Sleep And Release
by Aereogramme
  • Record Label: Matador
  • Release Date: Feb 18, 2003
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Ink 19
    100
    Holy shite what a record.
  2. Delusions of Adequacy
    100
    A brave, commanding, astonishing LP that shatters all notions of what modern rock music can, or for that matter, should be.
  3. Dusted Magazine
    90
    The building of momentum from beautiful or ominous minimalism into cathartic, sweeping heaviness is remarkable.
  5. Pitchfork
    85
    Revelatory, if somehow pompous.
  6. Alternative Press
    80
    It's category-defying: raw and cooked, muscular and cerebral, shifting gears in seconds flat. [Apr 2003, p.70]
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  7. AllMusic
    80
    Aereogramme combines abrasive guitars, feedback, and distorted vocals into rock that, in its own way, is as crunchy and dynamic as Weezer, though as decidedly outsider as Mogwai.
  8. The A.V. Club
    80
    The album owes a big debt to the Europop trends of spaciousness and electro-scrape, but also reaches beyond the immediate environment, drawing on the consciousness-altering bash of Queens Of The Stone Age and System Of A Down.
  9. Almost Cool
    78
    Although some have dismissed the group as glorified emo, the group has really gone far and beyond such a simple statement.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    Like Radiohead's Kid A, it's a rock album divided into movements closer in spirit to a dance record (complete with two ''chill-out'' tracks at the end), which is what, at times, makes it as difficult as it is compelling.
  11. Playlouder
    70
    It's an obvious comparison given the company they keep, but, this time around, Aereogramme really are Mogwai and The Delgados on the same record.
  12. Stylus Magazine
    65
    Sleep and Release is both an exceptional release and an unfortunate release, and even when it’s at its best and at its worst, it remains both of these- its emotional and musical scope help the album succeed and cause it to fail.
  13. Mojo
    60
    Occasionally... there's a sense of things being too studied, the brain doing the work of the heart. [May 2003, p.106]
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  14. Splendid
    60
    Sure, they meld muscular riffs with smoky organ meditations, folky landscapes, pompous orchestration and the occasional IDM skitter, but not without losing the transcendent detail that makes each of these genres worth savoring and holding on to.
  15. Austin Chronicle
    50
    The band's dynamics are beyond reproach, and the album sounds fabulous. Problem: The quiet songs don't provide a proper outlet for the band's palpable tension, and Aereogramme stays quiet far too often.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. AJJohnson
    May 5, 2004
    10
    !!! it's been a long sinse I listened 2 the whole album so carefully.
  2. DirkN
    Apr 10, 2003
    9
    A great album. Not perfect, but the range & depth of it exceed anything else I've heard in a long time.
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