The North Borders

Bonobo - The North Borders
Critic Score
Based on 18 reviews
2013 Ratings: #377 / 1115
User Score
Based on 174 ratings
2013 Rank: #235
Liked by 11 people
April 2, 2013 / Release Date
LP / Format
Ninja Tune / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

80
The 405

On the whole, The North Borders works so well as an album that its 58 minutes fly by - even though Green never opts for anything that goes beyond his mid-tempo comfort zone. 

80
AllMusic

His discography hasn’t offered up a rainy day soundtrack so fitting until this one, so hope the weatherman has bad news and plan on staying in.

80
musicOMH

In The North Borders, Green has cultivated rich, perfectly formed textures, but not only that, he’s injected feeling into its roots.

70
Consequence of Sound

The North Borders now finds Green secure enough in his craft to command the talents of his guest vocalists and create emotional harmonics.

70
FACT Magazine

Whilst The North Borders is hardly a stylistic leap of faith into the unknown there’s definitely a more confident and varied use of textures and instrumentation than on Black Sands, and it marks a new, very much worthwhile chapter in Bonobo’s continuing story.

70
Drowned in Sound

 The North Borders is as ambitious a record as its predecessor, and it’s just as successful. 

60
Pitchfork

The North Borders is not a bad album-- for the most, it’s as inoffensive as those decade-old chill-out compilations-- yet a frustration persists because Bonobo is better than this.

60
PopMatters

Green’s intricate arrangements—melodic but never quite melodies—cue ears to listen closely, but rewards are scant; as evasive as they can be, these tracks aren’t for chinstrokers. 

60
Tiny Mix Tapes

The North Borders easily goes beyond redeeming itself as an album consistent and chill, but it’s also unobtrusive and endearing, for occasionally it falls short of the immediacy apparent on its standout tracks.

TheCarioca
80

First Fires (feat. Grey Reverend) - 5/5 ❤
Emkay - 4/5
Cirrus - 5/5 ❤
Heaven For The Sinner (feat. Erykah Badu) - 3/5
Sapphire - 4/5
Jets - 4/5
Towers (feat. Szjerdene) - 3/5
Don't Wait - 3/5
Know You - 3/5
Antenna - 3/5
Ten Tigers - 5/5 ❤
Transits (feat. Szjerdene) - 5/5 ❤
Pieces (feat. Cornelia) - 5/5 ❤

Z.Younk
80

More Bonobo x Badu please!

KingIsCole10
81

The North Borders is a really strong album from Bonobo. I don't find it to be as rich or wondrous as Black Sands but the album is still really atmospheric and pleasant to listen to. This one feels a little more dance orientated than Black Sands which I'm totally cool with. I'm like most of the tracks here though there are some I will skip. Favorite tracks are Cirrus, Jets and Antenna.

Thalassophoneus
79

Only the first song was truly remarkable. The rest is pretty standard for Bonobo.

thegamingfoo
85

I got this album off a spotify ad and wanted to listen and it is a very chill calm pop type album. the best songs on here are Cirrus and Heaven for the sinner

Deckard
72

This is an electronic album that feels almost akin to camping in the woods for me. Altogether it doesn't majorly stand out, but has a couple of fantastic tracks.
TOP 3 SONGS: Cirrus, First Fires, Sapphire

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Track List

1First Fires
4:38
80
2Emkay
5:25
74
3Cirrus
5:49
78
4Heaven for the Sinner
4:09
69
5Sapphire
4:47
75
6Jets
4:34
69
7Towers
3:36
feat. Szjerdene
74
8Don't Wait
5:17
69
9Know You
4:05
77
10Antenna
3:32
71
11Ten Tigers
4:03
71
12Transits
4:20
feat. Szjerdene
70
13Pieces
4:27
feat. Cornelia
70
Total Length: 58 minutes

Year End Lists

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#63/Rough Trade
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Added on: March 26, 2013