Albums to watch

Lady From Shanghai

Pere Ubu

Lady From Shanghai

The latest release from the Cleveland, Ohio experimental rock band formed in 1975 and fronted by founding member David Thomas

ADM rating[?]

7.3

Label
Fire
UK Release date
21/01/2013
US Release date
08/01/2013
  1. 10.0 |   Blurt

    There's something bolstering about the resuscitation, if not unflagging maintenance, of brilliance
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  2. 8.5 |   The Quietus

    Another excellent addition to the Pere Ubu discography, the sound of a band using comparatively limited means to explore a deceptively broad spectrum of sound, confusing the boundaries between pop and the avant-garde
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  3. 8.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Unflinching, scratchy and just plain odd, Lady of Shanghai is the work of artistes still at the top of their game
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  4. 8.0 |   Q

    Laughs in the face of chart pop, but the listener can't help cackling along, too. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   Paste Magazine

    As he’s done for years, Thomas incorporates an even mix of out-there sounds and straight rock instrumentation that creeps and lurches throughout
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  6. 8.0 |   God Is In The TV

    There’s a dark mood that’s compelling, like a 1950's B-movie at times, yet never schlocky. And it’s an album that you want to play again and again
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  7. 8.0 |   The Independent

    It's an absorbing, sometimes harrowing ride
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  8. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Much of Lady From Shanghai could pass for material from the group’s early days, yet it still sounds fresh, testifying to Pere Ubu’s unique sound
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  9. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Thomas's production is extraordinary - as befits a genuine auteur. Print edition only

  10. 7.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Pete Ubu’s enemies are more abstract than other bands – they’re complacency, obviousness, repeating the past. In defeating them, they seemingly need no competition other than themselves
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  11. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    Lady From Shanghai is not an enjoyable record – it’s not meant to be – nor is it by far Pere Ubu’s finest or most original musically. Yet it deserves applause for what it attempts to achieve, which is largely successful
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  12. 7.0 |   Uncut

    Random clatter and drill noise prevail. Print edition only

  13. 7.0 |   BBC

    A very arresting example of sonic art: tense and deranged, savage and serrated.
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  14. 7.0 |   DIY

    You expect to be shocked and challenged. In that respect, this is a resounding success
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  15. 7.0 |   All Music

    Shows that Pere Ubu can tap into paranoia, loathing, and the downright weird with nearly as much ease and eloquence as they did almost four decades before
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  16. 7.0 |   Spin

    If pop music in general and dance music in particular is a nightmare from which David Thomas is trying to awaken, he's reproduced that ambivalent dream state with remarkable accuracy
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  17. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    The Modern Dance marked just how important Pere Ubu was as a new wave, post punk band. Lady from Shanghai simply continues that grand tradition – making it modern dance music for the year 2013
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  18. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    This is no pop album, and the more freeform passages can be difficult to get a grip on. But go with the high concept and there's plenty to appreciate in Thomas's doggedly peculiar methods
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  19. 6.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    It is records like this that cements Pere Ubu’s reputation as one of the leading innovators of the post-punk genre and one of the finest underground bands out there
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  20. 6.0 |   No Ripcord

    Ubu is trying to get under your skin. For this reviewer, mission accomplished
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  21. 4.0 |   Slant Magazine

    A mess of sonic blips and disorienting blotches of misshapen clutter
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