Highest Recent Ratings

Albums to watch

Monomania

Deerhunter

Monomania

Bradford Cox and Co up the garage rock quotient on the 6th full-length release from the Atlanta indie rock / ambient punk band

ADM rating[?]

7.7

Label
4AD
UK Release date
06/05/2013
US Release date
07/05/2013
Listen on Spotify
Related Links
Last.fm Myspace Wikipedia
Share
Share |

  1. 10.0 |   The Observer

    There is a form of mania at work here, but the results are propulsive and ecstatic
    Read Review

  2. 9.5 |   Bowlegs

    One of the greatest American Rock and Roll albums in recent memory
    Read Review

  3. 9.3 |   Paste Magazine

    No mere mid-career album, Monomania registers as an absolute impact event, a massive dirty blast marking the moment Deerhunter’s steady trajectory spins out of control
    Read Review

  4. 9.1 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    It is not a return to form, because how could we expect or want it to be? It is a return to the contextually avant-garde, and for Deerhunter in 2013 that means rock n’ roll
    Read Review

  5. 9.0 |   No Ripcord

    Taken as a whole, Monomania is arguably their most imposing, and by far their most courageous
    Read Review

  6. 9.0 |   Spin

    Their most accessible record yet, but no one does "accessible" quite like Bradford Cox
    Read Review

  7. 8.5 |   Under The Radar

    Deerhunter can still ache with the best of them
    Read Review

  8. 8.5 |   The 405

    If nothing else, Monomania makes a solid case for defining Deerhunter as an essential group; one of the great modern American rock bands
    Read Review

  9. 8.3 |   Pitchfork

    They’ve pulled off something admirable in making an illogical left turn feel like the logical next step where one didn’t exist
    Read Review

  10. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    There are just a handful of tracks on Monomania that could be aptly described as “sounding nothing like Deerhunter,” and that’s part of its charm
    Read Review

  11. 8.2 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    Monomania demands an undivided attention and continuous play to truly see the beauty within its surrealism
    Read Review

  12. 8.0 |   DIY

    The best way to enjoy this album is to put it on as loudly as neighbours and speakers permit, and fall dangerously in love with it
    Read Review

  13. 8.0 |   FasterLouder

    Monomania is pretty damn good for a band playing against their strengths
    Read Review

  14. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Another example of what can happen when a brilliant songwriter retreats into his own head and comes out with visions of monsters
    Read Review

  15. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Though packed with trademark lyrical curiosities, it’s the sound of Monomania that’s its biggest departure. It might be a step towards something more conventional structurally, but it’s anything but a step back
    Read Review

  16. 8.0 |   State

    Deerhunter can never be unlistenable or as gleefully obscure as they assume they are, as Cox can’t help himself. However much he tries, he can’t escape his undeniable knack for weaving impossibly addictive melodies
    Read Review

  17. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    In Cox’s vision exists this album of much rock rather than weird rock. It’s half as strange as anything Deerhunter or Atlas Sound has made before, but twice as reflective of, well, music
    Read Review

  18. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    It’ll find its calling this summer as the band’s most fun album
    Read Review

  19. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Thoroughly fresh and weirdly magnetic from start to finish. Print edition only

  20. 8.0 |   Q

    A delicious vision of pop. Print edition only

  21. 8.0 |   NME

    The range of Cox's musical scope is laid bare
    Read Review

  22. 7.5 |   Beats Per Minute

    It may not reach the same creative highs or artistic wholeness of their previous releases, but in its own right, it can be just as enjoyable
    Read Review

  23. 7.0 |   The Digital Fix

    The adeptness and imagination which has grounded so much of the band’s output is a rewarding feature throughout
    Read Review

  24. 7.0 |   Uncut

    Even his palette cleansers are Michelin-starred. Print edition only

  25. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    There is clearly no quietude in Cox's frantic mind, but his obsession yields beauty
    Read Review

  26. 7.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Monomania achieves what it set out to be: an avant punk record
    Read Review

  27. 7.0 |   All Music

    By turns raw and reflective, Monomania is about shaking things up; it's not as grand or cohesive as Microcastle or Halcyon Digest, but with repeated listens, its quick shifts in sound and mood feel more like different sides of the same coin than a split personality
    Read Review

  28. 7.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    'Monomania’ is an ersatz concept album that needs its context of one record among many to make sense
    Read Review

  29. 6.0 |   The Fly

    Treading water’s still treading water, no matter how much of a racket you make in the process
    Read Review

  30. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    Cox's voice is distorted and roughened throughout: it's paisley pop played through a garage rock-filter
    Read Review

  31. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    It’s no clean kill shot for sure, but Deerhunter still possess the power to stun
    Read Review

  32. 6.0 |   The Quietus

    Deerhunter never achieve cohesion of style or energy on Monomania
    Read Review

  33. 6.0 |   Clash

    A confident and competent continuation of established qualities
    Read Review

  34. 5.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Whereas both Deerhunter and Atlas Sound albums typically reflect the obsessive brilliance and meticulous pathos of Cox's personality, there's few signs of either on Monomania, which is in dire need of a little less impulse and a bit more OCD
    Read Review

  35. Back to main chart

blog comments powered by Disqus
buy it at amazon download it from itunes

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Preview & download it

Deerhunter: Monomania

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Neon Junkyard £0.89
  • 2. Leather Jacket II £0.89
  • 3. The Missing £0.89
  • 4. Pensacola £0.89
  • 5. Dream Captain £0.89
  • 6. Blue Agent £0.89
  • 7. T.H.M. £0.89
  • 8. Sleepwalking £0.89
  • 9. Back to the Middle £0.89
  • 10. Monomania £0.89
  • 11. Nitebike £0.89
  • 12. Punk (La Vie Antérieure) £0.89
  • Service provided by 7Digital

Latest Reviews

Dua Lipa  Radical Optimism

Talk of a new musical direction proves unfounded as the Grammy-winning singer’s third album shares more retro-inspired dance pop and lessons from her love life The Observer

Kamasi Washington  Fearless Movement

He doesn't merely juxtapose instruments and sounds, he painstakingly combines them, bringing joy, intensity, political, social, and spiritual poignancy in a vision at once focused, restless, and playful All Music

Camera Obscura  Look to the East, Look to the West

Look to the East, Look to the West could not have been an easy record for the band to make: the obvious emotion and care they have poured into it are a fitting, hopefully healing tribute to a fallen loved one and a heart-warming gift to a fan base who feared they may never hear music from them again All Music

More reviews

All-time top 10

Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past twelve years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.

  1. 9.3

    Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly

  2. 9.2

    Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt Cutters

  3. 9.1

    Kendrick Lamar Damn.

  4. 9.1

    D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah

  5. 9.0

    Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen

  6. 9.0

    Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure

  7. 8.9

    Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways

  8. 8.9

    Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree

  9. 8.9

    Frank Ocean Channel Orange

  10. 8.9

    Dave We’re All Alone In This Together

See full list