Jeff Tobias One Hundredfold Now In This Age
Jeff Tobias's One Hundredfold Now In This Age arrives as a compact, politically charged collection that balances popcraft with menace, earning an 80/100 consensus from two professional reviews. Critics point to pulse-driven singles as proof the record can be both memorable and argumentative: “Gimme Coherence” buzzes with nervous, Deerhoof-like energy, “Arp (Burning Property)” turns philosophical thought into deadpan art-pop, and the closer “Don’t Quit The Band” reads as a restrained, hopeful prayer.
Across reviews, commentators emphasize the album's thematic through-lines - protest, anti-imperialism, surveillance and the tension between nihilism and hope - rendered through a deliberate juxtaposition of minimalism and proggy arrangements. Reviewers consistently praise tracks such as “End It” alongside “Gimme Coherence” and “Arp (Burning Property)” for marrying catchy melodies to urgent, unsettling lyrics, making them the best songs on One Hundredfold Now In This Age and the record's emotional anchors. Critics note Tobias's conversational yet incendiary vocal delivery, which keeps political polemic feeling immediate rather than didactic.
While the album's insistently political stance and jagged textures may polarize some listeners, the professional reviews agree the collection achieves a deliberate tension that rewards repeated listens. The critical consensus suggests One Hundredfold Now In This Age is a focused, provocative step in Tobias's catalog that frames protest as pop without surrendering its bite.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Don’t Quit The Band
1 mention
"While perhaps only hesitantly hopeful, ‘Don’t Quit The Band’ shows that, for now at least, it might be enough to see another day."— The Quietus
Gimme Coherence
2 mentions
"“Gimme Coherence” continues this odd juxtaposition, as a bubbly dance synth riff percolates behind lyrics about death and destruction,"— Dusted Magazine
Arp (Burning Property)
2 mentions
"it’s with “Arp (Burning Property)” that the music becomes really disturbing."— Dusted Magazine
While perhaps only hesitantly hopeful, ‘Don’t Quit The Band’ shows that, for now at least, it might be enough to see another day.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Caligula
Visage
Abstract
Visions I
Visions II
Bliss
Languages
Rituals
Mind Mirage
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 2 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In his textured, argumentative voice Antonio Poscic finds the best tracks on One Hundredfold Now In This Age to be compact political statements that still sing - “Gimme Coherence” buzzes with Deerhoof-like nervous energy and jagged guitars, while “Arp (Burning Property)” turns Hannah Arendt into noisy, deadpan art-pop. Poscic singles out the closer “Don’t Quit The Band” as the album's restrained prayer, a moment where defeat becomes a tentative step forward. The review frames these songs as the album’s emotional anchors, protest tunes with hooks and choruses that push back against despair and argue why they are the best tracks on One Hundredfold Now In This Age.
Key Points
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The best song is the closer 'Don’t Quit The Band' because it converts despair into a tentative, hopeful step forward.
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The album’s core strength is marrying protest-minded lyrics with catchy hooks and varied instrumental textures to argue for solidarity over surrender.
Themes
Critic's Take
Jeff Tobias folds protest into pop on One Hundredfold Now in This Age, where the best songs - “End It”, “Gimme Coherence” and “Arp (Burning Property)” - pair catchy melodies with urgent, unsettling lyrics. The record’s strongest tracks trade indie drift for jittery, proggy arrangements, turning protest lines into almost-danceable refrains. Tobias keeps his voice conversational yet incendiary, letting tunes like “End It” shimmer briefly then erupt into insurgent choruses. The result is music that is elegant and restrained while insistently political, making these songs the clearest answers to queries about the best tracks on One Hundredfold Now in This Age.
Key Points
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“End It” is best for pairing a shimmering synth bed with an insurgent, memorable chorus.
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The album’s core strengths are its taut political focus married to elegant, restrained arrangements that juxtapose pop tunefulness with menace.