Art Angels
by Grimes
  • Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: Dec 11, 2015
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 996 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 912 out of 996
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 996
  3. Negative: 52 out of 996
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  1. coure
    Dec 22, 2015
    3
    I have seen many reviews written off immediately by fans of this album as just butthurt fans who wanted another Visions, but instead got something much more uplifting and self-aware when they weren't necessarily ready for it. Let me just say this: I'd give Visions around the same rating as I give this album, with the only difference being that Visions had some very beautiful andI have seen many reviews written off immediately by fans of this album as just butthurt fans who wanted another Visions, but instead got something much more uplifting and self-aware when they weren't necessarily ready for it. Let me just say this: I'd give Visions around the same rating as I give this album, with the only difference being that Visions had some very beautiful and magnetizing tracks, special with a unique sound and voice - despite being very few and far between.

    Art Angels was different to me in that I'd put none of these tracks in that boat, that being said, a majority of them are "good," and worth listening to more than once. The interviews I've read where she discusses this album have led me toward a feeling of murkiness. She cites her feeling of empowerment from deliverance of fear as the reason for why her lyrics are more intelligible, however, are they even worth being heard this time around?

    She explains that she now feels she has something to say, but she is simply speaking through self-proclaimed alter-egos.

    She also mentioned one of the worst songs on the album being "sonically uncool" on purpose.

    I have to wonder why someone with such power/control over their image would waste an opportunity to make and release something reflective of their abilities, intentionally "uncool" (or in this case bad.)

    Overall, my main gripe with this album is the gimicks detract from her ability, I believe, to be viewed seriously, especially now that it's obvious that she doesn't really give a darn about making music that is good, and is just trolling people.

    On a more illogical note: her voice became extremely annoying in this album. Sounds like a chipmunk half the time, and she over enunciates a lot of words that she normally does not, which I felt like removed me from the listening experience.    … Expand
  2. electrolite
    Dec 6, 2015
    2
    It is really hard to see how people give up their distinctiveness and unicity to be just another pop star. Of course Grimes will get an army of new fans, dozens of producers, great quality of recording and all other **** pop celebrities have nowadays. However, I am an old fan and I'm feeling betrayed.
  3. robozot
    Feb 15, 2016
    2
    I really liked Visions, but this is an undecided move. Whatever made her last album so wonderful, its spaciness, odd hooks, and atmosphere, has been replaced with amateur hour theatrics and a lot of squirelly warbling. It's just bad. She's a unique musician, but she should get a good producer if she wants to come any further.
  4. RiotFish
    Nov 8, 2015
    3
    Don't get me wrong, I love Grimes just as much as the next guy. Visions was a well-nuanced, sophisticated electro-pop record that stands among the best of the new millennium. After hearing rumors that Clair Boucher may be making a mainstream pop record after the release of her single "Go"--rumors that were eventually proven false--I really didn't shrug a shoulder.

    That is, I really    Don't get me wrong, I love Grimes just as much as the next guy. Visions was a well-nuanced, sophisticated electro-pop record that stands among the best of the new millennium. After hearing rumors that Clair Boucher may be making a mainstream pop record after the release of her single "Go"--rumors that were eventually proven false--I really didn't shrug a shoulder.

    That is, I really didn't care if she took her music in a more accessible, radio-friendly direction or if she just continued plumbing the depths of witch-pop weirdness.

    On first listen, this is a mind-boggling record, for the simple fact that at alternating times it sounds like a mainstream pop record and at others--well, like the quirky synth stuff we'd expect from Grimes. The irresistibly catchy clap-along "California" is followed by "SCREAM," a song in which Clair doesn't really sing but just breathes really hard to a sinister bass-line and, at the end, incorporates what sounds like a synthesizer performing an actual human scream. It's like FKA Twigs and Death Grips decided to team up, I suppose.

    The record maintains its inconsistency throughout, throwing radio-friendly pop songs at us and glitchy, oddly-textured electronic numbers in between. Which is NOT a bad thing, in and of itself. What makes this record fail, however, is its failure to pursue its equal sides of weirdness and accessibility to their extremes. What we're left with is a mishmash of 14 songs we want to call "brilliant" as a whole because there's so much to digest it seems impossible to diagnose on first listen--but is instead composed of songs that really don't sound one way or the other; there are needless sound FX and utterly masturbatory arcade-ish electronic blips thrown into the accessible tracks just to give them 'experimental cred' and there are moments of weirdness that just don't go anywhere interesting.

    Furthermore, most of the accessible tracks on the album don't even feature very unique melodies (which is something Visions had). Songs like "Flesh and Blood" and "Reality" just leave me thinking, 'hey, that melody sounds familiar, where did I hear that?' because the choruses, despite being very layered and complicated and using lots of fade-in fade-out techniques--really don't have substantial melodies buried within them; they just have a LOT of sounds going on to give you the illusion there's something more there.

    Overall, it just doesn't seem like Art Angels knows its identity; it straddles a weird line between accessibility and weirdness in a way that doesn't really seem to embrace either extreme and just ends up sounding like overtly maximal, sugar-coated indie-pop at the end of the day.    … Expand
  5. qwerewolf
    Nov 9, 2015
    1
    I envy someone who can offer this artist praise and support on a personal level. Given that privilege, I would probably lie and do exactly that upon hearing Art Angels. Instead I have numbers and obscurity. Aside from "World Princess Part II," listening this album makes me feel small indeed. "Fan alienation" is moot -- there's no exchange between these realities. I'm in the demo camp.
  6. badalbum
    May 10, 2016
    0
    Terrible album. Does not deserve the critic praise that it has received. Sounds like basic pop music to me. Album is 0/10 don't argue with me. Bad album.

Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Best Album of 2015
12
#12 Most Discussed Album of 2015
15
#15 Most Shared Album of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. AllMusic
    Dec 22, 2015
    80
    Claire Boucher's fourth album is wilder, more ambitious, and--at least on the surface--more accessible than her breakthrough
    Read full review
  2. Mojo
    Dec 18, 2015
    80
    Crackling with radio-primed hooks, whipsnap breakbeats and Boucher’s helium-pitched vocals, Grimes’ third album makes a convincing strike for playlist ubiquity, with a healthy dollop of the oddball chucked in.
    Read full review
  3. Uncut
    Dec 11, 2015
    80
    You can sense the deceptively complex Art Angels will only continue to yield further depths with time. [Jan 2016, p.76]
See all critic reviews »