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w h o k i l l

Tune-Yards

w h o k i l l

Second album, and first on 4ad, from Oakland experimental lo-fi artist Merrill Garbus

ADM rating[?]

8.3

Label
4ad
UK Release date
18/04/2011
US Release date
19/04/2011
  1. 10.0 |   musicOMH

    In a year that's already been rather special for great albums, Merrill Garbus may well have produced the finest record of the year
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  2. 10.0 |   The Irish Times

    Garbus is now writing and performing at a new and spectacular peak
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  3. 10.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Call her Madame Beefheart if you want, because in this inspired and inspirational racket I detect the sound of a cult star being born
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  4. 9.0 |   No Ripcord

    The bizarre take on folk, pop and anything else she sees fit is enchanting, joyful and thought provoking; it’s everything at once
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  5. 9.0 |   Tiny Mix Tapes

    This album demands your open-minded attention on its own terms, and it ends up teaching you how to listen to it in a new way
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  6. 9.0 |   Bowlegs

    Like a carnival weekend or all-nighter, flaunting enough attitude and energy for every one of us
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  7. 9.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    2011 won't get much better than this ... Merrill Garbus has somehow managed to encompass more ideas into just over 40 minutes than most artists manage in a lifetime
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  8. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    This joyous, adventurous album is going to be hard to ignore when the year-end lists start rolling in
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  9. 8.8 |   Pitchfork

    A lot of what makes w h o k i l l ... so compelling is the degree to which Garbus commits to her ideas and displays a total conviction in her personal, idiosyncratic, high-stakes music
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  10. 8.4 |   Beats Per Minute

    Something special is happening on this record. I think
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  11. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    Whokill’s sonic imagination outlasts the novelty of Tune-Yards’ debut, and even better, a lyrical persona as playfully warped as the rhythms punching away behind it
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  12. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Whereas the musical and lyrical boldness of her 2009 debut, Bird-Brains, was a little muted by her homespun recording techniques, here every fragmenting note and confrontational idea is exhilaratingly crisp
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  13. 8.0 |   Prefix

    Garbus might be more known right now as a magnetic performer, but w h o k i l l proves she’s just as beguiling on record
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  14. 8.0 |   Eye Weekly

    An album that borrows from reggae, Nina Simone, Bowie and the Beatles
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  15. 8.0 |   NME

    This is the opposite if maturity, the true raw state of childhood
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  16. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    Catchy yet abrasive, noisy yet intimate, kind of funny yet also kind of scary, this is post-pop at its most vertiginously original
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  17. 8.0 |   State

    Almost every song takes you down a different road of sonic peculiarity but for every one angular, discordant turn, there’s ten more that take you back into some curiously soulful grooves
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  18. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    It’s truly peerless music
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  19. 8.0 |   Mojo

    A forward-thinking mix, brilliantly eccentric in a way Lady Gaga could only dream of. Print edition only

  20. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    With a crisper, clearer production that helps it to stand out, w h o k i l l is, almost literally speaking, tUnE-yArDs’ breakthrough
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  21. 8.0 |   BBC

    Lo-fi meets hi-fi, as big drum thunder under-booms sometime dictaphone-style scratchiness in the vocal department
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  22. 8.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    An album indulgent in eccentricity, compelling in its variety, and downright impossible to not enjoy
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  23. 8.0 |   The Fly

    It’s unlikely that tUnE-yArDs will win over your mum any time soon, but that’s hardly the point. For now, being highly entertaining will do
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  24. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Euphoric, brilliant and bonkers
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  25. 8.0 |   Eye Weekly

    an album that borrows from reggae, Nina Simone, Bowie and the Beatles, while weaving stories
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  26. 8.0 |   Q

    Her vocals range from demure cooing through sassy funk to lung-bursting holler. Print edition only

  27. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Rivals peak-period Eno and Byrne for the sheer inventiveness of her fusion of African song and western art-pop. Print edition only

  28. 8.0 |   Spin

    This sophomore album cleans up without sacrificing charm
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  29. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    [A] charming and inventive release
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  30. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    It all hangs together thanks to Garbus' voice, which slides seamlessly from Joplin-esque howls to delicate coos
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  31. 7.0 |   The Digital Fix

    An album with its ups and downs stylistically but never is it anything but engrossing
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  32. 7.0 |   DIY

    One of the most unique talents on the alternative scene today, and in this latest release provides a truly refreshing work
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  33. 7.0 |   AU Review

    It’s entirely weird. And it’s also entirely great
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Tune-Yards: w h o k i l l

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