Pop Trash - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 52/100
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly C
Rolling Stone

Critics were generally unexcited by the album, as Metacritic gave it a 52 out of 100. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said:

“ The well-named Pop Trash shows off their jaded hooks and nasty wit; it's for fans only, but those of us who still crumple at the opening hiccups of "Hungry Like the Wolf" will be glad for another fix. ”

Stacia Proefrock of Allmusic said:

“ Some of the smooth, spacy ballads that were characteristic of their 1993 self-titled release show up here, but more often than not Le Bon is lost in a swamp of overproduction. Completely absent from this music was the aggressiveness and sexuality that made early Duran Duran great -- kinder, gentler records could probably be expected from the band as they age, but this album feels careless and flabby instead of introspective. ”

Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly said:

“ Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say they didn't model Pop Trash after U2's Pop, but darn if Duran Duran aren't after a very similar juxtaposition of groove-based kitsch and super-sincerity. Not surprisingly, there are ephemeral confectionary delights and a general witlessness, never more than when Simon LeBon keeps crooning "We'll all be famous for 15 minutes" as if he just thought of the idea. ”

Ultimately, the album would become the band's lowest-selling album, and their last until 2004's Astronaut.

Read more about this topic:  Pop Trash

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