Grouper - Ruins
Critic Score
Based on 21 reviews
2014 Ratings: #87 / 1042
Year End Rank: #24
User Score
Based on 648 ratings
2014 Rank: #56
Liked by 77 people
October 31, 2014 / Release Date
LP / Format
Kranky / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Tiny Mix Tapes

Harris’s analog mastery has created an inhabitable space of intense clarity, so that the silences become suggestions of the room she made them in, a sustained window. The affective work of Ruins is to translate with heartfelt precision the time and space of its recording, to collapse the world of its making and its consumption.

90
Clash
‘Ruins’ is probably the quietest record you’ll hear in 2014. Just Harris and a piano for the most part, it’s a stripped-bare set that unfolds slowly and almost shocks you out of your seat when an unforeseen accoutrement like the pinging of a microwave on instrumental piece ‘Labyrinth’ pierces the elegiac elegance.
90
The Line of Best Fit

It stands as both a fascinating new direction, and a heartbreaking memoir of a period now sinking into the past.

90
FACT Magazine

Ruins is one of her finest works, full to the brim with emotion in spite of the aching space at its heart.

88
Pitchfork

What we're left with is achingly beautiful and ... almost unnervingly direct.

85
The 405

Grouper tenderly and quietly beckons you nearer, allowing the sadness to seep into your bloodstream. Lyrics are distant and difficult to decipher, however it isn't hard to comprehend the emotional weight of each track

80
Drowned in Sound

The memories that Harris explores on Ruins are to us what those physical Portuguese ruins were to her - decontextualised mysteries, distant waves whose ripple hints at some past trauma we’re locked out of.

80
NME
'Ruins' becomes an unexpected gem: that rare album that reels you in without even trying.
80
AllMusic

At once soothing and devastating, Ruins suggests Harris' power and versatility are only growing.

80
musicOMH

Whereas Harris has often used drones, fuzz, white noise and feedback to overwhelm the humanity her music, here she is exposed and unadorned.

75
Consequence of Sound

Ruins is what its name suggests: spacious, haunting, and delicate.

70
Exclaim!
While the documentary vibe of the album is entirely engaging, immediately plunging the listener into a very real physical context, this is an album that requires a serious effort to unpack.
70
PopMatters
It’s individual music that’s overt about putting us in a thoughtful mindset.
67
Pretty Much Amazing
Despite consisting of well-crafted, thoughtful songs, the emotional gutpunch that is to be expected from a Grouper album never quite arrives over multiple listens.
60
NOW Magazine
The quietness is also the project's greatest weakness. At times, it leaves the album feeling incomplete or intrusive, as if we're peeking in mid-thought.
SnowyFighter
68

Sitting in the cold alone: The Album

So honestly, I’m a bit two sided with this album. There’s so much about this that I absolutely love, and some stuff that I feel like is a bit underwhelming. If I was outside during a dim cloudy day walking through a forest or climbing up a mountain, this album would be a 100. But as is, I feel like it’s just pretty decent. This feels like a very situational album for me and that’s why it’s not higher, but even then there is ... read more

Mellesteen
93

"You only wanted holding
And I let my structure fail you"

"I'm in love with being peacefully depressed" or "Ruins" by Grouper, is without a doubt one of my favorite ambient albums of all time. That may ruffle some feathers, but I say keep your Brian Enos and your Tim Heckers, and leave me to float upon the strings and wisps of Liz Harris's angelic timbre.

"Ruins" was released in 2014 and quickly garnered acclaim for the spacious minimalism, beautiful ... read more

MasterCrackfox
83

Where I grew up there was a pond about half a mile from my house. There was a little dock sitting over the water, just tall enough that your feet didn't touch the water. I would sometimes walk there and sit at night, not doing much of anything.

This album somehow transports you to one of the calmest places you've ever been. Delicate and direct, Grouper delivers a touching release that utilizes sound just as much as it does its instrumentation and vocalization. The hushed crackle behind the ... read more

whiteradios
85

Escuche este disco hoy mientras hacia tareas mientras la lluvia caia de nuevo en donde vivo despues de meses y mi taza de te de manzanilla al lado mio. Me dejo entrar a un estado tan cansado y tranquilo. Que buena experiencia.

ayylex13
80

the world’s final radio broadcast

xanificia
90

fuzzy piano ballads to drown out your surroundings

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Added on: August 14, 2014