Ash
by Ibeyi
  • Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: Sep 29, 2017
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Pitchfork
    Oct 4, 2017
    83
    At first, Ibeyi’s bright rhythms can feel deceptively stable, their harmonies uninhibited as they dip into dissonance, but they are deliberate in revealing the depth of their sadness.
  2. NOW Magazine
    Oct 30, 2017
    80
    When the album is taken as a whole, its full beauty is floodlit--a rare experience in the age of singles.
  3. PopMatters
    Oct 25, 2017
    80
    Ash is an album that captures this exact moment in time and does so with unquestionable virtuosity.
  5. Clash Music
    Oct 19, 2017
    80
    Ash serves as a stirring, reflective statement in uncertain times. Russell’s production throughout is outstanding too.
  6. Drowned In Sound
    Oct 2, 2017
    80
    It grows and grows with each listen, and though it has less of an immediate impact than their debut, it has a true sense of journey through its beginning, middle and end, an element often disregarded in an industry gluttonously obsessed with hit singles.
  7. The Line of Best Fit
    Sep 29, 2017
    80
    This message of positivity, strength and optimism is one that is weaved throughout each track on their new album Ash.
  8. The Skinny
    Sep 29, 2017
    80
    The results are magnificent.
  9. AllMusic
    Sep 29, 2017
    80
    In the end, Ash is many things: militant, vulnerable, and tender; it is urgent yet unhurried, its sharp edges unapologetically exposed. It is rooted in struggles and seeks victory, not deliverance. It is not only memorable, but indomitable and beautiful.
  10. No Ripcord
    Oct 25, 2017
    70
    Their willingness to embrace worldly influences--and infuse their own urbanity--into their arrangements is crucial with regards to enabling the spirited reveries to accommodate the twins’ extrasensory wordplay, bringing a stability to the arbitrary grooves.
  11. Exclaim
    Oct 3, 2017
    70
    Ash doesn't feel as world-shifting or momentous as their debut, but operates on a more intimate level.
  12. The Observer (UK)
    Oct 2, 2017
    60
    For all the just-so production, sirens and guests, the Diazes haven’t entirely sacrificed the Yoruba spirituality and batá drumming that made their debut so distinctive.
  13. Q Magazine
    Sep 29, 2017
    60
    Sampling Michelle Obama on No Man Is Big Enough For My Arms feels glib, while Vale aspires to Solange-like authority but, unlike their voices never quite strikes the right note. [Nov 2017, p.111]
    All this publication's reviews

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Pandlr
    Oct 9, 2017
    10
    An album full of exaltation of African music in conjunction with pop music and rhythms of black origin turns it into a classic to know how toAn album full of exaltation of African music in conjunction with pop music and rhythms of black origin turns it into a classic to know how to appreciate what black music gives us the best. The duo surprised me once again after a series of addictive plays on "River" this time I'm giving endless reproductions in Away Away, No Man Is Big Enough for my Arms and Deathless.

    Português BR:
    Um álbum lotado de exaltação da música africana em junção com a música pop e ritmos de origem negra transforma-o em um clássico para saber apreciar o que a música negra nos proporciona de melhor. A dupla me surpreendeu mais uma vez após uma série de execuções viciantes em "River" desta vez estou dando infinitas reproduções em Away Away, No Man Is Big Enough for my Arms e Deathless.    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »