Where the mild things are…

[Video]
[4.83]

David Moore: I keep looking forward to this project — it reminds me a little of the Dave Sitek “& Friends” project Maximum Balloon from — god, that was nine years ago? …Anyway, I like the way Danger Mouse gives Karen O. a tasteful backdrop, freeing her from those twee soundtrack one-offs, like the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack from…that came out in 2009? Really?? I feel like I was just…uh. And the song, um, it also sidesteps the pressure to “evolve” that made half of Mosquito a chore back in — oh come on, that came out six years ago??? Fuck it, this song is fine, I need to go lie down. 
[6]

Alex Clifton: “Turn The Light” sounds like something from the first Broken Bells album, which was one of my favourite indie rock albums of the past decade. But since it sounds like a Broken Bells song, it’s not really built to take advantage of Karen O’s voice which can be gorgeous and understated and violent all at once–here it feels flat. Danger Mouse may be a one trick pony, and it’s a pretty good trick, but I do wish he could tailor his music more to match his vocalist. 
[5]

Iris Xie: “Let’s combine sad disco and dreampop and turn the volume all the way down to 1” appears to be the songwriting strategy here. I sleep like a rock, but I’m not sure if my sleep quality can match the somnambulance of this song.
[4]

Alfred Soto: Danger Mouse specializes in placing musicians in lacquered cabinets with gleaming finishes, to middling effect. Even if you believe the twaddle about Age Mellowing You, Karen O isn’t a performer to whom I go for classy performances.
[5]

Will Adams: Karen O’s voice is so processed here it sounds like it was placed in a vise, she’s only barely released during the pre-chorus. It’s not wrong, but given the skeletal arrangement around her the result is way more static than this team-up needed to be.
[5]

Ryo Miyauchi: Limp, tight, airless, and inert: these adjectives may be familiar territory for Danger Mouse that he refuses to correct, but they sure aren’t the best qualities in a production to bring the best out of Karen O.
[4]