“Magnificent.. The Lip’s experiments in loveless desolation are as uplifting as they are terrifying.”
NME – 8/10
“The Terror sees their trademark pop melodies usurped by krautrock and a bleaker psychedelia, beams of sunlight replaced by enveloping gloom to create a melancholy odyssey.”
The Guardian – 4 Stars ****
“A deeply emotional, far reaching-reaching piece of mood music that rewards the committed listener.”
The Times – 4 Stars ****
“Rock’s weirdest major band deliver a smart, arty bad trip.”
Q – 4 Stars ****
“The Oklahomans bid farewell to the circus, say hello to mesmeric Euro-drones. In place of last year’s Heady Fwends variety show, there’s now a constancy of mood – an introspective, mono-chromatic feel. They sound better for it.”
MOJO – 4 Stars ****
“Dark psychedelia which harks back to the freako acid of the Lips’ pre-breakthrough days. Nevertheless, beautiful, blissful melodies are buried in there…”
The independent On Sunday – 4 stars ****
“One of the most dark, disturbing, dramatic, profound, uncompromising records to be released this year. Or any year for that matter.”
The Sun – 4 Stars ****
“an often abstract but ultimately rewarding course as the Oklahoma alt-rock legends find trauma and beauty in dreamy psychedelia adventures.”
The Mirror – 4 stars ****
“A vast, dreamy epic of static and churn, constructed from abrasive noise… The Lips’ melodic bravura ensures even their harshest mode sounds weirdly harmonious.”
The Telegraph – 4 stars ****
“It is as desolate as it is honest, and flourishes because it taps into something so universal, so human and so beautiful, with such unusual relish.”
Loud and Quiet – 9/10
“The sound of the Lips creating a bold, coherent statement again.”
Clash – 8/10
“Genuinely great. It sprawls and undulates, thick washes of synths burble like vintage Tangerine Dream, Coyne’s voice another layer in the proggy labyrinth”
Crack – 17/20
“Sonic brutality and lashings of existential dread.”
Uncut – 7/10
“‘The Terror’ is the sound of the seriously strung out, the feeling of being so sleep-deprived your mind plays tricks. It’s a flashlight shining in your eyes. It’s dystopian. It’s somnambulance. It’s all those things, and those things are impressively realised.”
DIY – 7/10
“Immersive, internal and heady, The Terror is the low that comes with the highs”
The Observer
“Songs throb and lurch. All is atmosphere. The result is tremendously impressive.”
Sunday Times
“As the minimal electronic shards pierce your brain, waves of oddly transcendental mesmerising melody wash over you.”
Shortlist
