Pull My Hair Back
by Jessy Lanza
  • Record Label: Hyperdub
  • Release Date: Sep 17, 2013
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Resident Advisor
    Sep 20, 2013
    90
    It's this combination of shadowy unknowability and full-hearted melody that makes Pull My Hair Back such an intriguing listen, and certainly one of the year's best debuts.
  2. musicOMH.com
    Sep 20, 2013
    90
    Whilst it obviously won’t be eligible for the Mercury Music Prize on the basis of nationality, this compelling, rigorous and often beautiful work ought to receive the same level of attention as Jessie Ware’s debut.
  3. The New York Times
    Oct 21, 2013
    80
    Ms. Lanza, who is Canadian, moves with purpose and authority in and around the rhythms on this album which, produced by her with Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys, in places nods explicitly to Timbaland’s skittish production.
  5. AllMusic
    Oct 17, 2013
    80
    It's a variation on the JBs' dubbed-out compound of synth pop and post-disco, and it suits Lanza's voice to enticing effect.
  6. Q Magazine
    Oct 16, 2013
    80
    This album is as comfortable with skittery beats and strikingly artful arrangements as it is with acid throb and super-sensual disco shudder. [Nov 2013, p.111]
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  7. Clash Music
    Sep 26, 2013
    80
    She’s perhaps bringing the sweetest voice so far to Hyperdub.
  8. The Guardian
    Sep 20, 2013
    80
    She's compelling throughout, and has a diffident, aloof sexiness that makes the record intriguing and accessible.
  9. Uncut
    Sep 20, 2013
    80
    She's made a hugely satisfying album of slinky electronic soul. [Oct 2013, p.71]
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  10. XLR8r
    Sep 20, 2013
    80
    There's arguably nothing groundbreaking about Pull My Hair Back, but its artful combination of influences, subtle production, and the ambiguous emotional terrain it covers makes it one of the strongest debuts of the year.
  11. Exclaim
    Sep 20, 2013
    80
    Pull My Hair Back still shines with nonsensical warmth that is just as much sensual as strange. Kathy Lee would be proud.
  12. Pitchfork
    Sep 20, 2013
    73
    While this record's sense of self and attention to detail deserve to be praised, a small shift in Lanza's positioning and prominence could be the change that takes her next project from good to great.
  13. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 20, 2013
    70
    It’s probably just a little too icy and detached to blow up in the manner of The Weeknd, Jessie Ware or similar indie R&B success stories, but Pull My Hair Back's pop sensibility renders it the most obviously accessible thing Hyperdub have released for a while.
  14. Fact Magazine (UK)
    Sep 20, 2013
    70
    It makes for an excellent debut in whatever style you want to call it.
  15. The Wire
    Dec 10, 2013
    50
    The R&B tropes are part of a reassuring past, and the half-there vocals don't add enigma so much as leave the music unchallenged and stick in its old ways. [Oct 2013, p.47]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. longjetty7
    Mar 19, 2016
    8
    This is a great, underrated electronic album. It took me a bit to warm up to it since it's not as immediate as most music out there, but IThis is a great, underrated electronic album. It took me a bit to warm up to it since it's not as immediate as most music out there, but I actually really appreciate the laid-back, hypnotic, and sort of experimental vibe this album has. The beats are awesome, and it's one of the freshest sounding albums I've heard in a while. The songs by themselves are a bit light on the melody and not so memorable, but taken as a whole the album flows together nicely and is really easy to get lost in. It has a consistent quality throughout so if you like one song you'll like them all.

    Standout track: F*ck Diamond    … Full Review »
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