-
9.0
15520
9.0 |
Clash
It’s predictably brilliant; another display of Dear’s dazzling musical imagination
Read Review
-
8.5
15554
8.5 |
Prefix
He's delivered one of the more cohesive and thematically sound albums of the year so far
Read Review
-
8.4
15490
8.4 |
Beats Per Minute
Black City may initially disappoint fans of Asa Breed’s up-front pop, but those willing to chew it over a while will eventually find some pretty tasty treats within
Read Review
-
8.4
15426
8.4 |
Pitchfork
Dear doesn't really do clean electro-pop; his approach is more about pushing contrasting sounds together and leaving the edges jagged
Read Review
-
8.0
15389
8.0 |
musicOMH
Dear's journey into the underworld is as exciting as it is dangerous
Read Review
-
8.0
15091
8.0 |
Q
Variously recalls Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem and, on the closer Gem, The Magnetic Fields. Print edition only
-
8.0
15093
8.0 |
Mojo
50 minutes of sweaty, grinding, seductive techtronica. Print edition only
-
8.0
15131
8.0 |
Uncut
An alluring chopped'n'screwed take on industrial pop. Print edition only
-
8.0
15218
8.0 |
BBC
Throughout there is an attention to detail, to little tics and tricks in the mix, that make this a treat for listeners who still wear headphones
Read Review
-
8.0
15497
8.0 |
PopMatters
Matthew Dear, now more than ever, rewards you for devoted listening, with vocal tracks, minor melodies, and atmospheric shimmers that lay buried, waiting to be found
Read Review
-
8.0
15982
8.0 |
Blurt
Black City marks a change in that it backs away from the sun and sounds a bleak call for industrial (albeit occasionally danceable) morass
Read Review
-
7.0
15484
7.0 |
BBC
Dear has few peers in the techno subgenres he mines for inspiration. Still, he remains as elusive and malleable as ever
Read Review
-
7.0
15495
7.0 |
Independent on Sunday
There's a muffled, nocturnal feel, pitched somewhere between a white-boy Tricky and Chromeo on downers
Read Review
-
7.0
15555
7.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Though at-times reverential of Bowie and Prince, Black City ultimately remains a record for electronic enthusiasts
Read Review
-
7.0
15360
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
The rise of Matthew Dear the Eighties pop lover has to mean the loss of Matthew Dear the skilled techno craftsman
Read Review
-
7.0
15373
7.0 |
NME
Sonically peculiar, coolly melodic, relentlessly detailed and frequently exhilarating
Read Review
-
6.0
15090
6.0 |
The Skinny
Seedy to the core, the album’s gyration of bass and effects is forced down deviant pathways by Dear’s baritone. The result is as uncomfortable as it sounds
Read Review
-
4.0
15460
4.0 |
The Guardian
The sound of a ferociously talented man blowing off steam in his downtime
Read Review
-
4.0
15635
4.0 |
The Irish Times
His striking vocals are as tuned to providing nocturnal thrills as any of his grooves,
Read Review
-