Albums to watch

Never

Micachu & The Shapes

Never

More experimental pop from Mica Levi on the 3rd album from the artist renowned for her use of home-made and improvised instruments

ADM rating[?]

7.2

Label
Rough Trade
UK Release date
23/07/2012
US Release date
24/07/2012
  1. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    This is pop music, pure and simple: smarter, stranger than your average fare, no doubt, but don't confuse its oddness for inscrutable obtuseness
    Read Review

  2. 8.0 |   Q

    Another fine mess from London genre-bending trio. Print edition only

  3. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    The good news is that Mica Levi’s experimental pop is as glitchy as ever
    Read Review

  4. 8.0 |   Mojo

    These songs bristle with ideas like a mouthful of nails. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Thrillingly deconstructed urban pop music. Print edition only

  6. 8.0 |   NME

    For all its wacked-out dementia it's a perverted sort of pop album too
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    There are no templates. There’s a sense that Micachu’s songs aren’t written, but birthed; thrown at the wall like a Jackson Pollock painting; a collage of sound and ideas
    Read Review

  8. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    This frequently distorted, jumbled and confounding music is unlikely to appeal to those who prefer their pop music to sound safe and comforting. But for those with an adventurous sensibility, it will be a pure delight
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |   State

    The untrammelled originality of this album ensures that it will take no prisoners
    Read Review

  10. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    No matter how much this follow-up apparently repeats previous ideas, it still sounds vital and fresh
    Read Review

  11. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    "Holiday" sounds like The Beach Boys' "Then I Kissed Her" screaming for help inside a tumble dryer. In a good way
    Read Review

  12. 8.0 |   AU Review

    A very rough diamond, but a treasure all the same
    Read Review

  13. 8.0 |   Clash

    At times grainy and abrasive it’s also mischievous, melodic and, ultimately, absolutely adorable
    Read Review

  14. 7.3 |   Paste Magazine

    The main glue on Never, and what elevates it slightly above Jewellry, is the low tone of everything. Nothing’s too high-register to disrupt or overly fancify
    Read Review

  15. 7.0 |   Prefix

    Levi's gift lays in kitschy nuance that is inherently pleasurable. And by diving into more conventional songs on Never, she loses a bit of this endearing personality
    Read Review

  16. 7.0 |   Bowlegs

    However they dress it up, rough it up or throw it up they’re always gonna oscillate wildly with some infectious rhythms and smart-arse rhymes
    Read Review

  17. 7.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Never is a bold step forward, but one that sacrifices the sugar-rush tweaking to solid if uninspiring ends
    Read Review

  18. 7.0 |   BBC

    Whether or not Never is a record you’ll want to revisit that often is a moot point, but its ability to hit like a spring-mounted boxing glove to your peripheral vision is hardly in doubt. File under ‘WTF’
    Read Review

  19. 6.0 |   The Digital Fix

    The tracks are still frenzied but there is a sense of smoothing out, a trimming of jagged edges
    Read Review

  20. 6.0 |   The Fly

    Walks a fine line between experimental and exasperating
    Read Review

  21. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    Never doesn’t give any indication that Levi’s reckless eclecticism and incessant tinkering are going to slow down any time soon, though that comes as more of a mixed blessing this time around
    Read Review

  22. 6.0 |   The Scotsman

    Never is pithy, inventive and instinctive although its quickfire succession of brief, lo-fi tracks leaves a fragmentary impression
    Read Review

  23. 5.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    There’s a good deal of skill, talent and knowledge on display here yet it’s tough to say that for all their critical love and industry respect we couldn’t do with a little bit of soul to satisfy the heart as well as the smarts that satisfy the head
    Read Review

  24. 4.8 |   The AU Review

    Songs came close to being ones I’d listen to again, then were swiftly removed from this list thanks seemingly unnecessary elements such as weird animal noises and chanting
    Read Review


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Latest Reviews

More reviews