Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel - Reception

Reception

On Metacritic, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel has received an average critic score of 81 out of 100, based on 23 reviews, indicating "Universal Acclaim". Upon release, the album received Pitchfork Media's "Best New Music" accolade, and was later placed 26th on the publication's 50 Best Albums of 2008. For one week, the album peaked at number 32 on Billboard magazine's Top Heatseekers chart.

Marc Hogan of Pitchfork Media praised the album in his review, writing that it "works best as a swirling, disorienting whole," and "those drawn to his lovesick, evolving audio presence have…an entire world to explore." Dominic Umile of PopMatters found the album's "lovesickness and confessions" to be "as tenderly delivered as its hazy atmospherics are", and, in their "bare authenticity…far more compelling in repeat indulgences than Deerhunter’s explorations." Delusions of Adequacy music critic Bryan Sanchez heavily praised the album, stating that its lyrics are "touching, gorgeous and stunning", and sub-sequentially praised Cox for his deep and emotional songwriting: "This is a special album, a headphone-rewarding listen…filled with sad, depressing stories…all reveal an inner look to Cox’ unique and interesting life." Tiny Mix Tapes rewarded the album 4/5 stars, saying that, while each song has a "distinctive quality" allowing it to stand on its own, by backing out to view the album as a whole, the "individual elements unify…mak a greater holistic product."

Wilson McBee of Slant Magazine was more negative towards the album, writing that "Let the Blind Lead presents an intriguing mixture of sounds, but rarely does Cox whip them into anything very exciting." In his review, he likened the album to a "tempered" version of Deerhunter's Cryptograms. Under the Radar magazine wrote that many of the tracks of Let the Blind Lead "never materialize into anything more substantial than vapor." Sean O'Neal of The Onion's A.V. Club said that, considering the number of free songs Cox has released on his blog, a full-length album "seems almost beside the point." He wrote that the record's songs suggest the work of "a bedroom-pop auteur who doesn't know when to quit tweaking". Allmusic writer Marisa Brown found that, with Let the Blind Lead, "as with Deerhunter, Cox has the tendency to try too hard to be profound (take the title -- or the title track -- for example), wanting so badly to say something important that he sounds trite and forced, and untrustworthy." Jonathen Cohen wrote in his review for Magnet that "Cox’s narratives make little sense", noting "much of the time, he’s not even singing so much as wailing wordlessly".

In an interview with John Norris of MTV News, Cox said of the reception to Let the Blind Lead: "The response to this Atlas Sound record…the general response was very, very positive, but very, very much rooted in the concept that this is an emotional album. This is an album that has a lot of feeling behind it, and it's very naked…That might in fact be, but the reason it is that way is because it was done stream-of-consciously. I'm not calculated. I don't mind sentimentality, as long as it's not calculated."