Soulwax All Systems Are Lying
Soulwax's All Systems Are Lying arrives as a sleek, paranoid dance record that trades guitars for obsessive synth craft and propulsive club beats, and across five professional reviews it earns a clear but cautious welcome. Critics point to the record's production-forward identity and thematic throughline - skepticism of information, techno-paranoia and surveillance - rather than lyric-driven revelations, with the consensus score settling at 72/100 from five reviews.
Reviewers consistently single out “Run Free” as the album's defining moment, praising its acid-house wiggles, angelic harmonies and fierce club momentum; “Pills And People Gone” and “Polaris” also emerge repeatedly as standout tracks for their framing piano passages and pitiless march. Several critics — notably DIY Magazine and Record Collector — celebrate the album's synth-pop revival and electro-rock hybridity, noting how Soulwax's remixing instincts sharpen the record's textures. Others, including Slant Magazine, admire the technical polish while arguing that pristine production sometimes blunts danger, producing mood pieces that sparkle but rarely cohere into full emotional payoff.
That tension - between exhilarating dancefloor craft and occasional lyrical shallowness - defines the critical consensus. Across these professional reviews, All Systems Are Lying reads as a confident, shape-shifting entry in Soulwax's catalog: a production showcase with must-hear moments like “Run Free”, “Gimme A Reason” and the title track that make the record worth exploring, even if some critics wish for sharper stakes. Below, detailed reviews unpack where the album thrives and where its polish becomes restraint.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Run Free
4 mentions
"brain-searingly catchy hooks and rhythms of singles 'Run Free' and 'Gimme A Reason'"— DIY Magazine
All Systems Are Lying
2 mentions
"siren-like synth whirrs of the title track"— DIY Magazine
Distant Symphony
2 mentions
"the contrastingly rosy, ambient serenade of closer 'Distant Symphony'"— DIY Magazine
brain-searingly catchy hooks and rhythms of singles 'Run Free' and 'Gimme A Reason'
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Pills And People Gone
Run Free
Meanwhile On The Continent
New Earth Time
All Systems Are Lying
Gimme A Reason
Dshungel
Constant Happiness Machine
Polaris
The False Economy
Idiots In Love
Hot Like Sahara
Engineered Fantasy
Distant Symphony
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Soulwax channel a mordant, amused paranoia across All Systems Are Lying, where the best songs - notably “Constant Happiness Machine” and “The False Economy” - pair sharp social critique with irresistible studio craft. The reviewer delights in how the record avoids guitars yet still rocks, calling out the pitiless march of “Polaris” and the LCD-like funk of “The False Economy” as standout moments. There is pleasure in the album's efficiency, but the closer you listen the less comforting it gets, which is precisely the point. This is an album of clear best tracks and deliberate unease, songs that reward repeated plays even as they indict us.
Key Points
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The False Economy is the best song for its herky-jerky, LCD-like funk and clear distillation of the album's critique.
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The album's core strengths are its production ingenuity without guitars and a sustained, unsettling critique of modern systems.
Themes
Critic's Take
Soulwax presents All Systems Are Lying as a tightly produced, guitarless experiment where moments like “New Earth Time” and “Run Free” glitter with technical precision yet never quite cohere. The review voice is exasperated and exacting, noting that songs such as “Gimme a Reason” and “Polaris” flirt with dread and dystopia but remain vague mood pieces. Paul Attard frames the album as confident but safe, a pristine object about distortion that sacrifices danger for polish. For readers asking about the best tracks on All Systems Are Lying, the review singles out “New Earth Time” and “Run Free” for standout production while lamenting the record's overall lack of bite.
Key Points
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The best songs are those singled out for production polish, especially "New Earth Time", which showcases surgical snare work.
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The album’s core strength is technical precision and glossy production, but it lacks emotional danger or coherent significance.
Critic's Take
There is an exuberant, slightly knowing joy at the heart of Soulwax's All Systems Are Lying, where the best songs - notably “Run Free” and “Gimme A Reason” - deliver brain‑searingly catchy hooks and propulsive rhythms. Hazel Blacher writes with a crisp, contextual eye, placing those singles alongside darker curiosities like “Polaris”, arguing the album balances anthemic synth-pop with off‑kilter electro textures. The opener “Pills and People Gone” and closer “Distant Symphony” frame the record cinematically, while the title track's siren-like synths and the straight electro-rock moments keep the record lively and inquisitive. This is a shapeshifting, textured return that stakes a claim in the indie-sleaze moment without sounding merely retrospective.
Key Points
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The best song(s) like "Run Free" and "Gimme A Reason" are the album's most immediate, catchy highlights.
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The album's core strength is its textured synth-pop and electro-rock hybridity that balances anthemic hooks with darker, wonky moments.
Themes
Re
Critic's Take
Soulwax's All Systems Are Lying feels like a return to the turbo-charged, New Order-ish electro-pop that has always defined them, and the review points to “Pills And People Gone” and “Run Free” as standouts. The writer emphasises the album's framing piano passages on “Pills And People Gone”, and praises the fierce club beats on “Run Free” that match their best work. The title track and “The False Economy” are flagged for an edge of techno-paranoia, giving the record a consistent mood. Overall it reads as a confident, production-forward album from a duo whose remixing and DJ careers have only sharpened their band work.
Key Points
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The best song is best for its framing piano passages and how it bookends the album, giving it emotional and structural weight.
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The album's core strengths are turbo-charged electro-pop production, club-ready beats and a persistent sense of techno-paranoia.
Themes
Critic's Take
Soulwax return with All Systems Are Lying, a gleefully synthetic record that thrives on texture and machine-music. The reviewer's ear fixes on “Run Free” as the standout, praising its acid house wiggles and angelic harmonies, and naming it a frontrunner for electro song of 2025. Equally notable is “Idiots in Love”, where squelchy bass and xylophone morph into an indie banger, making it one of the best songs on All Systems Are Lying. The record's charm is its sonics rather than lyrical depth, so the best tracks are those that let the production do the talking.
Key Points
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Run Free is best for its acid house wiggles, angelic harmonies and delirious electro ending.
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The album's core strength is its inventive, retro-futurist production that prioritizes texture and dance-floor energy over lyrical depth.