Albums to watch

Evolve or Be Extinct

Wiley

Evolve or Be Extinct

Eighth album of grime and hip-hop from the extremely prolific Londoner

ADM rating[?]

7.1

Label
Big Dada
UK Release date
19/01/2012
US Release date
24/01/2012
  1. 8.0 |   Q

    Wiley is invigorated by a licence to speak his mind. Print edition only

  2. 8.0 |   Mojo

    His best yet. Print edition only

  3. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Despite the short gap since his last album, this feels like Wiley's strongest offering to date
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  4. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    A coherent, intermittently hilarious, sonically adventurous album
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  5. 8.0 |   BBC

    A haphazard, sometimes ridiculous, but often impressively inventive new set
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  6. 8.0 |   NME

    He is predictably unpredictable, an innovator who doesn't take himself too seriously. Print edition only

  7. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    There's genuine humour here – another factor that keeps Wiley a class apart
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  8. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    An LP that equals the incendiary nature of his freestyle delivery: a stern, surreal and evolutionary forward bounce
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  9. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    Maintaining the boxer’s punch of his original nocturnal narratives while softening the edges with reggae grooves and crowd-pleasing dance-floor dynamics that could be borrowed from Underworld, Wiley finally sounds like he is having fun
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  10. 8.0 |   Rave Magazine

    Back in 2007, which in Wiley years is an eon ago, he released an album called Playtime Is Over – Evolve Or Be Extinct makes it sound like playtime has officially started up again. Good
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  11. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    Succeeds as both a collection of songs for public use—dancing, drinking, celebrating Christmas, protesting customs officials—and as a complex portrait of the artist who’s sacrificed his sleep and sanity to create them
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  12. 7.5 |   hhv.de mag

    It’s his most focused and, at the same time, most diversified album, so far
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  13. 7.2 |   Pitchfork

    One of his best, a mostly single-minded return to the on-the-mic fierceness and computers-go-tribal rhythms that first made his name
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  14. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    For all its innovativity and dogged determinism, the album’s latter moments just can’t compete with the top heavy appeal of its opening tracks
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  15. 6.0 |   Uncut

    A little reflection might pay dividends. Print edition only

  16. 6.0 |   Clash

    Wiley’s latest cobbling together is infuriatingly irresistible
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  17. 6.0 |   AU Review

    A new Wiley album will always harbour a few gems. This one is no different
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  18. 6.0 |   DIY

    The two freshest beats come not from Wiley but from guest producer Mark Pritchard
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  19. 6.0 |   The Digital Fix

    With the growing amount of fresh blood entering the grime genre he perhaps needs to think on that album title a little and find something fresh
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  20. 6.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    Over rudimentary backing beats, in that "ya feel me?" accent, his humour often hits the spot
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  21. 4.0 |   Spin

    Too forced and uncomfortable, as though he figured he'd evolve if he just over-thought it enough
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Wiley: Evolve or Be Extinct

  • Download full album for just £7.99
  • 1. Welcome to Zion £0.99
  • 2. Evolve or Be Extinct £0.99
  • 3. Link Up £0.99
  • 4. Boom Blast £0.99
  • 5. I'm Skanking £0.99
  • 6. Weirdo £0.99
  • 7. Scar £0.99
  • 8. Can I Have a Taxi Please? £0.99
  • 9. Miss You £0.99
  • 10. Money Man £0.99
  • 11. Customs £0.99
  • 12. Immigration £0.99
  • 13. Only Human £0.99
  • 14. This Is Just an Album £0.99
  • 15. Ya Win Some, Ya Lose Some £0.99
  • 16. Fire £0.99
  • 17. No Love Lost £0.99
  • 18. Cheer Up, It's Christmas £0.99
  • 19. Life at Sea £0.99
  • 20. Daiquiris £0.99
  • 21. Confused £0.99
  • 22. Highs and Lows £0.99
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