Early reviews. Critics give Pause an early B-Side Breakdown of 80 (B-), from 6 reviews so far. It will settle as more outlets weigh in.
The verdict on Pause
Most critics liked it: 5 of 6 liked it.
- Highest 90 NME
- Outlier 60 Q, 20 points below the next-lowest score
- Career Tied for #4 of Four Tet's 7 albums with a Breakdown
- By the numbers The third best-reviewed Electronic album of 2001 we've tracked.
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NME via Wikipediaby Ted Kessler | 9/10 | 90 | 2005 | “Four Tet’s second album is a voyage of warm, ambient loveliness. It is its author Kieran Hebden’s best work to date and confirms the prolific young soundmeister as a major…” |
| Stylus Magazine via Wikipediaby Nick Southall | B+ | 88 | 2003 | |
| Tiny Mix Tapes via Wikipedia | 4/5 | 80 | ||
| Pitchfork via Wikipediaby Malcolm III Seymour | 8.0/10 | 80 | ||
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby Thom Jurek | 4/5 | 80 | ||
| Q via Wikipedia | 3/5 | 60 | 2005 |
Every Sunday: the week's new albums, scored by the critics. Plus our own reviews when we post them. Free, and one click to leave.
Pause in Four Tet's catalog
How these critics usually treat Four Tet
- Q Harsher than usual24 points below the other critics here. Usually 3 points above on Four Tet's other albums (3).
- NME Kinder than usual12 points above the other critics here. Usually 5 points below on Four Tet's other albums (3).
- AllMusic About usual for themLevel with the other critics here. Usually 8 points above on Four Tet's other albums (5).
- Pitchfork About usual for themLevel with the other critics here. Usually 5 points below on Four Tet's other albums (5).
More from Four Tet
More Electronic from around 2001
Would you spin it again?
Be the first to answer. Results show once 3 listeners weigh in.
How the Breakdown works
Every outlet’s score is converted to 0–100 (2/5 is 40, 5.9/10 is 59, a B+ is 88) and averaged. Grades follow the B-Side scale: A is 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60. Approval is the share of critics who scored it 75 or higher; the Breakdown shows green at 75 and up, red below. Divisiveness asks a different question: not how many critics liked it, but how close their scores are to each other. Five critics who all give it 50 are Unanimous, even though none of them liked it. The labels run Unanimous, Broad agreement, Some debate, Divided, and Contentious. Replay rate comes from listeners, not critics: yes counts fully, a few tracks counts half, no counts zero. The gist quotes each outlet’s own summary of its review. Published is the date on the review itself, read from the outlet’s page, so you can see whether an album’s reputation came at release or years later. Scores marked est. come from reviews that publish no number. Scores marked via Wikipedia are archive ratings, mostly for older albums, taken from the “Professional ratings” box on the album’s Wikipedia page (published openly through Wikidata); each links to the original review when we can find it online, and to that Wikipedia entry when we can’t. When an outlet reviewed an album twice, years apart (often for a reissue), both scores count, each labeled with its year.
A-Side marks the critics’ top tier. An album earns it automatically, from its numbers alone: a Breakdown of 90 or higher, from at least 5 reviews, with at least 75% approval. Nobody hands it out and nobody can buy it; if new reviews pull an album below the line, it loses the badge.
Leave a Reply