City Of Clowns by Marie Davidson

Marie Davidson City Of Clowns

81
ChoruScore
7 reviews
Feb 28, 2025
Release Date
Marie Davidson
Label

Marie Davidson's City Of Clowns staggers between satire and stomp, turning tech anxiety and surveillance capitalism into magnetic club music that bites as hard as it moves. Across seven professional reviews the record earned an 81/100 consensus score, and critics consistently flag its ability to make critique feel like catharsis: rhythm-first songs demand the floor even as they skewer algorithms, corporate extraction, and the loss of presence.

Reviewers agree the best songs on City Of Clowns are the ones that fuse witty speak-singing with brute electro-pop hooks. “Demolition” emerges repeatedly as the album's centerpiece, praised for its machine-voiced swagger and stomach-rattling low end; “Validations Weight”, “Contrarian”, and “Fun Times” are also singled out for translating paranoia into release. Critics note recurring themes - dark, deadpan humour, techno-ambivalence, dancefloor tension-release, and a politics of performative identity - and many highlight the record's knack for burlesque moments where satire and stomp coexist.

While the consensus is broadly positive, commentators temper praise with measured reservations: some reviews emphasize visceral club impact over lyrical subtlety, and a few suggest the album's abrasive edges can feel deliberately theatrical rather than emotionally intimate. Even so, professional reviews repeatedly position City Of Clowns as a vital, entertaining entry in Davidson's catalogue, a collection that answers the question of whether the album is worth hearing by delivering unmistakable dancefloor hooks and sharp, often hilarious social critique. Read on for detailed reviews unpacking how these standout tracks turn political analysis into party-ready fury.

Critics' Top Tracks

The standout songs that made critics take notice

1

Good Riddance

1 mention

"she manages a perky as well as gorgeously floaty, cathartic, if still bittersweet final track - Good Riddance"
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2

Math Equation

1 mention

"On Math Equation, for example: "You said I needed my own friends / So I found them / Then you fucked them.""
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3

Amnesia

1 mention

"the more downbeat but rather beautifully sung opener Amnesia: "I’m an aperture /Of deleterious radicals / I know I tried / To reverse the damage.""
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she manages a perky as well as gorgeously floaty, cathartic, if still bittersweet final track - Good Riddance
S
Song Bar
about "Good Riddance"
Read full review
1 mention
95% sentiment

Track Ratings

How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.

View:
1

Validations Weight

4 mentions
81
04:14
2

Demolition

5 mentions
100
05:08
3

Sexy Clown

5 mentions
72
04:54
4

Push Me Fuckhead

3 mentions
77
05:38
5

Fun Times

6 mentions
85
04:13
6

Statistical Modelling

5 mentions
65
03:58
7

Y.A.A.M.

3 mentions
93
03:17
8

Contrarian

4 mentions
78
05:40
9

Unknowing

4 mentions
51
04:42
10

Y.A.A.M. - Soulwax Version

2 mentions
10
06:02

What Critics Are Saying

Deep insights from 8 critics who reviewed this album

82

Critic's Take

Marie Davidson's City Of Clowns is unabashedly kinetic, and when people ask what the best tracks on City Of Clowns are, you point straight to “Y.A.A.M.” and “Fun Times”. Hudson's voice — matter-of-fact and admiring here - celebrates the album's thundering dance beats and politically charged speak-singing that make those songs stand out. “Y.A.A.M.” is the command performance, propelling bodies with bowel-rumbling kicks, while “Fun Times” delivers acidic synth menace and pure dance-floor catharsis. The reviewer's tone is celebratory but not uncritical, privileging visceral club impact above all.

Key Points

  • The best song is “Y.A.A.M.” because its visceral kicks compel dancing and embody the album's force.
  • The album's core strength is its thundering dance beats combined with politically charged speak-singing that add humanism.

Themes

dance beats political speak-singing dark humor dance floor catharsis

Critic's Take

Marie Davidson makes a point that the best tracks on City Of Clowns are those that turn surveillance capitalism into black-humor dancefloor manifestos, especially “Push Me Fuckhead” and “Demolition”. Gaca’s ear prizes the pranksterish, burlesque moments where clipped vocal delivery and Y2K synths make critique feel like a party - the record is funny, pointed, and thrillingly abrasive. The album’s standout songs, from the cyborg striptease “Demolition” to the CAPTCHA-game taunt of “Push Me Fuckhead”, show Davidson balancing dancefloor immediacy with incisive political wit. Overall, the best songs on City Of Clowns are those that marry satire and stomp, songs that make you want to move while they mock why you are moving at all.

Key Points

  • The best song is the one that pairs scathing tech critique with irresistible club energy, exemplified by “Push Me Fuckhead”.
  • The album’s core strengths are its satirical voice, deadpan humor, and ability to turn dense surveillance themes into dancefloor-ready tracks.

Themes

surveillance capitalism data extraction tech ambivalence deadpan humor dance/club electronics

Critic's Take

Marie Davidson's City Of Clowns is at its best when it turns analysis into dancefloor fury - songs like “Demolition” and “Statistical Modelling” crystallise her Zuboff-inspired critique into irresistible electro. Dorris's prose savours the record's glitter and grind, praising how “Demolition” lets personas grunt and purr while a snare snaps like suspenders, and how “Statistical Modelling” rolls through suited-up electro-funk with stomach-rattling bass. The review singles out “Fun Times” and “Contrarian” as peak club moments, describing build and crescendo with relish. Closer “Unknowing” is hailed for its post-apocalyptic hush, letting the album exit on a haunted, human note.

Key Points

  • The best song, "Demolition," crystallises the album's theme by turning surveillance critique into a searing, persona-driven electro single.
  • The album's core strengths are its sharp thematic focus on exploitation and its polished club-ready production that marries irony with dancefloor immediacy.

Themes

surveillance capitalism corporate exploitation electroclash/electropop critique club aesthetics vs. critique identity and performance

Critic's Take

In his measured, appreciative tone Ben Broyd argues that Marie Davidson’s City Of Clowns finds its best moments in the collision of tech paranoia and dancefloor muscle. He highlights “Validations Weight” as an early signifier and singles out “Demolition” and “Statistical Modelling” for their urgent, paranoid pulses and machine-voiced swagger. The review praises the record’s capacity to mix scathing spoken-word observation with euphoric moments like “Fun Times”, making clear why these are the best songs on City Of Clowns. Broyd keeps a tone of wary admiration throughout, crediting Davidson with some of her strongest work to date.

Key Points

  • The best song moments (notably "Validations Weight", "Demolition", and "Statistical Modelling") marry techno urgency with incisive commentary on surveillance.
  • The album's core strengths are its blend of scathing spoken-word, dancefloor-ready production, and thematic focus on technology and social critique.

Critic's Take

Marie Davidson's City Of Clowns is simultaneously a political rant and a club-ready triumph, and the best tracks here make that tension sing. The review repeatedly points to “Validations Weight” as the thematic opener and to “Demolition” and “Contrarian” as pure dancefloor high points, with “Unknowing” closing out on a darker, stranger, and wholly self-assured note. Will Salmon's voice is sharp, amused and incisive - he frames songs as both critique and party bangers, praising their wit and physical joy. In short, the best songs on City Of Clowns are those that marry message and muscle, especially “Validations Weight”, “Demolition” and “Contrarian”.

Key Points

  • The best song, led by “Validations Weight”, anchors the album’s theme while also kicking off its dancefloor intent.
  • The album’s core strength is marrying political critique of surveillance capitalism with tight, club-focused electro and humor.

Themes

surveillance capitalism technology and algorithms dancefloor/club focus resistance and defiance humor and satire

Critic's Take

Marie Davidson's City Of Clowns turns tech anxiety into club fuel, where “Demolition” and “Sexy Clown” become rallying points. The review's voice is deadpan and exacting, noting how opener “Validations Weight” sets a dystopian scene and how “Fun Times” translates distracted modern life into a potent hook. There is a clear argument that these best tracks balance silly and serious, marrying sledgehammer-subtle vocals to feverish dancefloor release. The result is an album that redirects euphoric club energy toward humane ends, making searches for "best songs on City Of Clowns" and "best tracks on City Of Clowns" point to these standouts naturally.

Key Points

  • Demolition is best for its relentless techno throb and deadpan delivery that embodies the album's tech-anxiety theme.
  • The album's core strength is translating surveillance-era unease into dancefloor-ready hooks that feel rousing rather than ridiculous.

Themes

tech anxiety surveillance capitalism algorithms manipulating behavior dancefloor tension-release loss of presence