Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.117) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2000".

Rolling Stone (6/8/00, p.120) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Explores rock's outer limits with renewed zeal....no band makes the avant-garde sound quite this tactile and sensual....a reminder of not only how far [they] have traveled but how high they can still reach."

Spin (7/00, pp.149-50) - 8 out of 10 - "...The artiest, most texturally spectacular album they've ever made....it's also a deeper realization of the wiry, jam-oriented space-outs they've been exploring [for] years..."

Entertainment Weekly (5/26/00, p.74) - "...Proves the band is still capable of energetic and exciting work..." - Rating: B

Alternative Press (7/00, p.81) - 3 out of 5 - "...A dark, nervous-sounding album, a demanding and disruptive listen that only grows thornier....proving that [their] avant-pop and avant-garde sides are becoming less divided with time..."

Magnet (8-9/00, p.92) - "...It grows and changes with every listen....the guitars are quite cool..."

The Wire (1/01, p.34) - Included in Wire's "50 Records Of The Year" [2000].

The Wire (6/00, p.52) - "...Succeeds in bringing firmly back to the fore that aspect of SY's sound that's perhaps overlooked in discussions of their trash Americana, their lo-fi art music collisions - the clangourous, overpowering, joyful din..."

CMJ (5/22/00, p.3) - "...One of their best to date....this fresh start actually brings a shock of the new to the Youth's own history....Two-thirds of the record is quasi-spoken word set to some of SY's spookiest, most unearthly music ever..."

NME (Magazine) (5/27/00, p.41) - 8 out of 10 - "...Burns with a sense of direction and focus....capturing the contrary, questing essence of SY....Returning from the wilderness with a new-found hunger..."