Albums to watch

Praxis Makes Perfect

Neon Neon

Praxis Makes Perfect

Second collaboration from Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys and hip hop producer Boom Bip

ADM rating[?]

7.1

Label
Republic of Music
UK Release date
29/04/2013
US Release date
30/04/2013
  1. 8.0 |   Fact

    Instrumentally, the record has all the hallmarks of Super Furry Animals meeting Boom Bip – Rhodes and Wurlitzer, squelchy analogue synths, guitars and keyboards, metronomically tight live drums, Rhys’ brilliantly Welsh-accented American falsetto
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  2. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    A synthesised delight
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  3. 8.0 |   Mojo

    A master-class in high-voltage electronic pop. Print edition only

  4. 8.0 |   Q

    Unlikely you'll hear a better anti-fascist-Matxist-electro-pop record all year. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   DIY

    When you hear that voice - so evocative, so warm, such a hug of a voice - it imbues the album with an undoubtable sincerity
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  6. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Gruff Rhys’ voice is oddly and unexpectedly perfectly suited to this music
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  7. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    A strange mix of left-wing politics and cheery synth pop
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  8. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    Its musical DNA being split 50/50 between Kraftwerk and Hall & Oates. Which averages out near Pet Shop Boys
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  9. 8.0 |   Art Rocker

    An intriguing electro-pop gem
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  10. 8.0 |   All Music

    Once again, Rhys and Hollon bring their very special brand of wit and creativity to the concept album, and it only whets the appetite to see which historical figure will get the Neon Neon treatment next
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  11. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    A perfect dance pop record
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  12. 7.5 |   The 405

    Sticking closely enough to the 80s-influenced electro-pop template of its predecessor
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  13. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    Side project, collaboration or fully fledged act, Neon Neon have a Mercury nomination under their belts – and now a follow-up LP that, for better or worse, peddles the same worthy wares
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  14. 7.0 |   NME

    An electro homage to the rich communist who published Dr Zhivago
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  15. 7.0 |   The Quietus

    When it's good it's great, and it's never bad; Gruff Rhys' lyrics are mostly thoughtful and tastefully poetic throughout, but Feltrinelli's complex tale perhaps needed to be fleshed out further, with more twists and turns and the peaks more evenly placed
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  16. 7.0 |   Clash

    Its retro-futurism coming off like the bastard offspring of ‘Chain Reaction’-era Diana Ross and ‘80s Gary Numan
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  17. 7.0 |   Pitchfork

    Sometimes the audacious lengths to which Neon Neon carry their outlandish conceit lifts up songs that might otherwise fall flat
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  18. 6.0 |   Uncut

    Fun, if musically flimsy. Print edition only

  19. 6.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    While Praxis Makes Perfect does boast some terrific, shimmering, moments, it simultaneously puts hurdles in the way of an easy listen, especially towards the end where it all gets a bit… well, dull
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  20. 6.0 |   The Observer

    What Praxis Makes Perfect might lack in fresh musical directions – their percolating analogue-digital pop remains little altered – it makes up for in apposite italophile detail
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  21. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    The lo-fi electronica sound is less imaginative than the concept but the tunes lift this sparse oddity
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  22. 6.0 |   The Independent

    The decision to tell Feltrinelli's story in the same period technopop music as Stainless Style sabotages its impact
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  23. 5.8 |   A.V. Club

    Praxis Makes Perfect is an uneven mix of gleaming ’80s homages and tunes burdened by their own ambition
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  24. 4.0 |   PopMatters

    A confused mess of synth noodlings and half-formed ideas
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Neon Neon: Praxis Makes Perfect

  • Download full album for just £7.49
  • 1. Praxis Makes Perfect £0.99
  • 2. The Jaguar £0.99
  • 3. Dr. Zhivago £0.99
  • 4. Hoops with Fidel £0.99
  • 5. Hammer & Sickle £0.99
  • 6. Shopping (I Like To) £0.99
  • 7. Mid Century Modern Nightmare £0.99
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  • 9. Listen to the Rainbow £0.99
  • 10. Ciao Feltrinelli £0.99
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