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Middle of the Trail

2101¬Rootsy folkster Ray Lamontagne continues his career as a Radio 2 botherer with his new album. Critics see it as competent but hardly revolutionary, scores coming it at around 6 or 7.¬False¬

Towering achievement?

2098¬There's a very rare 10/10 from The Skinny for the rapper, pianist and producer's album, released to accompany a feature film also written and produced by the maverick Canadian. Such enthusiasm is not shared by the BBC or music OMH, who regard it as interesting but only partially successful.¬True¬

Well-liked

2103¬Mostly pretty favourable reviews so far for the LA all-girl quartet's 2nd album. In the 5 years since their debut, they've moved from alt.rock to garage pop - with the help of one Mark Ronson on production duties.¬True¬
Black Noise

Pantha Du Prince

Black Noise

Third album from German electronic artist Hendrick Weber with guest appearance from Animal Collective's Noah Lennox

Critics average rating

7.8

Label
Rough Trade
Release date
08/02/2010
  1. 9.0 |  music OMH

    This is a special album, make no doubt about it, casting its spell as it makes both a moving memorial and an example of raw talent. If techno with a soul is what you're after, then look no further than this
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  2. 9.0 |  Drowned In Sound

    When taken in all its sprawling glory, the record is intense and rewarding, and when it stops the silence becomes grandoise - if you let it Black Noise might just change the way you listen to the world
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  3. 8.9 |  onethirtybpm

    ..another remarkable album from Pantha du Prince, and proof that he is one of the finest musicians working in the medium these days
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  4. 8.3 |  Pitchfork

    A big, dense listen but also the kind of album that rewards investment. Each track is its own micro sound world with enough rich detail to draw you back for deeper investigation
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  5. 8.0 |  The Skinny

    ...this will serve as a fantastic foot in the door to an often misunderstood genre
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  6. 8.0 |  Uncut

    Print edition only

  7. 8.0 |  The List

    ...a highly-anticipated minimal techno album that could find a more-than-minimal audience
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  8. 8.0 |  The Guardian

    ...these elegant orchestrations of techno beats and sinuous, looped ­melodies suggest an aural equivalent to time-lapse photography
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  9. 8.0 |  Clash

    This music isn't dark, although it can be quite haunting at times, in the same way a Sigur Ros album can be haunting
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  10. 8.0 |  Tiny Mix Tapes

    Skip the dancefloor, gather around the fire, and listen to some of the most forward-thinking minimal techno happening right now
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  11. 8.0 |  Rave Magazine

    This isn’t an immediate album, but there’s plenty to enjoy in Black Noise, both apparent on the surface and hidden beneath. The process of absorbing it listen-by-listen is a true pleasure
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  12. 8.0 |  Pop Matters

    Those hinterland quivers, the austere beauty of a reflective and untarnished landscape, the sense of personal isolation, and the cold indifference of mother nature to human whim are all elements which bleed into these tracks
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  13. 8.0 |  God Is In The TV

    In the same way The xx and Burial have in their respective fields, he has successfully taken a genre to its fundaments and delicately built each track to create a wonderful collection
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  14. 7.0 |  Spin

    A departure from his previously purist approach, but as guest vocalist Panda Bear sings amid the aural rush: "Why stick to the things that I already tried?"
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  15. 7.0 |  Blurt

    Weber's strongest compositions might come off too delicate for some, but they're actually rife with color and never short on memorable flourishes
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  16. 7.0 |  The Quietus

    If electronic music's brief is to keep its eye firmly fixed on the future, then Weber has taken the idea to its logical conclusion in his attempt to interpret the sounds to come after even the gleaming man-machine comes crashing to a final halt. The concept alone makes Black Noise a record to admire, even if it doesn't always in practice give us something to love
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  17. 7.0 |  The Observer

    The result is a varied, propulsive and expressive album which doesn't quite succeed in its stated quest to reveal the inaudible music inherent in all matter, but enchants all the same
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  18. 7.0 |  The Line Of Best Fit

    The album has a beautiful timbre, just completely gorgeous tones to the bass and the dulled velvet hammer of the blips and bloops, the vibraphone sounds, the levying quality of crisp hi-hat and snare
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  19. 7.0 |  The Music Fix

    Like the young sapling without restraint or enforced structure this music finds its own way and forges its own path. Black Noise is a relaxing and refreshing listen that blossoms with every play
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  20. 6.0 |  No Ripcord

    A rather multi-headed beast, containing a variety of moods that to me don't sit all that well together. It only leaves me wondering how good this record could have been instead of enthusing excitedly about how good it actually is
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Track preview & download

Pantha Du Prince: Black Noise

  • Download full album for just £7.99
  • 1. Lay In A Shimmer £0.99
  • 2. Abglanz £0.99
  • 3. The Splendour £0.99
  • 4. Stick To My Side £0.99
  • 5. A Nomad’s Retreat £0.99
  • 6. Satellite Snyper £0.99
  • 7. Behind The Stars £0.99
  • 8. Bohemian Forest £0.99
  • 9. Welt Am Draht £0.99
  • 10. Im Bann £0.99
  • 11. Es Schneit £0.99
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Pain and pleasure

2105¬Can the third of the three Mancunian electro-ish bands which featured in the BBC's Sound of 2010 list emulate the success of their counterparts, Delphic and Everything Everything? The jury's still out so far. NME is a big fan of the duo's 80s-inspired synthpop anthems, but The Guardian is far from convinced, and others find the album stylish but unremarkable. ¬True¬

Dream team?

2070¬You would imagine that one revered master of popular music working with the material of another revered master of popular music would result in something quite special. However that doesn't appear to be the case, according to many critics. Some find the album partially successful, others are seriously underwhelmed, such as The Guardian, which describes it as "horrible". ¬True¬

Mixed reactions

2106¬Very mixed views around on the fourth album from New York's prime purveyors of post-punk gloom, now back at their old label, Matador. Most critics accept they've moved on from the danceable rhythms and singalong hooks that leavened their earlier work. The reaction to what remains is very varied: some, such as Uncut, regard it is refined and elegant; others such as Spin regard the new material as dull rather than hypnotic. ¬True¬

floor fillers

2096¬The latest torch-bearers of nu-disco would appear to be the Brooklyn/Vancouver collective led by Dandilion Wind Opaine and Szam Findlay. Fan Death's debut album is receiving some serious praise from critics who appreciate their particular melding of Italo house, synthpop, electro and early 80s gay disco.¬True¬