PROTO
by Holly Herndon
  • Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: May 10, 2019
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 30
  3. Negative: 4 out of 30
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  1. Doxxman5
    Jun 1, 2019
    10
    You will read a lot of reviews pointed to the technological significance of this album, but why Herndon's latest record is so important has to do with the music present. The blend of the A.I. machine used (codenamed Spawn) to improvise and create vocals flow with the old fashioned use of chorales and layered vocal technique. In a huge way, Herndon takes everything we have learned so farYou will read a lot of reviews pointed to the technological significance of this album, but why Herndon's latest record is so important has to do with the music present. The blend of the A.I. machine used (codenamed Spawn) to improvise and create vocals flow with the old fashioned use of chorales and layered vocal technique. In a huge way, Herndon takes everything we have learned so far with the glitch music genre and weaves it to a version of noise rock pioneered by so many others. This of it as a combination of My Bloody Valentine's 1991 album Loveless meets Solex's 2004 album The Laughing Stock of Indie Rock.… Collapse
  2. Mua
    May 21, 2019
    10
    Biblia del poc putariana desea cantar así. Artisimo, icónico, sucesor de medullarte.
  3. Vincent
    May 14, 2019
    8
    Genius in every way! Holly creates sound between sound, life within life, and hope beyond the machine and the dark.
  4. hzy0421
    May 13, 2019
    9
    It is hard to distinguish between machine learning results and human involvement, and I guess those unearthly sounds are not meant to please, but this is something few have experimented before. Herndon's utilization of the AI-produced sounds, and the combination of the avant pop-based tracks and glitch influence, are themselves a kind of gesture and declaration, about our role andIt is hard to distinguish between machine learning results and human involvement, and I guess those unearthly sounds are not meant to please, but this is something few have experimented before. Herndon's utilization of the AI-produced sounds, and the combination of the avant pop-based tracks and glitch influence, are themselves a kind of gesture and declaration, about our role and conflicted feelings towards a new era of technology.… Expand
  5. musicwizard636
    May 10, 2019
    8
    What strikes me most about Holly Herndon's new album "PROTO" is it's ability to conjure difficult sounds and textures without fully exploring their capabilities. This might turn most music listeners off, but the way Herndon controls this waning of her production is where the artistry comes through. It's much like grabbing a giant handful of sand and then letting the crystals slowly fallWhat strikes me most about Holly Herndon's new album "PROTO" is it's ability to conjure difficult sounds and textures without fully exploring their capabilities. This might turn most music listeners off, but the way Herndon controls this waning of her production is where the artistry comes through. It's much like grabbing a giant handful of sand and then letting the crystals slowly fall through your fingers to be swept away by the wind.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. Under The Radar
    Jun 10, 2019
    85
    PROTO is a rare work that matches incredible conceptual ideas with accessibility for even the most passive of listeners. Impenetrable aural academia this is not. This album makes you think more and more with each listen as its layered brilliance unravels in new, exciting ways.
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  2. musicOMH.com
    May 17, 2019
    80
    Proto is a very distinctive record, and its sound design is as astounding as we’ve come to expect from Herndon. It’s also deeply powerful, as its crystalline tones call to mind the ghost in the machine, and leaves the listener wondering what further symbiosis can be achieved.
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  3. Q Magazine
    May 14, 2019
    80
    PROTO sometimes hews close to well-worn dystopian tropes, and the child narrator and see-sawing breath sounds of Extreme Love are undeniably annoying. But Herndon's creative restlessness and textural mastery sustain interest across 45 minutes. [Jul 2019, p.108]
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