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9.1
143953
9.1 |
Paste Magazine
The Sonic Youth co-founder’s third solo album embodies a righteous fury in her satire-fueled lyrics and producer Justin Raisen’s booming rage-rap instrumentals
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9.0
143948
9.0 |
Uncut
She takes on the Trump administration in "ByeBye25!", one landmark among many in her forward-thinking solo career. Print edition only
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9.0
143952
9.0 |
Spill Magazine
It’s a huge credit to Gordon that, even in her 70s, she’s writing something so fresh, different, and plain relevant
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9.0
144006
9.0 |
All Music
If The Collective was punishing in its density, Play Me is its equal and opposite: leaner and more melodic without sacrificing invention. It's an album that reaffirms Gordon still knows how, and why, to push forward
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8.3
144005
8.3 |
Beats Per Minute
In a time when chaos and unpredictability are the experience de jour, one can push reality away or embrace it. Gordon does the latter. With unflagging allure
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8.0
143966
8.0 |
The Skinny
Kim Gordon has mastered a modern mixture of distorted guitar and intense trip-hop beats with the release of her most political solo album
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8.0
143976
8.0 |
Clash
Kim Gordon proves herself again as a worthy spokesperson on the plight of modern-day life through her own unending experimentation. For a 2026 experimental capitalist-critique, dedicate half an hour of your time to this album. You won’t regret it
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8.0
143988
8.0 |
musicOMH
Her third solo album succinctly sums up the surreal, terrifying and bewildering times we find ourselves in – and on her own terms
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8.0
143949
8.0 |
Mojo
With [producer Justin] Raisen, she creates a powerhouse sound, one that twists so it can't be easily "curated", labeled, boiled down for vibes. Print edition only
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8.0
143947
8.0 |
Record Collector
It succeeds by drawing in the listener and urging them to do some interpretative work. Print edition only
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8.0
143956
8.0 |
DIY
Often, it’s hard to tell whether it’s not all just a big wind-up. But maybe that’s the point
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8.0
143958
8.0 |
NME
Life begins at 72 as the Sonic Youth icon deconstructs these doom-scrolling times via a trip-hop driven nightmare
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8.0
143959
8.0 |
Exclaim
With Trump, Musk, Bezos et al. filling the Nero slot, it's up to Gordon and others like her — though few truly are — to point their own propaganda back at them. Sometimes resistance is a rhythmic thing
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8.0
144040
8.0 |
PopMatters
Indie rock icon Kim Gordon acerbically wrestles with the state of the world over hip-hop and industrial beats on Play Me
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8.0
144045
8.0 |
Dork
'Play me' doesn’t try to comfort. It tries to provoke, energise and outlast the scroll
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8.0
144050
8.0 |
The Quietus
She’s incorporating sounds and techniques that – and apologies for bringing age into it – most other septuagenarians would recoil from
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7.0
143951
7.0 |
Far Out
It’s brutal, unrelenting and at times jarring, even for Gordon’s standards. But ultimately, that is the absolute point of the record, being released in a time of desperate societal and political urgency
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7.0
143969
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Her list-like lyrics and droning delivery, merging with Raisen’s dystopic production to nail the frictionless abstraction of contemporary culture. But still, whether it’s a particular melodic strain or the way a synth aches out under a beat, the emotions remain
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7.0
143974
7.0 |
Pitchfork
Kim Gordon’s third solo album is the most populist and literalist music of her career. Her sharp style and wit remain, but absurdity and ambiguity are missed
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7.0
144003
7.0 |
Northern Transmissions
Consider, then, Kim Gordon’s PLAY ME as a window to that harrowing world of nausea, bad lyrics, gnarly dance beats, and for-profit mentality
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6.3
144001
6.3 |
Spectrum Culture
While PLAY ME is an indulgence that can be allowed, it feels like a lesser work given her accomplishments and clear artistic ambitions
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6.0
143989
6.0 |
No Ripcord
While The Collective felt novel and boundary pushing, PLAY ME, though similarly adventurous, aims to reflect our daily anxieties with tired commentary that risks dating itself
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5.0
143946
5.0 |
Hot Press
It all reaffirms Gordon’s status as a fearless art-rocker, even if the results make for a decidedly uneven album
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4.0
143963
4.0 |
The Arts Desk
Crucially, on these tracks she’s also started to adopt the vocal patterns of “mumble rap”
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