Area 52
by Rodrigo y Gabriela
  • Record Label: ATO
  • Release Date: Jan 24, 2012
Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Jan 20, 2012
    83
    Call it Buena Vista Shredding Club. [27 Jan 2012, p.71]
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  2. Q Magazine
    Feb 22, 2012
    80
    Groundbreaking and mind-boggling. [Mar 2012, p.111]
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  3. DIY Magazine
    Feb 10, 2012
    80
    Area 52 is hands down the duo's most grandiose, outlandish opus yet.
  5. AllMusic
    Jan 23, 2012
    80
    This album expands the very definition of musical collaboration.
  6. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Jan 23, 2012
    80
    A seething, soundtracky, high-gloss, high-energy orchestral Latin "fusion", full of licks and stabs and twiddly bits.
  7. The Guardian
    Jan 20, 2012
    80
    A classy, varied and upbeat set.
  8. Paste Magazine
    Jan 25, 2012
    76
    The charm of the band's guitar work sometimes gets lost in the middle of C.U.B.A.'s added instrumentation.
  9. Beats Per Minute
    Feb 2, 2012
    72
    It's an enjoyable album, and the playing is astoundingly good.
  10. PopMatters
    Feb 7, 2012
    70
    Here they are in sonic competition with a dense mix of world-class musicians, making the overall result great, but washing out the instrumental singularity that they are known for.
  11. Consequence
    Jan 25, 2012
    70
    As an Afro-Cuban record, it's solid.
  12. The Fly (UK)
    Feb 10, 2012
    60
    Mis-steps like the sticky Santana-worship on 'Hanuman' are far less palatable, but when the combinations match up, it proves exactly how impressive this band have become.
  13. Mojo
    Jan 31, 2012
    60
    They're still best when the basic Paco Pena influences surface. [Feb 2012, p.94]
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  14. BBC Music
    Jan 26, 2012
    60
    Their sense of adventure seemingly knows no bounds, yet when, after six leisurely minutes of jazz-rock noodling, 11.11 suddenly segues into a passage of Cuban folk singing backed by a lone drummer, the strong whiff of pretension might hang rather too heavy in the air for some tastes.
  15. Clash Music
    Jan 23, 2012
    60
    With clean production and virtuoisitic precision, imagine a Latin, metal, jazz inspired mellow mele, on acoustic instruments.
  16. The Observer (UK)
    Jan 23, 2012
    60
    It's a qualified success.
  17. Uncut
    Jan 20, 2012
    60
    There's a punch that saves them [from] drifting into coffee-table politesse. [Feb 2011, p.98]
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  18. Drowned In Sound
    Jan 20, 2012
    60
    This album will infuriate many but bewitch some.
  19. No Ripcord
    Jan 30, 2012
    50
    The often overly-enthusiastic arrangements threaten to smother the qualities that made Rodrigo y Gabriela special in the first place with the quiet brutality of their guitar playing often lost in the extended jam-band style... structures.
  20. Sputnikmusic
    Jan 24, 2012
    50
    It's a nice project that might have been put to better use as a one night only concert, because it's certainly not the crucial next step in the continued evolution of this otherwise fascinating duo.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. jmenicucci
    Feb 10, 2013
    10
    I found this album on an airplane, of all places. I have a love of big, brassy Latin jazz ensemble work, so this seemed intriguing, evenI found this album on an airplane, of all places. I have a love of big, brassy Latin jazz ensemble work, so this seemed intriguing, even though I had no previous exposure to Rodrigo y Gabriela or C.U.B.A. I don't quite know how to describe the album, but I know that it works. The guitar work is virtuosic at times (Gabriela, I assume), but the brass band adds something to the mix that makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts. It is like melding two very different, albeit Latin, worlds. Because I did not listen to this album knowing what Rodrigo y Gabriela sounded like on their own, so I assumed, actually, that the two groups always recorded together. I guess that is a compliment, as they sound like they belong together to me.… Full Review »
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