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GoGo Penguin
by
GoGo Penguin Image
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The latest full-length release for the British instrumental trio was co-produced by Joe Reiser and Brendan Williams.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Glide Magazine
    Jun 8, 2020
    80
    It’s interesting that while the previous album had an intergalactic feeling, this seems a bit more acoustically grounded, a deceptively simple yet complex sound that grows in appeal with continued listens.
  2. Mojo
    Jun 8, 2020
    80
    A trancelike alliance of technical mastery and instinctual chemistry far greater than the sum of its acoustic parts, GoGo Penguin already feels definitive. [Jun 2020, p.93]
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  3. Uncut
    Jun 8, 2020
    80
    This is by some way their most fully developed and experimental set to date. [Jul 2020, p.30]
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  4. Under The Radar
    Jul 15, 2020
    80
    Throughout the record, the band show why this is a self-titled effort. It is the clearest artistic statement of the arsenal GoGo Penguin has at its disposal that has yet been shown to the listening public.
  5. AllMusic
    Jun 15, 2020
    80
    If there is one complaint about this beguiling, driving outing, it's that after its 44-minute running time, Gogo Penguin's "magic in motion" aesthetic is so beautifully articulated in this immersive, mysterious music, they will leave listeners wanting much, much more.
  6. musicOMH.com
    Jun 8, 2020
    60
    While there’s no denying that when they hit their default groove – as on To the Nth, for example – GoGo Penguin are a mightily tight, impressive unit, this album does leave you wanting more from a very talented band clearly capable of greater things.

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. alxmsn
    Jul 1, 2020
    9
    If you like jazz and/or The Cinematic Orchestra, you will love this. Excellent album!
  2. mitbruin
    Jun 25, 2020
    8
    No matter what style of music you’re a fan of, you owe it to yourself to become a fan of GoGo Penguin, as well. The genre tag on this andNo matter what style of music you’re a fan of, you owe it to yourself to become a fan of GoGo Penguin, as well. The genre tag on this and their other releases may say ‘Jazz,’ but while they *look* like a traditional jazz piano trio - piano, double bass and drums - virtually nothing on this record sounds like anything you would recognize as any kind of jazz, traditional or otherwise.

    If it resembles anything, I suppose it would be sort of a new-age electronica/techno. In fact, they compose nearly all of their music on the computer. But then they find ways to perform and record the results on strictly acoustic instruments, sometimes resorting to DIY hacks to recreate electronic sounds and textures in an organic way, such as a tape measure stretched alongside the bass strings to create a rustling effect.

    Each of these tracks is both composition and impressionistic sound experience, and the music is often found as much in the sustain and decay of the individual sounds produced by the three instruments as it is in the notes themselves. The overall result is an addictive and mesmerizing landscape of sonic grooves and textures set to precise, yet effortlessly shifting, breakbeats that crash and roll with crackling energy. You can call it a lot of things, but ‘jazz’ is distinctly inadequate.    … Expand

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