• Record Label: Anticon
  • Release Date: May 17, 2005
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Filter
    91
    These are fully fleshed-out pop songs, rendered weird in the best possible way by an unfaltering ear for found sound and unusual arrangement. [#16, p.92]
  2. Under The Radar
    90
    An indie epic smeared with doubt and guilt that flows out of a forced smile. [#10, p.113]
  3. Mixing breeds of folk, psychedelica and white bread hip-hop, Why? is genetically predisposed to the same experimental tendencies as Pavement, Grandaddy, Enon, the Beta Band and They Might Be Giants. Each song is a musical Frankenstein, pieced together with live parts of the bodies of all those acts.
  4. A slice of experimental pop, simultaneously bright and bleak.
  5. Rarely has such a painfully awkward adolescence led to such B-boy-ish eloquence, but as he always has, Wolf makes fronting his own band look effortless.
  6. Taking a step back and struggling with that always-expected "hot band" dilemma, Why? is coming to terms with his career as a musician. Judging from the quality of these eight songs, he appears to be handling it well.
  7. These songs are all coherently-arranged, positive, played in major keys, very easy to listen to and enjoyable on their surface.
  8. The Wire
    70
    The ideas are better realised here than on [Why?'s] earlier material. [#258, p.67]
  9. OK, it’s a depressing mess, needlessly turning the existential dread-ometer up to 11. But hey, it’s got a nice tune and you can dance to it.
  10. The vaguely Brian Wilson-esque harmonies manage to keep the listener grounded as the entertaining gobbledygook passes by.

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