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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Hercules And Love Affair
by Hercules And Love Affair
The debut album for the electronic group from New York.
| LABEL: |
Mute |
| RELEASE DATE: |
24 June 2008 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Electronic, Dance |
NOTES: Original UK release 10 Mar 2008.
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
musicOMH.com
It's the big numbers, when Hegarty steps up to the microphone, that reveal Hercules And Love Affair as a project that captures not only the full range of moods on a night out on the tiles, but also the full range of human emotions from the start of a night to its end.
100
Delusions of Adequacy
This is a winner in so many different ways; the music is impeccable, the sequencing is seamless, the production inhales and exhales life and the overall sound is killer.
100
Observer Music Monthly
The hipper-than-thou trappings mean people are talking about H&LA, but it is the record itself which is a deft delight.
91
Pitchfork
Lush, melancholic, gregarious, generous, both precise and a little bit unhinged--this is the most original American dance album in a long while.
90
Prefix Magazine
Hercules & Love Affair is a testament to the great foresight and control is required in a disco producer to keep the track from lunging into an abyss of low-blow kitsch, and to be able to stimulate the ears and feet at the same time.
90
PopMatters
There is a dedication and an ardor in play that cannot be denied.
90
Drowned In Sound
This record is as on disco and early house's dick as much as Britpop was on The Beatles' and The Kinks'.
90
Urb
The songs are expertly arranged and succinct, staying away from the lengthy workouts of most of his DFA contemporaries. [Jul/Aug 2008, p.84]
90
All Music Guide
What really puts the album over the top as something else is not just its ideas-stuffed brevity (46 minutes in its original form), but its material not made explicitly for the club.
88
The Phoenix
The rotating cast of vocalists and the Saturday-night spirit of the instrumentation are together more welcoming than anything the DFA has dropped in years.
84
Filter
Butler and company have crafted a brilliant tribute to the glorious euphoria of getting down in the big city. [Summer 2008, p.96]
83
Almost Cool
Not only a one of the debuts of the year, but also one of the better releases in general, this self-titled debut from Hercules And Love Affair is worth picking up.
80
Under The Radar
By not reinventing the wheel, Hercules and Love Affair have surprised us with a great debut album. [Summer 2008]
80
Spin
DJ/Producer Andrew Butler mixes the poetic Apollonian aspects of queer culture with the Dionysian party represented by left-field disco and hypnotic early house, and crafts an unsettlung masterpiece that yearns and churns and ultimately pulls the rug from under your dancing feet. [June 2008, p.116]
80
Slant Magazine
Hercules and Love Affair is relentlessly listenable--Hercules's songs are too good to be classified as tributes--but it is nevertheless defined by the inspirational pull of a golden age that's gone.
80
Dusted Magazine
Hercules and Love Affair is a sincere and sumptuous stab at the mirrorball splendor of the 1970s.
80
New Musical Express
For now though, this is a very fine record. Not Herculean exactly, but certainly something that NME loves.
80
Uncut
This is inventive harkening, not witless revivalism. [Apr 2008, p.90]
80
Village Voice
The party holds strong into the second half, where the comedown always muddles the songwriting a little. Surprise: Antony's dramatic ululations return to rescue the trawling sonics.
80
Dot Music
It's a canny mix and results in Hercules And Love Affair making music for feet and heart, but also for the soul.
80
Mojo
Hercules And Love Affair exist in that mighty unreal demimonde where dancing and art are not mutually exclusive. [Apr 2008, p.105]
80
Hot Press
Hercules And Love Affair may be a party, it may be a disco, but it sure ain't no foolin' around.
80
Q Magazine
Hercules And Love Affair are at their best when they cut loose and damn the consequences. [Apr 2008, p.110]
80
Sputnikmusic
Hercules and Love Affair is a killer work from Butler, an album not meant to break down any barriers or start a revolution.
80
The Wire
Rarely has an album exemplified the 'body and soul' paid so much lip service in House music so willingly. [Apr 2008, p.58]
80
Vibe
Of all the newish dance acts digging on vintage disco and chicago House, NYC-based Hercules & Love Affair boast the smartest cuts and most range. [June 2008, p.66]
75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
He knows when to kick disco into action and when to just kick back and listen.
70
Tiny Mix Tapes
Yet as much joy as you can hear in Hercules and Love Affair, it’s impossible to separate the melancholy from the mix.
70
Blender
This album is luxuriously, fantastically gay, a nod to the origins of disco, when the music was known for its queer fan base as much as anything else. [July 2008, p.73]
65
cokemachineglow
It’s 1980, honey. It’s always 1980 in here. Enjoy yourself; let yourself go.
60
The Guardian
While it lasts, Hercules and Love Affair sound as original and exotic as their backgrounds.
The average user rating for this album is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 69 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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