The Mountain Will Fall received generally positive reviews from critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average score of 66, based on 26 reviews.[3] Adam Workman from The National said DJ Shadow gave his "sample-heavy, largely instrumental hip-hop" music a more "ambitious scope" than on his previous records,[14] while Spin journalist Brian Josephs believed his "brisk electronic direction" contributed to a coherence that was missing on The Outsider (2006) and The Less You Know, the Better (2011).[12]Exclaim!'s Daryl Keating said "he still has the chops to cut a good record when he's not doing a complete gear change and then turning down the wrong road at full speed."[15]Robert Christgau gave The Mountain Will Fall a three-star honorable mention in his column for Vice, deeming it DJ Shadow's best album since The Private Press (2002) but "a sound effects record by comparison, heavy on first-rate texture, rumble, and of course beats"; he named "Nobody Speak", "Mambo", and the title track as highlights.[16]
The Mountain Will Fall received generally positive reviews from critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average score of 66, based on 26 reviews.[3] Adam Workman from The National said DJ Shadow gave his "sample-heavy, largely instrumental hip-hop" music a more "ambitious scope" than on his previous records,[14] while Spin journalist Brian Josephs believed his "brisk electronic direction" contributed to a coherence that was missing on The Outsider (2006) and The Less You Know, the Better (2011).[12]Exclaim!'s Daryl Keating said "he still has the chops to cut a good record when he's not doing a complete gear change and then turning down the wrong road at full speed."[15]Robert Christgau gave The Mountain Will Fall a three-star honorable mention in his column for Vice, deeming it DJ Shadow's best album since The Private Press (2002) but "a sound effects record by comparison, heavy on first-rate texture, rumble, and of course beats"; he named "Nobody Speak", "Mambo", and the title track as highlights.[16]