Looper Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
It's safe to say that fans of Stuart David's electronic indie pop will be thrown for a loop on The Snare. On their first record for Mute, Looper drops their bright playfulness for a sophisticated, darker counterpart which uses jazz, R&B, and trip-hop as its foundation. Even David has transformed himself from an innocent indie rocker to a suave-looking character with a suit, tie, and goatee. Or is that Peacock Johnson? It all gets a little too confusing. Whatever the case may be, this is the soundtrack for David's second novel, The Peacock Manifesto, which follows the adventures of Peacock Johnson. Visual artist Karn David, guitarist Ronnie Black, and Evil Bob (another mysterious character who is credited with saxophone, among other things) contribute to the record's downbeat and sinister vibe. The last track, ironically titled "Fucking Around," is the closest thing to previous Looper efforts or even David's former band, Belle & Sebastian. Some fans will hope that the song title implies a temporary experimentation, while others will dig Looper's revised image. ~ Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Looper returns with The Geometrid, another collection of Stuart David's homespun electronic pop. As befitting the fact that Looper is now David's main project, the album has a more polished feel than its predecessor Up a Tree, as well as more of an electronica vibe, particularly on the dancefloor send-up "Mondo '77" and the bleep-tastic "Modem Song." But David's sweet pop sensibilities reign supreme on most of the album's songs, especially "On the Flipside," "Money Hair," and "These Things." Sometimes Looper's singalong antics wear thin, as on the overly long "Uncle Ray" and "Bug Rain," but curious Belle & Sebastian devotees and Up a Tree fans will find more than a few things to like about The Geometrid's unaffected, unpretentious style. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although Looper is a Belle and Sebastian side project, fans of the Scottish group's lush, wispy pop confections looking for similar sounds here will be sorely disappointed -- on his own, Stuart David rejects the ornate strings and horns of B&S in favor of electronic textures and trip-hop beats, and while there's a definite pop dimension to Up a Tree, it's secondary at best. The album is cut from the same cloth as David's "Spaceboy Dream" from B&S' The Boy with the Arab Strap, the lone bit of filler on an otherwise extraordinary record; his fascination with electronica reaches a much greater potential here, but there's still no shaking the feeling that Up a Tree was released thanks solely to its pedigree, and without regard to its actual merit. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
