Sundial
by Noname
User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
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  1. Siza
    Aug 17, 2023
    10
    It feels as though I've yet to dive into the source of this material.
    Noname just knows how to pack an album with care and impact.
  2. All_ButTrU4
    Aug 11, 2023
    8
    Sundial: 8.9
    Noname's last record, the enigmatic Room 25 was my favorite rap album of the 2010's . It had a unique diaristic and spoken word charm that couldn't be imitated ,that also pulsed with the jazzy cadence of youthful wisdom and sardonic rage. Her return is both no different but also entirely new. Where Room 25 was a coming of age filled with a multitude of discoveries, firsts and    Sundial: 8.9
    Noname's last record, the enigmatic Room 25 was my favorite rap album of the 2010's . It had a unique diaristic and spoken word charm that couldn't be imitated ,that also pulsed with the jazzy cadence of youthful wisdom and sardonic rage. Her return is both no different but also entirely new. Where Room 25 was a coming of age filled with a multitude of discoveries, firsts and mistakes her follow up is less hopeful. A jaded politically centered response to the last five years that seeks to remind those who forgot just how much worse we've gotten. Her sarcasm allows for the delivery of heavy topics and ideologies to land without none of the solemnity. But instead like a clenched raised fist belonging to a smiling protester.

    Took a few listens for it to click for me as it's quite deceptive at first. The beats feel less lush compared to telefone & room25 and the hooks aren't as effective but it works better as you delve deeper into the record. The way her lyricism works against the darker production yields to fantastic results that feel especially poignant for the casual tragedy of our decade.
    Higlights: potentially the interlude,namesake,oblivion and balloons.    … Expand
  3. fedefreaks
    Aug 24, 2023
    6
    I like some of the tracks a lot, others come off as just trying too hard to be deep and not very genuine

Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Best Album of 2023
82
#82 Most Discussed Album of 2023

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Slant Magazine
    Dec 14, 2023
    80
    Tracks like “Balloons” and “Afro Futurism” feature some of the fiercest political critiques and nimbly performed rapping of Warner’s career. Her delivery is poised yet casual, her charmingly nasal voice full of weariness and vulnerability.
    Read full review
  2. AllMusic
    Sep 15, 2023
    70
    Sundial has a harsher tone than Noname's previous efforts, but it still contains many powerful, thought-provoking lines, and her skills as an emcee have never been stronger.
    Read full review
  3. The Wire
    Sep 6, 2023
    90
    She’s not one to let ideology or commercial realities kill her sense of uninhibited playfulness. So the scorching “Balloons” with her withering take on white fans buying Black trauma is followed by the flirtatious “Boomboom”, buoyed by the same hunger, the whole even more than the sum of its individually magnificent parts.
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