Settle

Disclosure - Settle
Critic Score
Based on 36 reviews
2013 Ratings: #246 / 1115
Year End Rank: #10
User Score
2013 Rank: #90
Liked by 98 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
AllMusic

Considering all the shrewd alliances and its polished attack, Settle seems like it was designed to be 2013's acceptable dance album. That said, any purist who denies its pleasures is a crank.

100
Mixmag
Disclosure now stand at the forefront of a new generation of club kids who crave house, leading them into the night with productions charged with strobe-lit emotion, immaculate pop hooks and irresistible rhythmic verve.
91
Pitchfork

The Surrey duo have not only made 2013's best dance record so far-- they've also concocted one of the most assured, confident debuts from any genre in recent memory. 

90
PopMatters

We don’t always need the best dance record of the year to push the genre forward into unseen territory; it’s hard to see anyone besting Settle for the title in 2013

90
Earmilk
Without a doubt, Guy and Lawrence Howard have the Midas touch, turning every song they lay their hands on to pure gold.
90
Consequence of Sound

Slinky enough for the club, down-tempo enough for a rooftop soiree, Settle traverses boundaries and expectations. 

90
Billboard

They're still more interested in presenting exhilarating dance music than trying to analyze its power.

87
Beats Per Minute

Settle is nearly impossible not to like. It nonchalantly surpasses expectations at nearly every turn. 

83
Pretty Much Amazing

Settle is the aural fruits of Disclosure’s mission to reinvigorate dance and pop by annexing and consolidating their favourite sounds from the sonic side-streets of house music’s sprawling musical past.

80
Time Out London
Whether you classify ‘Settle’ as EDM, future garage or neo-pop, the sound of the ’90s, the noughties or the future, Disclosure have made an album that’s universally brilliant.
80
DIY

Guy and Howard make few slip-ups, ensuring the fire burns, and will continue to do so until this house revival is less a sudden resurrection, more a fad of the past. 

80
The Telegraph
There’s nothing very new about the sound, but there’s a freshness and intelligence in the Lawrence brothers’ discovery of it.
80
Loud and Quiet

In a period where we’ve reached EDM saturation and electronic music regularly argued, and threatened to eat itself, Disclosure’s retro deference strikes a joyous crisp balance that plays out in the club, in the chart, and in headphones.

80
Alternative Press

Settle is a rare animal: an EDM album that actually flows like an album should.

80
Clash

It’s on tracks like ‘Latch’ that we see exactly why Disclosure have crept to the top of the charts, yet remain on the setlists of top selectors – it’s their ability to solder emotion and soul onto hyperactive dance riddims.

80
The Guardian

It's better to concentrate on what Settle is than what it isn't, because what it is is laudable.

80
NOW Magazine

Their debut album, Settle, further delivers on that boundary-busting promise with a perfect mix of sample-driven techno and deep house minimalism, soulful and snappy vocal bangers and left-field mid-tempo jams. It’s a pop record, a history lesson and – for those uninitiated in the funky UK house tradition – a gateway drug all in one.

80
Exclaim!

It's the fact that Disclosure make bookish, aurally factual electronica sound so carefree that makes Settle such an artistic success.

80
Resident Advisor

Though their brand of dance music is indeed a squeaky clean one, Settle doesn't feel like it's trying to be an underground dance music record.

80
The Fly

It’s not perfect ... but it’s a consistently thrilling debut.

80
Spectrum Culture

At the frighteningly young ages of only 22 and 19 respectively, they have given us a bold, thoughtful dance record that works from beginning to end. Settle has the rare distinction of moving the body, the mind and the heart in equal measure.

80
SPIN

Fortunately, Settle doesn't settle; each new track finds them testing their own formulas. 

75
The Line of Best Fit

Settle is a soulful, accomplished and versatile record. 

70
Rolling Stone
These bros know how even subtle tweaks can turn the pedestrian ecstatic.
70
The Needle Drop

On Settle, the fresh electronic music duo known as Disclosure brings a series of house and garage-inspired dance numbers that groove excitingly. Some of the vocal guests are pretty spectacular as well. Even if you're not nutty about dance music, give it a try.

70
NME

Throughout, ‘Settle’ will blind you with so much sheen you’ll want to tile your bathroom in it.

70
musicOMH

If anything prevents it from being an instant classic, it’s that it’s simply not risky enough to be a game changer.

60
FasterLouder

Settle is by no means a terrible record, but it is far from a great one ... in terms of both quality and innovation it has become painfully obvious they’ve lost their way.

60
FACT Magazine

Disclosure are still young, and in terms of its aims – combining house music and pop for a young British audience currently captivated with the idea of the former but reliant on the hooks of the latter – Settle succeeds.

60
The Observer
Two of these cuts have already graced the top 10; the rest of Disclosure's debut album showcases a sound in which the echoes of two-step, UK funky and older house records recombine into a surprisingly timely and moreish soundtrack.
60
No Ripcord

Disclosure have found an erratic blend of deep house and pop that, while not entirely original, has moments of greatness. 

60
The Arts Desk
The great hopes of dance music prove very, very smooth.
50
The 405

Settle ends up being a wonderful compilation of other famous voices. There's the occasional flicker of real promise outside of the star power, but aside from that, it's a record carried by other people. 

20
God Is in the TV
A couple of kids with a laptop, protocols and access to fame-hungry ‘soul’ vocalists do not timeless quality make. I listened, I tried, I waited for a, any slightly involving track with any character beyond quality mastering, and it did not come.
20
The Independent
Featuring track after track of drab, methodical beats plodding along laboriously behind finicky little hihat moves and quacking synth lines, it's the kind of dance music that makes dancing a dreary duty.
elitimesfour
90

This group could make an album of fartcore and I’d still call them one of the best electronic acts to ever hit the mainstream

charlie17
82

In terms of modern edm this is definitely the cream of the crop. Extraordinarily slick, funky, and most importantly of all danceable, there’s a lot here for both pop and electronic fans alike. Now I’m not gonna claim that this is “deep” or “profound” or “revolutionary” but honestly for what they’re trying to do here disclosure sorta nail it. Highly recommend.

carbon
90

boom boom chak boom boom chak boom boom boom chak

40

UK electronic duo Disclosure's widely praised debut album, Settle, just doesn't do much for me. Given the appreciation I have for Disclosure's more modern outputs, as well as their talents in general, I expected this listening experience to be fun, funky, and some of the best house music of the 2010s. Instead, what I got were a few highlight tracks scattered among disorganized, repetitive 4/4 drum loops sorely lacking in finish and finesse. The usual smooth integration of diverse vocalists from ... read more

rehabaher
NR

on its own it's a 75, with the remixes it's a..

Domcactus
78

This is a fantastic house albums, one of my favorite of the 2010's. The grooves and tunes are consistently great, and Disclosure upholds the energy for a long time here.

Fav Songs: When a Fire Starts to Burn, Latch, F for You, White Noise, Stimulation, Voices

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Track List

1Intro
0:59
74
2When a Fire Starts to Burn
4:43
80
3Latch
4:16
feat. Sam Smith
89
4F for You
4:29
78
5White Noise
4:38
83
6Defeated No More
6:09
83
7Stimulation
5:22
80
8Voices
4:05
83
9Second Chance
2:22
73
10Grab Her!
5:15
79
11You & Me
4:29
81
12January
5:55
78
13Confess to Me
4:11
82
14Help Me Lose My Mind
4:06
83
Total Length: 1 hour, 1 minute
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Added on: April 16, 2013