Funeral Mariachi
by Sun City Girls
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. BBC Music
    Nov 18, 2010
    90
    Harnessing those tropes to dexterous finger-picking and chiming Gamelan, along with the often jaw-dropping vocal delivery of Alan Bishop (his bravura performance on The Imam is right up there with his blood-curdling incantatory work on Master Musicians of Bukkake's People of the Drifting Houses) has resulted in Sun City Girls' most accessible and consistent album (a far cry from their puzzling and profligate series of Carnival Folklore Resurrection volumes).
  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Nov 15, 2010
    90
    They go out not with a bang or a whimper, but with a wide-eyed and confident work tinged with sadness, knowing they were part of something truly unique and amazing that met an untimely end.
  3. The Wire
    Mar 1, 2011
    80
    The whole album feels like a coda, a soundtrack to the closing credits of a career that has taken them far beyond the exploratory punk of their roots. [Nov 2010, p.53]
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  5. Uncut
    Dec 22, 2010
    80
    This is as riveting and beautiful a valedictory address as you could hope for from these underground heroes. [Jan 2011, p.95]
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  6. AllMusic
    Dec 16, 2010
    80
    A fitting final studio effort.
  7. Dusted Magazine
    Nov 18, 2010
    80
    It's powerful, it's supremely accessible, and, in a kinder, more playful world, it could be NPR button music--or at least a life-changing stocking-stuffer for scores of Panda Bear fans.
  8. Spin
    Nov 15, 2010
    80
    Final statement Funeral Mariachi is a showcase of their lush, accessible side while remaining as peculiar as ever.
  9. The New York Times
    Nov 15, 2010
    80
    Funeral Mariachi, which is psychedelic, cinematic, droning, wayward, ritualistic, sometimes grating and often beautiful, sounds comfortably within its own language.
  10. Pitchfork
    Nov 15, 2010
    74
    Mostly, though, the shock of Funeral Mariachi is that it's the friendliest record in their catalogue. It doesn't have the twitching intensity of a lot of their other work--that's both an asset and a deficit--but they couldn't have made a sweeter farewell.
  11. PopMatters
    Feb 7, 2011
    70
    Beautifully recorded so that every instrument signifies, with piano and Mellotron popping out of the mix, Funeral Mariachi swaddles you in epic grooves and melodies.
  12. Drowned In Sound
    Dec 14, 2010
    70
    It doesn't have to be anything more than the two things it certainly is: a tribute to a longtime bandmate and friend, one in which he gets to take part in spite of departing the planet, and a collection of songs which at different points are clever, funny, fulsome and moving.

Awards & Rankings

64
#64 Best Album of 2010

User Reviews

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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. sharedsorrows
    Jan 17, 2013
    9
    These Guys are Really Finger Lickin' Good - sharedsorrows.com - Though I imagine anyone that has found their way here already knows that.These Guys are Really Finger Lickin' Good - sharedsorrows.com - Though I imagine anyone that has found their way here already knows that. Besides, you have your own ears and can tell whether you 'like' this kinda muzic yourself (some review, huh?!). BUT for my money, they reminded me of Old Papa Zappa and the Mothers. Yes, His High Holy Insolence Himself ... BUT with their own sound ... and therefore, their own Souls! ... that which is all too missing in this Day in Age (if you can even call it that - And please get your electric, self-stim buns off the fire - people need to eat off of that!). So I thought I'd just mention my tremulous little thoughts, in passing ... just for the h of it!… Full Review »