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10.0
104007
10.0 |
The Irish Times
Dirty Computer is flamboyant and resilient, fun and hard-hitting and, if you’ve ever felt socially and politically oppressed, a spot has been saved for you in this brave new world
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10.0
104010
10.0 |
The Independent
A record that will go down as a milestone not just as a work of art in its own right, but as the perfect celebration of queerness, female power, and self-worth
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10.0
104027
10.0 |
DIY
It might just be the record that finally elevates her to pop’s highest echelons
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10.0
104064
10.0 |
NME
Janelle Monáe doesn’t believe in walls or limits: this is a fluid celebration of freedom, raging and raving against the oppressors. In fact, only one label sticks – icon
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10.0
104099
10.0 |
A.V. Club
On Dirty Computer, the erstwhile Electric Lady loses the metal and circuitry, but none of her power or artistry, cementing her status alongside Prince in the hall of hyper-talented, gender-fluid icons who love and promote blackness
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10.0
104119
10.0 |
Evening Standard
She makes music that for all its cleverness, ambition and feminist sentiment is just really, really fun
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10.0
104360
10.0 |
Q
Fierce, honest and a challenge to the forces of obsolescence, Dirty Computer feels like a vital upgrade from a true renegade. Print edition only
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10.0
104516
10.0 |
Pretty Much Amazing
In an age of catfish and fake news, pure old honesty comes across as a bigger surprise, and ultimately, a bigger payoff
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9.1
104149
9.1 |
Consequence Of Sound
A powerful call for women, queer people, and people of color to be their authentic selves
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9.0
104164
9.0 |
Clash
Monáe is 10 steps ahead, past the Trump era, embracing the robot-utopia that gives hope to an unprejudiced and equal world. She´s already there - now the rest of us have to catch up
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9.0
104073
9.0 |
All Music
It demonstrates that artful resistance and pop music are not mutually exclusive
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9.0
104093
9.0 |
The Quietus
Dirty Computer succeeds at what it came to do - it’s here to make you think, and it’s here to make you dance. It is the most clearly delivered result of Monáe’s vision so far - the android rebirthed from the fire as a queer phoenix, here to continue her mentor’s legacy
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9.0
104137
9.0 |
Rolling Stone
Unlike most of the collective pile-ups cluttering the pop landscape these days, the songs feel steered by a single sure and distinctive vision
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9.0
103980
9.0 |
Exclaim
An LP so irresistibly danceable and irrefutably topical that it'll also leave generations of up-and-comers clamouring to team up with Janelle Monáe
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8.5
104348
8.5 |
Under The Radar
If the worst thing you can say about Dirty Computer is that it isn't quite Purple Rain, you know you're talking about a very special artist
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8.2
104154
8.2 |
Gig Soup
This album is here to boost the morale of those seeking a reminder of their appreciation
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8.0
104604
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
While some fans of her earlier, more challenging, material may be mildly disappointed sonically by such a straight-up pop record, even they must acknowledge what an important album this is both personally to Monae and socially to the current world
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8.0
104084
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
What’s a one-time prim tuxedoed girl to do in a pop world full of bouncy Beyoncés?
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8.0
104090
8.0 |
Crack
Typically dense with historical reference points, as well as contemporary interrogations of real-world issues, Dirty Computer is the ecstatic protest album for an era that will keep people pondering its cultural significance for generations to come
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8.0
104120
8.0 |
The Observer
A pitch for the pop mainstream sees the Prince collaborator ditch the tech for a sexy, personal angle
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8.0
104124
8.0 |
musicOMH
This album is possibly her least musically adventurous, but thematically it’s defiantly bold and generous
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8.0
104126
8.0 |
No Ripcord
It's the full-on pop record that Monáe had been hinting at for years, and though some of her stylistic choices may not age well - especially when she veers into trap territory - she approaches them with a kind of flighty confidence
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7.7
104135
7.7 |
Pitchfork
A singular, youthful pop record that is the culmination of years of silence and deflection in order to one day be free
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7.5
104336
7.5 |
Spectrum Culture
Few albums come with as much weight as a cultural moment as Dirty Computer
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7.0
105588
7.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
After navigating complex matrices of identity under an indulgent, accessible veneer, Dirty Computer is ultimately — even “simply” — a cathartic assertion of self in a hostile system
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7.0
104328
7.0 |
PopMatters
Even with its shallow letdowns, Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer succeeds overall because it mostly delivers the same elements that made the Metropolis lineage soar
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7.0
104150
7.0 |
God Is In The TV
Zeitgeist styles mean it contains more predictable and unoriginal moments compared to her earlier work
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7.0
104025
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Slower, softer, more chilled, more vulnerable
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7.0
104069
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
In shedding her science-fiction persona, Janelle Monáe has ended up making a great pop album
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7.0
104029
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
As complex, agenda-pushing pop goes, ‘Dirty Computer’ is undeniably impressive
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6.0
104011
6.0 |
The Guardian
She can sing, she can rap, she can act, she can pay homage to Prince – perfectly. So why does Monáe still seem elusive on her most personal album?
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6.0
104749
6.0 |
Mojo
She repeatedly refers to her inability to express her emotions fully - which is exactly how Dirty Computer leaves you feeling. Print edition only
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