• Record Label: ATO
  • Release Date: May 2, 2006
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. There is very little on Operate that sounds like anywhere Gomez have been before.
  2. The finest and most listener-friendly album of Gomez's 10-year career.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    [Gomez] sheds most of its psychedelic trimmings and bluesy wailing for a disc of tight, mature Chris Martin-style pop-rock. [28 Apr 2006, p.137]
  4. How We Operate is strong, focused, and a complete pleasure to engage; its maturity and confidence is beyond anything they've released thus far, and the experimentalism brought into play on their other albums is here.
  5. They easily incorporate traditional folk elements like Nick Drake with contemporary indie rock and cinematic string arrangements that often soar above many of their songs' humble openings.
  6. Mojo
    80
    With no weak link, you can drop the needle anywhere. [Jul 2006, p.106]
  7. Paste Magazine
    80
    Gomez has been transformed from a likable but shambling outfit into a focused pop-rock group while retaining the iconoclastic character that mad it intriguing to begin with. [Aug 2006, p.85]
  8. It's as if they peeled away a layer or two in order to reveal more of the pop band beneath the off-kilter country-rock trappings.
  9. Filter
    70
    Think of it as a musical Botoxing: the twitches are gone, but the end result seems a bit superficial and expressionless. [#20, p.99]
  10. Alternative Press
    70
    How We Operate shuffles between exuberance and wistfulness like a drunk stumbling through a crowded bar--and yet, oddly enough, it's also onoe of the more coherent albums in Gomez's career. [Jul 2006, p.192]
  11. This is Gomez edging their way back to their best.
  12. Everything has been stripped to the core, with the focus on creating a tight album from beginning to end.
  13. Under The Radar
    70
    How We Operate shares the same ramshackle vibe as their early works, presented with the precision of a band that's been at it for years. [Summer 2006, p.89]
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 2 out of 36
  1. JosephK
    Feb 21, 2007
    9
    Nearly perfect.
  2. JoshuaL
    Jan 8, 2007
    9
    Gomez continues to show off their talents with this new CD combining elements from all their other CD's while still showing us that they Gomez continues to show off their talents with this new CD combining elements from all their other CD's while still showing us that they always have some new trick up their sleeve. It's "classic" rock with that funky idie twist we all love Gomez for. Full Review »
  3. ReubenF
    Dec 18, 2006
    8
    A return to form for a band that once had the potential to be the best in the Indie scene - perhaps they still can be? Their trade mark laid A return to form for a band that once had the potential to be the best in the Indie scene - perhaps they still can be? Their trade mark laid back sound and sophisticated arrangements are well represented in this album. None of the songs really jump out at you, but they have a beautiful quality sorta similar to early REM in appeal. Full Review »