Albums to watch

Awe Naturale

THEESatisfaction

Awe Naturale

Debut album from the Seattle-based rap duo who featured on Shabazz Palaces Black Up album

ADM rating[?]

7.4

Label
Sub Pop
UK Release date
09/04/2012
US Release date
27/03/2012
  1. 9.1 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    The duo’s ability to draw on R&B, hip-hop, soul, jazz, disco, and funk while being firmly rooted in their own aesthetic results in a sound that is persistently and effortlessly fresh
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  2. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    They've taken a Seattle indie label better known for grunge and folky pop one step closer to revolutionising rap music. Don’t worry, though; just turn off your swag. Feel their energy flowing through your mind. Satisfaction guaranteed
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  3. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Clearly the most thrilling and assured debut of the year so far
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  4. 8.5 |   BBC

    Their music is full of joy, of sensuousness and sensuality, of acid wit and ambitious creativity
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  5. 8.2 |   Beats Per Minute

    Awe Naturale is at least a great, deep listen, and all that THEESatisfaction has done to challenge the listener warrants serious admiration
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  6. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    The range of stylistic influences is never less than staggering, ranging from the rapid-fire gloss of TLC to the jazzed-up wanderings of Sun Ra
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  7. 8.0 |   Prefix

    One of the most adventurous and tradition-bending hip-hop albums of the year, and further cements Sub Pop as the place for imaginative, left-field hip-hop
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  8. 8.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    The distorted piano and vocal loops and simple drum patterns do tend to bleed into each other, and the songs run on the short side, but together they’re a mesmerizing set
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  9. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    They expand the possibilities of hip-hop in ways that go way beyond their music
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  10. 8.0 |   Spin

    Seattle bohos chop future-soul beats to fragments while paying tribute to their inner Goddess
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  11. 7.5 |   Pitchfork

    A pleasantly surprising resurrection of the Pacific Northwest-via-Brooklyn hippie-hop that we never might have anticipated a few years ago
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  12. 7.0 |   Uncut

    Hip-hop duo dig a dark, neo-soul-funk groove. Print edition only

  13. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    THEESatisfaction sit on the De La Soul side of hip-hop. They may have a point to make, about how we go about our day, how we treat our fellow comrades in the war of life, but they’re going to make it in a positive fashion
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  14. 7.0 |   DIY

    A largely enjoyable debut from this versatile duo
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  15. 7.0 |   NME

    A satisfyingly rich project, which solidifies Sub Pop’s new found status as hip-hop cavaliers
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  16. 7.0 |   Rave Magazine

    The music is all underpinned by smooth samples of instrumental jazz and funk, which is then subtly looped and shifted around in a way that ends up being somewhat hypnotic once you focus on it
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  17. 6.8 |   Paste Magazine

    Living proof that unique statements can still be made in those old, unstylish indie-hop tenants. Let it be an inspiration for something grande
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  18. 6.0 |   Slant Magazine

    In some ways, awE naturalE is an even better album than Black Up. Its stylistic breadth is greater, ranging from '70s funk to Sun Ra-inspired jazz, and while its productions can't match Black Up's for instant emotional wallop
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  19. 6.0 |   Mojo

    Their ability to switch up styles at will can prove a little wearing, giving an uneven feel to an otherwise startling debut. Print edition only

  20. 6.0 |   Q

    An enchanting snippet of life in the left-field. Print edition only

  21. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    Evokes the simplicity and allure of the genre’s playful, cut-and-paste origins
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  22. 6.0 |   The Fly

    When this works, as on the poppy ‘Queens’ and oh-so-direct ‘Bitch’, the album flies
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THEESatisfaction: Awe Naturale

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