Reviews
Ranked #1 on Spin's List of the "Top 20 Albums of the Year 1998.", Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's.", 9 (out of 10) - "...Turning away from the ragged indie rock that dominated Cornership's previous music, Singh now lets the groove be his guide. A third of the tracks here are Mo'Wax--worthy instrumentals--melting pots of chunky beats, Asian drones, oddball samples, and Singh's own turntable doodles...", "...Their third album mixes up hip-hop beats, rock guitar, sitars, scratching, alt-country, and Allen Ginsberg, and few bands make this musical Cuisinart so playful, accessible, and friendly..." - Rating: B, 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...a cohesive, finely crafted LP in which the last album's low-fi funk expands into low, fat grooves, and Singh's pancultural, anti-racist lyrics become more sophisticated but no less impassioned...", Ranked #11 on Melody Maker's List of 1997's "Albums of the Year.", "...a sprawling work that, with it's laidback beats, ear-catching samples and pleasingly anachronistic synth squiggles, sounds more than a little like Beck's ODELAY....a fun, funny and funky good time for all.", Ranked #3 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll., "...The best music nowadays tends to be sound-inclusive, and Cornershop has 'cornered' the market with its percussive/sample-heavy, ethno-global-indie bag that's as fresh as papadum dipped in mint chutney...", Ranked #34 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s.", Ranked #6 in Nme's 1997 Critics' Poll., Ranked #68 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...An opus of sardonic neo-Asian disco/rock/hip hop, blending chugging guitars, lazy beats, sitars and lyrics about Bollywood and masturbation...", "...The breadth of vision on WHEN I WAS BORN is astonishing. It's a record you can listen to time and time again, one where you'll forever be discovering hidden nuances, more delights."