Fed
by Plush
Metascore
89

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Stylus Magazine
    100
    Hayes’ performance on this album is so stellar one wonders why others don’t shoot this high.
  2. The Guardian
    100
    As nourishing as it is satisfying, Fed will leave you craving more.
  3. Uncut
    100
    Fed is beautifully excessive, ornamented with dazzling soul/pop arrangements. [Sep 2008, p.114]
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  5. AllMusic
    90
    For Fed, [Hayes] recruited everyone from veteran R&B arranger Tom Tom MMLXXXIV to jazz session drummer Morris Jennings to stalwart indie noisemaker Steve Albini to create a record as rich, complex, and ornate as the previous record was simple and spare.
  6. Dusted Magazine
    80
    Ingenuity and sincerity (two things in which Hayes excels) are priceless, and the sum of the parts is quite a masterpiece indeed.
  7. Mojo
    80
    Fed is something of a lost classic. [Sep 2008, p.123]
    All this publication's reviews
  8. No Ripcord
    80
    With Fed, Liam Hayes seems to know that he has made an overly ambitious, maybe even hubristic album. He also doesn’t seem to care much about that, making it that much more appealing.
  9. PopMatters
    70
    I believe that if you can get past the record’s obvious shortcomings, there is quite a bit of beauty to be found.
  10. Pitchfork
    69
    Plush's vision was obviously reaching beyond his abilities when making this album, and though that's commendable--better to try and fail than not try at all--sometimes you acheive less on the road to greatness.

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best Album of 2008

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 3 out of 13
  1. Tel-X
    Oct 30, 2018
    9
    Now beginning to be (rightly) hailed as one of the great albums of the 21st century, some of us always regarded Hayes' masterpiece for theNow beginning to be (rightly) hailed as one of the great albums of the 21st century, some of us always regarded Hayes' masterpiece for the epic vision it is. The new vinyl remaster is a must-have for his devotees.… Full Review »
  2. Tommer
    Oct 2, 2010
    10
    If Liam Hayes intended his second album to be ambitious, inspiring and gripping then he succeeded superbly. Right from the opening chord 'Fed'If Liam Hayes intended his second album to be ambitious, inspiring and gripping then he succeeded superbly. Right from the opening chord 'Fed' is a powerful piece of work, the whole album merging together as almost a symphony of guitar strings, percussion, brass and Hayes' course, gentle vocals. The music crescendos and falls, dragging your emotions with it, with lyrics that are simultaneously cryptic yet touching. A piece of originality and ingenuity that never lets up, Fed deserves far beyond the success it will surely get.… Full Review »
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