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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
Age of Transparency feels less like the collection of singles Anxiety was and more like the cohesive, momentous artistic statement his best work always suggested he's capable of.
90
Age of Transparency is heady and dizzying, even more unpleasant than Anxiety at times, but it’s keyed in to the zeitgeist in a way that feels genuine, constructive even.
90
Age of Transparency is as emotionally compelling and musically creative a work as has been released this year.
80
Rather than employing variety for variety’s sake, the album has a closed-eyes naturalism to it that must, surely, come from an artist channelling something real.
80
As an artistic statement about warmth vs. transparency, Ashin has hit his mark with an album that is as beautiful as it is uncomfortable.
80
While the electronica can occasionally become an abrasive racket on parts of Age of Transparency, Ashin’s singing serves as a reminder of human melody and soul.
75
Age of Transparency is that rare record that manages astonishing density without ever feeling crowded.
70
That’s why the new Age of Transparency is his best album yet, because he makes good on a full-length’s worth of the aural dares of the epic “Play by Play”.
66
Anxiety dressed up Ashin's neuroses in glossy textures, while Age Of Transparency lets them writhe all over the floor. Like his live show, it's thrilling, confusing and uncomfortable in equal measure.
65
However much we may applaud the intent and delivery of the themes, there aren’t many of us who are able to use that as a platform to actually enjoy the music for what it is.
60
Some tracks are far from an easy listen, but it was never meant to be. Ashin is using music as a vessel of expression, and in that sense he’s achieved his goal.
60
His lyrics remain simple and poignant, but some of what surprised us on Anxiety has lost its newness here. The sudden moments of rapture–the ones that that pushed through layers of electronic ambience–remain, but are less frequent and more predictable.
Autre ne Veut's new album is a dazzling, mesmerizing experience that relies heavily on Ashin's apparently newly-received experimental ambition, much more than it showed on the highly melodic Anxiety, where the singer-songwriter bet his aesthetics on actual memorable songwriting and catchy hooks. Not that the experiments on Age of Transparency all fall short on results. Actually, his acquired sense of beauty within transience pays off on some of the tracks of the album, like on the great single ... read more
END OF YEAR LISTS
| #4 | / | Pigeons & Planes |
| #19 | / | Gorilla vs. Bear |
| #37 | / | Tiny Mix Tapes |
Track List
- On and On (Reprise)
- Panic Room
- Cold Winds
- Age of Transparency
- Switch Hitter
- Never Wanted
- Word War Pt2
- Over Now
- Get Out
In Library (5)
Added on: August 6, 2015
