental and more dark, but it's only my opinion. I think Art Angles should be on the top of all charts possible, I love this album and Grimes voice makes this album even more magical. I gave it 8 because at some point couple of songs in this album is kinda annoying a little bit. Best Tracks: Kill V. Maim Worst Tracks: Art Angels.… Expand
  14. All_ButTrU4
    Oct 31, 2020
    8
    A dystopian feminist journal on what being female and young entails in a society where their subjugation is seen as tradition whilst their resistance is seen as irrational.
  15. viniciuspotrich
    May 30, 2019
    8
    A sonoridade criativa e cativante de Art Angels mostra que Grimes é mais que uma DJ de talento, é também uma ótima artista pop.
  16. chrissyk
    Feb 21, 2020
    8
    Great mix of styles Not all are perfect songs but some great experimentation .
    Some emotional ones too
  17. andrew260z
    Nov 18, 2015
    7
    This is by no means Grimes' best work but it is an enjoyable pop / synth slightly underground album. I've had this on high rotation for a week and overall am enjoying it but its not as good as Visions was. I think if your a Grimes fan its a must buy and she has one of the most amazing female vocals out there IMHO, however if you are not a pop music fan you might just find that this isn'tThis is by no means Grimes' best work but it is an enjoyable pop / synth slightly underground album. I've had this on high rotation for a week and overall am enjoying it but its not as good as Visions was. I think if your a Grimes fan its a must buy and she has one of the most amazing female vocals out there IMHO, however if you are not a pop music fan you might just find that this isn't your cup of tea. Realiti is a good track, I also found SCREAM to be enjoyable.… Expand
  18. jtx
    Nov 7, 2015
    7
    Grimes' new album isn't excellent, it's a step back from Visions and her albums before that. This is not because it is poppy, it's because the heart and soul of her previous music was intertwined with raw weirdness. Instead of spontaneous creativity and surprises we get a collection of very structured, meticulously produced pop singles.

    This should not be heralded because she's now a    Grimes' new album isn't excellent, it's a step back from Visions and her albums before that. This is not because it is poppy, it's because the heart and soul of her previous music was intertwined with raw weirdness. Instead of spontaneous creativity and surprises we get a collection of very structured, meticulously produced pop singles.

    This should not be heralded because she's now a "Pop Goddess" because she already was 4 years ago. Nor because this is clean, catchy, polished, and perfectly tweaked and written, or as many said earlier, similar to Carly Rae Jepsen. It's a great album, but it's not her best nor one of the best of the year. She has so much more potential.    … Expand
  19. MirrorPhase
    Oct 15, 2016
    7
    The most striking feature of this album is its ability to remain coherent in spite of its radical stylistic twists and turns. It is a bolder work than any of her earlier releases, on some tracks clearly risking the artist's existing fan-base by introducing a more radio-friendly production and songwriting style (California, Butterfly and Flesh without Blood being noteworthy examples, butThe most striking feature of this album is its ability to remain coherent in spite of its radical stylistic twists and turns. It is a bolder work than any of her earlier releases, on some tracks clearly risking the artist's existing fan-base by introducing a more radio-friendly production and songwriting style (California, Butterfly and Flesh without Blood being noteworthy examples, but also standout tracks). Having said that, the production does occasionally fall short, with a sometimes uneven bottom end. This is a minor gripe, however, given the overall strength of the songwriting and sonic richness that prevails throughout. Drawing stylistically on electronic pop stalwarts like Gwen Stefani, Goldfrapp and Pink, but also more esoteric influences, some of which will be familiar from the 4AD stable, this album demands an open mind, but rewards it.… Expand
  20. prestonhung
    Jul 26, 2018
    7
    'Art Angels' is another fun and enjoyable album by Grimes. Although the lyrics and melody may sometimes be dull, the whole album provides a dark yet sentimental and emotional atmosphere overall. Grimes' vocals continue to be spectacular, and most of the LP is well-produced and an improvement compared to its predecessor 'Visions'.
    Strongest Tracks: "laughing and not being normal",    'Art Angels' is another fun and enjoyable album by Grimes. Although the lyrics and melody may sometimes be dull, the whole album provides a dark yet sentimental and emotional atmosphere overall. Grimes' vocals continue to be spectacular, and most of the LP is well-produced and an improvement compared to its predecessor 'Visions'.
    Strongest Tracks: "laughing and not being normal", "California", "SCREAM", "Kill V. Maim", "World Princess part II"
    Weakest Tracks: "Artangels", "Easily", "Butterfly"    … Expand
  21. Enterka
    Nov 14, 2019
    7
    Grimes is the best! Album so good! Venus Fly with Janelle Monae is a bop, amazing, good, best in album.
  22. nirvanafreak
    Nov 9, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Favourite Songs: Laughing and Not Being Normal, Flesh Without Blood, Easily, Pin
    Least Favourite Songs: World Princess Part II, Artangels
    I'm struggling to understand why this is already one of the highest user reviewed albums of this year on metacritic, with mainly 9s & 10s out of 10. Sure it's good but it's not a **** masterpiece- if I really hated the **** like I did on the first couple of listens it would be very easy to rip into it. Luckily I like it. The album opens up with my favourite track 'Laughing and Not Being Normal'. Putting aside the highly relatable title, it's a great orchestral opener; the only problem being its short length. Weirdly this intro doesn't really introduce the album that well at all- an album full of sweet k-pop like melodies and standard electro-pop production. Now that doesn't sound all too promising, especially since a lot of artists have been jumping on that nostalgic electro-pop/synth-pop wave recently to little effect but it's alright on this record. I mean the production definitely isn't better than the production a lot of these artists have, in fact it's the main thing that puts me off the album at points, but some of her melodies are just unbelievably catchy and her lyrics still have enough edge to let you know this isn't Grimes cashing in and going full on mainstream. Even when I was going through a period of hating the album songs were getting stuck in my head. I'm glad I didn't leave this alone after the first listen it really took a lot more to unwrap in my opinion which is strange considering people are calling it her most accessible work to date. Maybe it is and I'm just a retard.
    Better Than Previous Project?: Yeah
    Try This If You Like: Emotion by Carly Rae Jepsen    … Expand
  23. Dinfire
    Feb 20, 2016
    6
    The reviews for this album are INSANE. I've been listening to Grimes since her demo and this album is her worst yet. Half the tracks are throwaways. The ones that do have hooks pale in comparison to Visions and are much more commercial/mainstream. Buy a couple tracks in iTunes and be done with it. This big fan is really disappointed in this album.
  24. Fairbottom
    May 23, 2018
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. All told this album is perfectly satisfactory. But there's a part around track 6 or 7, I'm no longer sure, where it goes: 'boom da dee da da dee da' and it's clear from that that Grimes was just mailing it in. Anyone who had been paying attention, with an eye toward producing genuine, quality music, would have had it thus: 'boom da dee da dee dee da'. Pretty shameful stuff. Gets only a 6 from me. I sincerely apologize for spoiling that track, whichever it was, for any who have yet to hear it, but I felt it necessary to make my point.… Expand
  25. iirreall
    Jul 10, 2022
    6
    Art Angels es el projecto mas destacado y críticamente aclamado de Grimes,pero no uno de mis favoritos. Después del minimalista y electrónico Visions Grimes toma un camino fa al pop básico, acabando por completo el camino que tenia desde geidi primes a lo extraño, lo cual es algo personalmente me desagrado. No digo que Grimes no pudiera tomar direcciones diferentes, pero Art Angels esArt Angels es el projecto mas destacado y críticamente aclamado de Grimes,pero no uno de mis favoritos. Después del minimalista y electrónico Visions Grimes toma un camino fa al pop básico, acabando por completo el camino que tenia desde geidi primes a lo extraño, lo cual es algo personalmente me desagrado. No digo que Grimes no pudiera tomar direcciones diferentes, pero Art Angels es meramente un camino fácil a lo básico. No tiene ese alma ni personalidad que grimes puso en sus antecesores, la mayoría de tracks son bastante olvidables y los instrumentos de cuerda son horriblemente incluidos a la fuerza, la producción aunque ya mas sofisticada y completa en comparación con sus trabajos iniciales, no tiene personalidad y cae en lo aburrido. En aspectos positivos tiene highlights como kill v. maim y la colaboración con janelle monae, y si quieres un álbum de pop para bailar edsta bien.… Expand
  26. djyannoushka
    Apr 16, 2023
    6
    This was fun, and the album feels cohesive ! I remember listening to it a lot when it came out but I'd say now I only ever come back to the intro & Venus Fly who are both really the two gems of the album for me. The sound overrall sounds a lot brighter/happier than what I like best from her, it's still good, just not my favorite. SCREAM was fun too honestly, I listened to it on repeat forThis was fun, and the album feels cohesive ! I remember listening to it a lot when it came out but I'd say now I only ever come back to the intro & Venus Fly who are both really the two gems of the album for me. The sound overrall sounds a lot brighter/happier than what I like best from her, it's still good, just not my favorite. SCREAM was fun too honestly, I listened to it on repeat for a looong time.… Expand
  27. ReubenIsAGod
    Dec 29, 2015
    5
    Yeah, its a pretty average album. I mean, if anything this is basically just a so-so pop album with a few nice catchy hooks and some kinda nice beats. But like AOTY materiel, nah. Its definitely got some catchy songs on it but it ain't nothing special. I can only really remember abut 2 or 3 tracks from this thing. So yeah, i mean if u liked it u liked it, but not me.
  28. atmosphericrex
    Feb 14, 2016
    5
    I think that at the end of "Visions" there were two paths Grimes could take with her music. She could advance her use of arpeggiators and other electronic textures and continue to exist in the vein of indie pop, or she could create more accessible tracks that would appeal to a wider more mainstream audience. I feel like she chose the latter with "Art Angels", which is fine, just notI think that at the end of "Visions" there were two paths Grimes could take with her music. She could advance her use of arpeggiators and other electronic textures and continue to exist in the vein of indie pop, or she could create more accessible tracks that would appeal to a wider more mainstream audience. I feel like she chose the latter with "Art Angels", which is fine, just not really my scene. This album has a couple of really addictive tracks like "Kill V. Maim", but it is lacking the certain je ne sais quoi that "Visions" possessed that made it so appealing to me. Art Angels is a really good album, just not for me and not in the direction I wanted it to go.… Expand
  29. jhunterparrish
    Nov 16, 2015
    5
    I don't have much to say. I listened to the album several times, and I tried my best to let it grab hold of me. I just couldn't get into it. I love Grimes. I love Visions, Halfaxa...pretty much anything else she has put out. I was disappointed. No edgy weirdness. Bland, poppy tracks that seem to run onto each other. If this is her direction moving forward, so be it. As an artist she hasI don't have much to say. I listened to the album several times, and I tried my best to let it grab hold of me. I just couldn't get into it. I love Grimes. I love Visions, Halfaxa...pretty much anything else she has put out. I was disappointed. No edgy weirdness. Bland, poppy tracks that seem to run onto each other. If this is her direction moving forward, so be it. As an artist she has the right to take her music in whatever direction she wants. I was just super bummed. It's just such a far deviation from the Grimes I grew to love and appreciate.… Expand
  30. diogopaes
    Oct 13, 2020
    4
    Um álbum que se perdeu na identidade, e tentou acrescentar muita diversidade sonora.
  31. RiotFish
    Nov 8, 2015
    3
    Don't get me wrong, I love Grimes just as much as the next guy. Visions was a well-nuanced, sophisticated electro-pop record that stands among the best of the new millennium. After hearing rumors that Clair Boucher may be making a mainstream pop record after the release of her single "Go"--rumors that were eventually proven false--I really didn't shrug a shoulder.

    That is, I really    Don't get me wrong, I love Grimes just as much as the next guy. Visions was a well-nuanced, sophisticated electro-pop record that stands among the best of the new millennium. After hearing rumors that Clair Boucher may be making a mainstream pop record after the release of her single "Go"--rumors that were eventually proven false--I really didn't shrug a shoulder.

    That is, I really didn't care if she took her music in a more accessible, radio-friendly direction or if she just continued plumbing the depths of witch-pop weirdness.

    On first listen, this is a mind-boggling record, for the simple fact that at alternating times it sounds like a mainstream pop record and at others--well, like the quirky synth stuff we'd expect from Grimes. The irresistibly catchy clap-along "California" is followed by "SCREAM," a song in which Clair doesn't really sing but just breathes really hard to a sinister bass-line and, at the end, incorporates what sounds like a synthesizer performing an actual human scream. It's like FKA Twigs and Death Grips decided to team up, I suppose.

    The record maintains its inconsistency throughout, throwing radio-friendly pop songs at us and glitchy, oddly-textured electronic numbers in between. Which is NOT a bad thing, in and of itself. What makes this record fail, however, is its failure to pursue its equal sides of weirdness and accessibility to their extremes. What we're left with is a mishmash of 14 songs we want to call "brilliant" as a whole because there's so much to digest it seems impossible to diagnose on first listen--but is instead composed of songs that really don't sound one way or the other; there are needless sound FX and utterly masturbatory arcade-ish electronic blips thrown into the accessible tracks just to give them 'experimental cred' and there are moments of weirdness that just don't go anywhere interesting.

    Furthermore, most of the accessible tracks on the album don't even feature very unique melodies (which is something Visions had). Songs like "Flesh and Blood" and "Reality" just leave me thinking, 'hey, that melody sounds familiar, where did I hear that?' because the choruses, despite being very layered and complicated and using lots of fade-in fade-out techniques--really don't have substantial melodies buried within them; they just have a LOT of sounds going on to give you the illusion there's something more there.

    Overall, it just doesn't seem like Art Angels knows its identity; it straddles a weird line between accessibility and weirdness in a way that doesn't really seem to embrace either extreme and just ends up sounding like overtly maximal, sugar-coated indie-pop at the end of the day.    … Expand
  32. coure
    Dec 22, 2015
    3
    I have seen many reviews written off immediately by fans of this album as just butthurt fans who wanted another Visions, but instead got something much more uplifting and self-aware when they weren't necessarily ready for it. Let me just say this: I'd give Visions around the same rating as I give this album, with the only difference being that Visions had some very beautiful andI have seen many reviews written off immediately by fans of this album as just butthurt fans who wanted another Visions, but instead got something much more uplifting and self-aware when they weren't necessarily ready for it. Let me just say this: I'd give Visions around the same rating as I give this album, with the only difference being that Visions had some very beautiful and magnetizing tracks, special with a unique sound and voice - despite being very few and far between.

    Art Angels was different to me in that I'd put none of these tracks in that boat, that being said, a majority of them are "good," and worth listening to more than once. The interviews I've read where she discusses this album have led me toward a feeling of murkiness. She cites her feeling of empowerment from deliverance of fear as the reason for why her lyrics are more intelligible, however, are they even worth being heard this time around?

    She explains that she now feels she has something to say, but she is simply speaking through self-proclaimed alter-egos.

    She also mentioned one of the worst songs on the album being "sonically uncool" on purpose.

    I have to wonder why someone with such power/control over their image would waste an opportunity to make and release something reflective of their abilities, intentionally "uncool" (or in this case bad.)

    Overall, my main gripe with this album is the gimicks detract from her ability, I believe, to be viewed seriously, especially now that it's obvious that she doesn't really give a darn about making music that is good, and is just trolling people.

    On a more illogical note: her voice became extremely annoying in this album. Sounds like a chipmunk half the time, and she over enunciates a lot of words that she normally does not, which I felt like removed me from the listening experience.    … Expand
  33. robozot
    Feb 15, 2016
    2
    I really liked Visions, but this is an undecided move. Whatever made her last album so wonderful, its spaciness, odd hooks, and atmosphere, has been replaced with amateur hour theatrics and a lot of squirelly warbling. It's just bad. She's a unique musician, but she should get a good producer if she wants to come any further.
  34. electrolite
    Dec 6, 2015
    2
    It is really hard to see how people give up their distinctiveness and unicity to be just another pop star. Of course Grimes will get an army of new fans, dozens of producers, great quality of recording and all other **** pop celebrities have nowadays. However, I am an old fan and I'm feeling betrayed.
  35. qwerewolf
    Nov 9, 2015
    1
    I envy someone who can offer this artist praise and support on a personal level. Given that privilege, I would probably lie and do exactly that upon hearing Art Angels. Instead I have numbers and obscurity. Aside from "World Princess Part II," listening this album makes me feel small indeed. "Fan alienation" is moot -- there's no exchange between these realities. I'm in the demo camp.
  36. badalbum
    May 10, 2016
    0
    Terrible album. Does not deserve the critic praise that it has received. Sounds like basic pop music to me. Album is 0/10 don't argue with me. Bad album.
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Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Best Album of 2015
12
#12 Most Discussed Album of 2015
15
#15 Most Shared Album of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. AllMusic
    Dec 22, 2015
    80
    Claire Boucher's fourth album is wilder, more ambitious, and--at least on the surface--more accessible than her breakthrough
    Read full review
  2. Mojo
    Dec 18, 2015
    80
    Crackling with radio-primed hooks, whipsnap breakbeats and Boucher’s helium-pitched vocals, Grimes’ third album makes a convincing strike for playlist ubiquity, with a healthy dollop of the oddball chucked in.
    Read full review
  3. Uncut
    Dec 11, 2015
    80
    You can sense the deceptively complex Art Angels will only continue to yield further depths with time. [Jan 2016, p.76]
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