Two | |||||
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Studio album by Miss Kittin & The Hacker | |||||
Released | March 12, 2009 | ||||
Genre | Electronica, Electroclash, Dance, Techno | ||||
Label | Nobody's Bizzness | ||||
Miss Kittin chronology | |||||
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The Hacker chronology | |||||
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Singles from Two | |||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The Guardian | |
The Independent | (positive) |
NME | (positive) |
Pitchfork Media | (4.4/10) |
PopMatters | |
Resident Advisor | |
Slant Magazine | |
URB | |
Venus Zine | |
XLR8R |
Two is the second album by the reunited duo Miss Kittin & The Hacker released in 2009 by Miss Kittin's label Nobody's Bizzness.
In 2007, Miss Kittin & The Hacker reunited to release the single "Hometown / Dimanche" through Good Life Recordings. The music video for "Hometown" was directed by Régis Brochier of 7th floor Productions. Miss Kittin & The Hacker reunited for a European tour in 2008, but they also toured throughout America and around the world, before they both started recording new songs, some of which were performed whilst touring. Several of the songs that they composed while on tour were included on the album Two.
Miss Kittin & The Hacker toured as part of the festival Get Loaded In The Park in August 2009.
Miss Kittin & The Hacker filmed a promotional music video for their cover of "Suspicious Minds", which was directed by Régis Brochier of 7th floor Productions. "Suspicious Minds" was later featured on the downloadable for free mixtape Skull of Dreams by Little Boots.
Two received generally favorable reviews. The album holds a score of 62 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic. David Abravanel from PopMatters opined that "Two is as nakedly honest and lush an album as either party involved has made. [...] the record is a fantastic progression for Miss Kittin & The Hacker, managing to preserve what made them great partners in the first place, while gracefully maturing into something more multifaceted and emotionally open. Tom Naylor, writing for NME, commented that the album "finds them little changed. The Hacker is still a dab hand at dark electro, his rich, chewy tracks bubbling like molasses in a cauldron; Miss Kittin still veers close to self-parody (see 'Ray Ban') and they still sound best – 'Party In My Head', 'Emotional Interlude', a delicious, Europop cover of 'Suspicious Minds' – when they allow light, and vulnerability, to penetrate the gloom."URB remarked that "It seems as though they’re as strong as ever. Is the production skeletal? You could say that. There isn’t really a reason why that should be an issue though. Less is often more: any electro-head should know this to be true."Resident Advisor's Stéphane Girard opined, "In the end, Two isn't a massive step forward, but it isn't a step backward either. 'Suspicious Minds' aside, though, there is an air of self-confidence emanating from the songs collected on here that wasn't present eight years ago." In a review for XLR8R, Rob Geary stated, "Despite the ridiculously blank 'Ray Ban,' enough of Two excites by delving deeper into the subconscious (the crashing, Nord-led aggression of 'Indulgence') or stepping out into the sunlight (a goofy, cheerful cover of 'Suspicious Minds') to justify marking a calendar eight years from now for a Three." Angela Shawn-Chi Lu from Venus Zine stated, "Abstract expressionism has finally met its electro-clash match. At times experimental with instrumental song intros and abstrusely minimalist with their lyrics, French duo Miss Kittin & The Hacker would do Franz Kline proud with their knack for scrumptious, slaptastic tunes ideal for the BDSM scene.