Critics give Konoyo a B-Side Breakdown of 79 (Keeper), from 10 reviews at outlets we track. Scores run 60 to 90.
The verdict on Konoyo
9 of 10 critics liked it, and they mostly agree.
- Highest 90 PopMatters and Exclaim!
- Lowest 60 Mojo
- Career #3 of Tim Hecker's 4 albums with a Breakdown
- By the numbers Tim Hecker's best-reviewed album here since Ravedeath, 1972 (2011). The fourth best-reviewed Electronic album of 2018 we've tracked.
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PopMatters via Wikipediaby Spyros Stasis | 9/10 | 90 | 2018 | “Record by record, Tim Hecker has solidified his position as one of the most important experimental, electronic music producers of this generation. His initial” |
| Exclaim! via Wikipediaby Bryon Hayes | 9/10 | 90 | 2018 | |
| The Line of Best Fitby Evan Lilly | 8.5/10 | 85 | 2018 | “Hecker has long been a master of realising his distinct artistic vision, and Konoyo is no exception” |
| Pitchfork via Wikipediaby Grayson Haver Currin | 8.5/10 | 85 | 2018 | “On the least dense and most inquisitive album of his career, the experimental musician creates a fascinating dialogue between his technology and some of the world’s most ancient instruments.” |
| The Guardian via Wikipediaby Ben Beaumont-Thomas | 4/5 | 80 | 2018 | “Hecker explores another world of sound in collaboration with Japanese group Tokyo Gakuso, using expert sonic daubs” |
| Drowned in Sound via Wikipediaby Benjamin Bland | 8/10 | 80 | 2018 | “Simultaneously quintessential Hecker and yet something completely different from his previous work” |
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby Paul Simpson | 4/5 | 80 | ||
| Uncut via Wikipediaby John Robinson | 7/10 | 70 | 2018 | |
| Rolling Stone via Wikipediaby Christopher R. Weingarten | 3.5/5 | 70 | 2018 | “The ambient icon returns with an album recorded with gagaku musicians” |
| Mojo via Wikipediaby Stevie Chick | 3/5 | 60 | 2018 |
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.
Konoyo in Tim Hecker's catalog
How these critics usually treat Tim Hecker
- Pitchfork About usual for them7 points above the other critics here. Usually 2 points above on Tim Hecker's other albums (3).
- AllMusic About usual for them1 point above the other critics here. Usually 1 point above on Tim Hecker's other albums (3).
More from Tim Hecker
More Electronic from around 2018
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) and averaged. A letter grade counts as the star rating it matches across thousands of reviews of the same albums, so a B+ is 75, like four stars, and a B is 65. Verdicts: Heavy Rotation is 85 and up, Keeper 70–84, Mixed Bag 55–69, Back of the Crate below 55. Approval is the share of critics who scored it 70 or higher (7/10, three and a half stars); the Breakdown shows green at 70 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.







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