“Downtempo” Reviews

The Norwegian chanteuse’s sophomore album blends shoegaze, dream pop, and trip-hop to enchanting effect.

A rich and intriguing listen that bridges the spaces between jazz, hip-hop, downtempo, ambient, and spoken word.

The exiled Russian duo’s stylish-yet-forlorn music sits at the nexus of dream pop, trip-hop, downtempo, and goth.

The duo’s debut EP recalls late-’90s and early-’00s indietronica and trip-hop.

What’s most gratifying about Out of the Woods is the appreciation it exudes for the simple graces of life.

Moments in Slow Motion sounds like something of a nostalgic holdover for me.

There’s an expansiveness to Bows’ music that it makes seem better suited to the silver screen than on a simple stereo.

Background music best reserved for walking down dimly lit hallways with an escaped mental patient about to leap out from behind any door.

Despite having been released in 2001 and delving pretty heavily into the trip-hop side of things, this album feels surprisingly undated.

A gentle and thoughtfully ambient sound that always seems to remain a welcome and warming listen.

A very solid and engaging blend of acoustic and electronic sounds.

The talent is clearly there, but they don’t make use of it on a large portion of the album.

Forgettable, obviously churned out to fill a niche, and reeking of assembly line workmanship.

At times, the album gets a little too relaxed, and Munk and Skott seem to rely a bit too much on the inherent loveliness of their sound palette to keep things interesting.

It just doesn’t sound as innovative or mind-blowing as it was perhaps intended to be.

Worm Is Green has been honing their sound since 2000, and it shows.

One of the year’s best, and I can’t wait to hear more Nobody in upcoming years.

A great introduction to Boards of Canada for those of a short attention span.

There’s not one mediocre song on the CD, and it’s amazingly consistent and organic.

While Hebden’s sonic layering can be bewildering, there’s a definite sense of exploration about it that never disappears.