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Nov 15, 2013It’s the kind of music that nobody, perhaps not even Moderat themselves, expected from this record.
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Sep 17, 2013It’s an expert turn by seasoned professions thoroughly in their own comfort zone.
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Aug 23, 2013The pacing is tentative, the tone one of suppressed pain, and the FX custom-designed to denote ‘meaningfulness’ or emotional sensitivity--all rustic organ sounds and tinkling guitar notes.
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Aug 23, 2013For the most part, this album is sequenced as vocal cut followed by an instrumental cut, which drags the flow of the songs down in its predictability. This is problematic for II specifically because of how much better the vocal-driven tracks are than the instrumental ones.
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Aug 22, 2013Though some lyricless segments blur together, a few stand out.
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Q MagazineAug 20, 2013Infectious and effective as it is, Moderat II is never quite as overwhelming as it threatens to be. [Sep 2013, p.106]
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MagnetAug 16, 2013If there's a complaint to be leveled, it's that the off threesome might have smoothed out its differences a little too much. But it mostly works. [No. 101, p.57]
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MojoAug 13, 2013It's a more downbeat affair than their 2009 debut and best envinced by the stuttering tech soul of Gita. [Sep 2013, p.95]
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Aug 12, 2013It isn’t leaps and bounds better than its predecessor but within that time frame, they’ve all fine-tuned their act.
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Aug 12, 2013II is the noise of all their Christmases turning up at once.
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Aug 12, 2013II may actually prove itself to be the group's most accomplished record, and one Moderat fans will come back to more often down the line.
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Aug 8, 2013Although a little too short for the grand mood it builds for us, it’s a beautiful summation of what Moderat’s visions aim to create.
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Aug 6, 2013The group has not only improved on the directness of their music, but this album flows in a more continuous stream than their previous effort.
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Aug 6, 2013II is, on the whole, worthy of the names and histories that have coalesced and been commingled in its making.
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Aug 5, 2013II mostly succeeds on its own terms, rather than as a refined package of each act's moodier moments, precisely because it does keep you guessing.
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Aug 5, 2013Just as their unique names have been combined to form a completely fatuous hybrid, Modeselektor and Apparat have almost completely negated each other's strengths.
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Aug 5, 2013II is the kind of crafted album you just don’t expect from a supergroup or side project as it matches, and maybe even tops, the work of its individual parties.
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Aug 5, 2013On II, Moderat have created an evolving piece of art that manages to both reference and reinvent their respective musical blueprints.
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Aug 5, 2013II is the perfect 21st-century escape from so much banal guitar music.
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Aug 5, 2013As with anything this ambitious, it occasionally over-reaches itself--but the highlights are magical, and should see Moderat reach ever bigger audiences.
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Aug 2, 2013The trio's manipulation of euphoric rave dynamics on tracks like “Therapy” brings a fresh approach to a tried-and-tested form.
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Aug 2, 2013Where Moderat sounded at times tentative and disjointed, II is in every regard a better and more well-rounded record. If there were no third Moderat album, this would stand as a definitive statement.
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Aug 2, 2013In other words, Moderat have stepped up to the plate and then some.
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Aug 2, 2013II is their finest work yet and cements the fact that Moderat have developed into a dance act whose existence should never have even been questioned in the first place.
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Aug 2, 2013Moderat II is nothing if not navel gazing; however, the introspection allows ideas to flow freely, and moreover the diverse styles of the collaborators this time make cosy bedfellows to create a genuinely beautiful, atmospheric record.
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UncutAug 1, 2013Seductive, maybe--but it rather lacks character of its own. [Sep 2013, p.92]
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Aug 1, 2013II is just about perfectly synchronized with the zeitgeist, and if it’s not a flawlessly executed record, it still seems capable of making the most out of its moment.
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Aug 1, 2013II is an absolute masterpiece of dancefloor work.
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Aug 1, 2013A pall of unrest certainly permeates the record, but II feels of a single entity, one cloaked in fog but backlit by strobes.
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Aug 1, 2013More considered than the debut, more quietly patient and yet somehow more addictive.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 38 out of 45
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Mixed: 6 out of 45
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Negative: 1 out of 45
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Aug 28, 2013
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Aug 8, 2023Moderat's Grand Opus. Everything just clicks here and you are sucked into an unbelievably melancholic yet upbeat experience the moment you press play.
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Jul 20, 2020