Daniel Avery Tremor
Daniel Avery's Tremor arrives as a nocturnal, shoegaze-club statement that trades pure techno for cinematic, guitar-tinged menace and evocative collaborations. Across professional reviews, critics prize the record's guest-led moments and textured production and identify songs like Rapture in Blue, Greasy Off the Racing Line, A Silent Shadow and In Keeping (Soon We'll Be Dust) among the best tracks on Tremor.
The critical consensus frames Tremor as a successful, if occasionally uneven, pivot toward melodic rock and industrial-tinged ambience. The album earned a 77.25/100 consensus score across 4 professional reviews, with reviewers consistently noting a cinematic atmosphere, shoegaze and dream-pop textures, and a tension between accessibility and idiosyncrasy. Praise centers on the immersive highs — the Amen-break propulsion and mood of Rapture in Blue, the vocal-driven thrust of Greasy Off the Racing Line and the menacing grumble of A Silent Shadow — while some critics point out moments where Avery's rough pulse gives way to softer, more conventional songcraft.
Taken together, the reviews suggest Tremor is worth checking for listeners curious about Daniel Avery's genre fluidity and collaborative reach. The record's standout tracks and its balance of menace and melody make a persuasive case in the ongoing conversation about what critics say about Tremor, positioning it as a compelling, if occasionally polarizing, entry in Avery's catalog.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Greasy off the Racing Line
3 mentions
"on ‘Greasy Off the Racing Line’, a spoken word turn by Alison Mosshart is enveloped in thick bass"— DIY Magazine
Rapture in Blue
3 mentions
"the outstanding ‘Rapture in Blue’, on which Cecile Believe’s vocal floats"— DIY Magazine
In Keeping (Soon We'll Be Dust)
2 mentions
"Walter Schreifels of Quicksand and Rival Schools guests on "In Keeping (Soon We'll Be Dust)," which has the album's heaviest shoegaze guitars, but also pauses for reflective moments"— AllMusic
on ‘Greasy Off the Racing Line’, a spoken word turn by Alison Mosshart is enveloped in thick bass
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Neon Pulse
Rapture in Blue
Haze
A Silent Shadow
New Life
Greasy off the Racing Line
Until the Moon Starts Shaking
The Ghost of Her Smile
Disturb Me
In Keeping (Soon We'll Be Dust)
Tremor
A Memory Wrapped in Paper and Smoke
I Feel You
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Daniel Avery's Tremor channels nocturnal, distortion-doused electronic rock with standout moments like New Life and Rapture in Blue. The reviewer's prose leans into vivid comparisons and concrete nods to '90s industrial and shoegaze, noting how collaborators shape each song's personality. Praise lands heaviest on the gorgeous, Amen-break-driven New Life, while Rapture in Blue and Haze are highlighted for mood and muscular production. Overall, the album is framed as a successful synthesis of club-rooted beats and atmospheric songcraft that rewards repeated listens.
Key Points
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The best song, "New Life," is singled out for its vocals, crashing Amen breaks, and lush synth vistas.
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The album's strengths are its fusion of industrial '90s textures with dreamy shoegaze and strong guest vocalists creating distinct personalities.
Themes
Critic's Take
On Tremor, Daniel Avery leans into collaboration, and the best songs - notably Greasy Off the Racing Line and In Keeping (Soon We'll Be Dust) - show how his acid-tinged production reshapes guest voices into something vividly new. The record’s melodic rock thrust lets Mosshart’s sultry delivery and Schreifels’ earnestness feel like focal points, even as Avery sometimes drifts away from the album’s rough pulse. When Tremor works, it is immersive and shoegaze-tinged, building to synth-heavy crescendos such as the closing I Feel You that lift the record out of the ordinary. Overall, the album rewards listeners searching for the best tracks on Tremor with standout vocal-led moments that make Avery’s stylistic pivot compelling.
Key Points
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The best song is Greasy Off the Racing Line because Mosshart’s vocals integrate with Avery’s production to create a vivid standout.
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The album’s core strengths are its collaborative vocal moments and textured, shoegaze-tinged production that reorients Avery toward melodic rock.
Themes
Critic's Take
Daniel Avery's Tremor reads like a film score in miniature, absolutely cinematic and deeply atmospheric, and the best songs underline that. The outstanding Rapture in Blue, with Cecile Believe's floating vocal, and the highlight Disturb Me that toys with dream-pop expectations are the clearest examples of what makes the best tracks on Tremor so compelling. Elsewhere, idiosyncratic moments like Greasy Off the Racing Line and the punishing rework The Ghost of Her Smile show Avery balancing accessibility with daring sonic reinvention. Overall, the album's strongest songs are cinematic and textural, making clear why these are the best tracks on Tremor.
Key Points
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The best song, 'Rapture in Blue', is best because of its outstanding, cinematic vocal and slow breakbeat that exemplify the album's atmosphere.
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The album's core strengths are its cinematic atmosphere, genre fluidity, and daring collaborations that balance accessibility with idiosyncrasy.
Themes
Critic's Take
Daniel Avery’s Tremor finds him happily ensconced in darkness, and the best songs on Tremor prove why that suits him. Tracks like A Silent Shadow and The Ghost Of Her Smile are singled out - the former a menacing grumble and the latter softened by Julie Dawson’s vocals - making them the standout moments and the best tracks on Tremor. The record’s collaborators push Avery’s shoegaze-club fusion into a heavier register, so queries about the best songs on Tremor should start with those two cuts. Overall, it’s a thunderous sixth album that balances flickers of sunlight with long stretches of blackness, and those contrasts define the album’s strongest moments.
Key Points
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‘A Silent Shadow’ is best for its menacing, Massive Attack-like grumble and production heft.
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The album’s core strength is its confident immersion in darkness while punctuating with brief melodic light.