Hercules And Love Affair
by Hercules & Love Affair
  • Record Label: Mute
  • Release Date: Jun 24, 2008
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. musicOMH.com
    100
    It's the big numbers, when Hegarty steps up to the microphone, that reveal Hercules And Love Affair as a project that captures not only the full range of moods on a night out on the tiles, but also the full range of human emotions from the start of a night to its end.
  2. Delusions of Adequacy
    100
    This is a winner in so many different ways; the music is impeccable, the sequencing is seamless, the production inhales and exhales life and the overall sound is killer.
  3. Observer Music Monthly
    100
    The hipper-than-thou trappings mean people are talking about H&LA, but it is the record itself which is a deft delight.
  5. Pitchfork
    91
    Lush, melancholic, gregarious, generous, both precise and a little bit unhinged--this is the most original American dance album in a long while.
  6. Drowned In Sound
    90
    This record is as on disco and early house's dick as much as Britpop was on The Beatles' and The Kinks'.
  7. PopMatters
    90
    There is a dedication and an ardor in play that cannot be denied.
  8. Prefix Magazine
    90
    Hercules & Love Affair is a testament to the great foresight and control is required in a disco producer to keep the track from lunging into an abyss of low-blow kitsch, and to be able to stimulate the ears and feet at the same time.
  9. Urb
    90
    The songs are expertly arranged and succinct, staying away from the lengthy workouts of most of his DFA contemporaries. [Jul/Aug 2008, p.84]
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  10. AllMusic
    90
    What really puts the album over the top as something else is not just its ideas-stuffed brevity (46 minutes in its original form), but its material not made explicitly for the club.
  11. The Boston Phoenix
    88
    The rotating cast of vocalists and the Saturday-night spirit of the instrumentation are together more welcoming than anything the DFA has dropped in years.
  12. Filter
    84
    Butler and company have crafted a brilliant tribute to the glorious euphoria of getting down in the big city. [Summer 2008, p.96]
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  13. Almost Cool
    83
    Not only a one of the debuts of the year, but also one of the better releases in general, this self-titled debut from Hercules And Love Affair is worth picking up.
  14. Dusted Magazine
    80
    Hercules and Love Affair is a sincere and sumptuous stab at the mirrorball splendor of the 1970s.
  15. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    For now though, this is a very fine record. Not Herculean exactly, but certainly something that NME loves.
  16. Uncut
    80
    This is inventive harkening, not witless revivalism. [Apr 2008, p.90]
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  17. Village Voice
    80
    The party holds strong into the second half, where the comedown always muddles the songwriting a little. Surprise: Antony's dramatic ululations return to rescue the trawling sonics.
  18. Dot Music
    80
    It's a canny mix and results in Hercules And Love Affair making music for feet and heart, but also for the soul.
  19. Mojo
    80
    Hercules And Love Affair exist in that mighty unreal demimonde where dancing and art are not mutually exclusive. [Apr 2008, p.105]
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  20. Hot Press
    80
    Hercules And Love Affair may be a party, it may be a disco, but it sure ain't no foolin' around.
  21. Q Magazine
    80
    Hercules And Love Affair are at their best when they cut loose and damn the consequences. [Apr 2008, p.110]
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  22. Sputnikmusic
    80
    Hercules and Love Affair is a killer work from Butler, an album not meant to break down any barriers or start a revolution.
  23. The Wire
    80
    Rarely has an album exemplified the 'body and soul' paid so much lip service in House music so willingly. [Apr 2008, p.58]
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  24. Vibe
    80
    Of all the newish dance acts digging on vintage disco and chicago House, NYC-based Hercules & Love Affair boast the smartest cuts and most range. [June 2008, p.66]
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  25. Spin
    80
    DJ/Producer Andrew Butler mixes the poetic Apollonian aspects of queer culture with the Dionysian party represented by left-field disco and hypnotic early house, and crafts an unsettlung masterpiece that yearns and churns and ultimately pulls the rug from under your dancing feet. [June 2008, p.116]
  26. Slant Magazine
    80
    Hercules and Love Affair is relentlessly listenable--Hercules's songs are too good to be classified as tributes--but it is nevertheless defined by the inspirational pull of a golden age that's gone.
  27. Under The Radar
    80
    By not reinventing the wheel, Hercules and Love Affair have surprised us with a great debut album. [Summer 2008]
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  28. The A.V. Club
    75
    He knows when to kick disco into action and when to just kick back and listen.
  29. Blender
    70
    This album is luxuriously, fantastically gay, a nod to the origins of disco, when the music was known for its queer fan base as much as anything else. [July 2008, p.73]
  30. Tiny Mix Tapes
    70
    Yet as much joy as you can hear in Hercules and Love Affair, it’s impossible to separate the melancholy from the mix.
  31. cokemachineglow
    65
    It’s 1980, honey. It’s always 1980 in here. Enjoy yourself; let yourself go.
  32. The Guardian
    60
    While it lasts, Hercules and Love Affair sound as original and exotic as their backgrounds.

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best Album of 2008
40
#40 Most Discussed Album of 2008
24
#24 Most Shared Album of 2008

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 106 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 75 out of 106
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 106
  3. Negative: 20 out of 106
  1. andisart
    May 28, 2011
    9
    I dont understand the mixed user reviews here. There is more depth and creativity in this album than most chart artist struggle to put out inI dont understand the mixed user reviews here. There is more depth and creativity in this album than most chart artist struggle to put out in a whole career.… Full Review »
  2. MaxM
    Jul 4, 2009
    9
    Aweshum. The people who rated this 3 or 4 because it sounded like disco, you people are crazy. It's not really disco, it's Aweshum. The people who rated this 3 or 4 because it sounded like disco, you people are crazy. It's not really disco, it's somewhere between that and the late 80s Talking Heads. Original and fresh from start to finish. Antony's voice is fantastic. The best track, of course, is "Blind" -- give it a listen! Best album of 2008.… Full Review »
  3. CH
    Feb 15, 2009
    10
    What a great album. I love the transition about half-way through from technical disco ("You Belong", "Time Will") to something that's What a great album. I love the transition about half-way through from technical disco ("You Belong", "Time Will") to something that's hard to describe...a slow, electrosynth version ("Iris" and "Easy") The layers of Hegarty's voice is amazing in this, and Cruz stands up fairly strong as well when being juxtaposed with a voice as unique as Hegarty's. Butler deserves all the credit in the world with the production on this, especially in "You Belong" and "Easy", which are highlights imo. Great album. My only complaint is that it gets progressively weaker after "Easy" imo.… Full Review »
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