'Utopia' is a both a paradise of sound and mind bogglingly irritating, making it this year's most frustrating release. Packed with vibrant, colorful sounds from the get go -- see the superb opener "Arisen My Senses", one of 2017's best non-singles -- this album welcomes listeners with a warm embrace. However, chaos soon erupts. Arca's erratic production becomes tedious quite quickly, the stitched loops and over reliance on flute pieces dragging the initially light rainforest-esque ... read more

Despite the catchiness of the new content, this can't held but feel like a misstep. The four new tracks are more vibrant than nearly anything on the original album, which only exposes how weak it truly was. They'd be better suited for a standalone album or even a full new album. In addition, the unnecessary inclusion of the previously 'remixed' singles feels cheap. Nobody enjoys those versions as much as the originals, making this more of a middle ground collection than a platinum edition.