Yeezus

Pitchfork 9.5/10 On Yeezus, he trades out smooth soul and anthemic choruses for jarring electro, acid house, and industrial grind while delivering some of his most lewd and heart-crushing tales yet.

A.V. Club A- Despite its surface severity, it’s a lean, immediate record, its brevity a sharp contrast to 2010’s wandering My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

The Needle Drop 5/10 On Yeezus, Chicago rapper and producer Kanye West takes his typically ambitious production down some really dark, noisy passageways.

NME 4.5/5 ‘Yeezus’ is so tight, so bold, that with a few tweaks Kanye could’ve made his rock for the ages. As it is, he’ll have to settle for one of the best records of the year.

The Line of Best Fit 8/10 While it might not be his most enjoyable album, I think time will show it to be his most important.

Rolling Stone 4.5/5 Yeezus is the darkest, most extreme music Kanye has ever cooked up, an extravagantly abrasive album full of grinding electro, pummeling minimalist hip-hop, drone-y wooz and industrial gear-grind.

DIY 4/5 It's Kanye doing what he does best, but it's also the sound of a rapper pushing himself for all his worth. Ranging from intimidating to wonderfully eye-opening, it's always forthright, and it barely falters.

The Independent 4/5 It’s not quite godlike, but Yeezus certainly feels like it was created by a higher power.

All Music 5/5 Yeezus is an extravagant stunt with the high-art packed in, offering an eccentric, audacious, and gripping experience that's vital and truly unlike anything else.

The Skinny 2/5 As a whole, the album is stagnant; at times deeply unpleasant. What could have been a showcase of underground musical ideas, and a chance to elevate his lyrical concerns against a darker-hued backdrop, has been utterly wasted.

Clash 7/10 No, ‘Yeezus’ isn’t a great record, but it doesn’t have to be. As with any Kanye recording, he dares to be different and sets a pace for others to follow.

Slant 3/5 From a production perspective, it's a smash. The beats remain head-spinning. But 'Ye's lyrics feel lazy rather than merely drawled, and he's seeking social-commentary cred that he hasn't earned.

Pop Matters 7/10 Although West has made some bold moves with this album, a few weak tracks and the occasional lack of focus on the lyrical front prevent this from achieving the untouchable status that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy did.

The Guardian 4/5 Noisy, gripping, maddening, potent, audibly the product of, as he put it "giving no fucks at all", Yeezus is the sound of a man just doing his job properly.

Spectrum Culture 75% While it’s easily his most abrasive work and understandably not for everybody, Yeezus is a worthwhile next step.

Beats Per Minute 88% If there’s anything Mr. West finds completely alien to his person, it’s restraint, and Yeezus is the perfect, chaotic, and ultimately uncompromising dive into this world.

The Telegraph 5/5 Styles and genres smash into each other. At first listen it sounds messy, but the more you play it, the more inspired and essential each brutal interruption becomes.

The Irish Times 4/5 Topped and tailed with pulsating, arresting, noisy and vivid sonic-whippery, and featuring some of the best and worst lines spat into a mic in quite some time ("Hurry up with my damn croissants"), Yeezus is an album sharply detailed and dressed up to attract attention.

Uncut 7/10 The ego has expanded: rap auteur explores his messiah complex.

Hot Press 9.0/10 Say what you will about the ludicrous baby names and zany dental experiments, Yeezus is the sound of a man who adores what he does.

RapReviews.com 7.0/10 Even though Yeezus postures about devotion through repelling us, what Kanye truly wants is connection.