Beams
by Matthew Dear
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Sep 21, 2012
    60
    Beams, like Asa Breed, is front-loaded with the atmospheres and vocal manipulations that are bedrock to his best work. But Beams fails to evince the kind of songwriting growth that the vocal minority of his fans have been waiting for.
  2. NOW Magazine
    Aug 23, 2012
    60
    There are great production touches all over Beams, but unfortunately the songwriting is just okay, and the arrangements often bury the best sonic details.
  3. Fact Magazine (UK)
    Aug 17, 2012
    60
    At the moment, it feels like he's clinging tenaciously to the edge of disco's seamy grandeur: held there by a certain stiffness, seriousness even.
  5. Uncut
    Aug 17, 2012
    60
    While James Murphy's homages are leavened with irony and discrete heartache, Dear is more po-faced than pomo. [Sep 2012, p.75]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. Magnet
    Aug 23, 2012
    50
    Sadly, Beams doesn't show Dear changing up his game in any meaningful way. [No.90 p.55]
    All this publication's reviews

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. jmcpIII
    Sep 2, 2012
    8
    A sort of career synthesis, Beams hammers home all of Matthew Dear's greatest strengths-chunky blocks of rhythm, pounding bass, and a hell ofA sort of career synthesis, Beams hammers home all of Matthew Dear's greatest strengths-chunky blocks of rhythm, pounding bass, and a hell of a lot of sex appeal. And while restating his musical agenda is by no means a bad thing, it comes off as a tiny bit of a disappointment when compared to the giant leap forward that was 2010's Black City. Dear's music sticks to the dark and seedy formula found on that album though here the results sound a little more sincere and heart-felt. Even some of the song titles ("Do The Right Thing", "Fighting is Futile", "Get the Rhyme Right") hint at a possible new-found optimism, but it's still by no means an uplifting album. His robotic vocal's remain the creepiest in dance music and one of the best utilized instruments in all of independent music. Destined for sweaty underground night clubs and strobe-lit orgies, Beams is an unmatched exercise in sonic sleaze and dance-floor debauchery.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »