When i listened to this album for the first time i was expecting musics like" bloodlock" "i have put out the lights", "kaern turned", "solstice" and "nothing", instead i hear a new side of James holden, it was a deception at a first listening, but after listening to this album a few more times i end up enjoying this dark album, i don´t know how some people find its musics weird, honestly i think the musics are quite acessible and simple to assimilate,its dark melodies are usual in Electronic music, so there´s nothing awkward about it. Its a pity that this album is short and includes a blank track ""intentionally left blank" wich i think it occupies unnecessary disk space, besides it turns to be a uncomfortable silence of two minutes, it feels like wasted money on this pseudo-modern art track. I find this album very satisfying untill the track 8, the final tracks i find them more ordinary lacking melody, dynamic or any consistency in its expression. My favourite tracks are "Lump", "Flute" and "Lumpette". The only reason why i don´t give the max rating to this album is because i find it short and with some track that are not enough satisfying, i hope James Holden is working on a new Album whether is dark or progressive house. James is one the best artists when it comes to do remixes such as "Fine day, "The sky was pink", "the darkest star", "inner laugh" and many other remixes wich i find amazing placing James as one of the top remixers. I hope James Holden is producing a new album, and i hope it will be a more varied album, more extended and more satisfying than this one.

It lacks melody, harmony, tonation - every single basic aspect of music composition is ignored. Intelligent dance music? This is as dumb as it gets, and it certainly isn't dance music. Lump is the only half-decent track on the album, the rest is pseudo-art that "intellectuals" will pretend they enjoy. It's akin to going to a modern art convention and seeing a rusted frying pan on display. If this album was any no-name artist, it would be dismissed. But since it's James Holden, it suddenly becomes this revolutionary, breakthrough album that "defines new boundaries" and other nonsense.

Couldn't have said it better myself. He was my favorite producer before he went all experimental on us.

Well, it seems that "jiggawhat" and "jiggawatt" and their overt negativity towards an album which is not horrible at all would make a great couple.

Regardless of this particular album, individual "taste" is an expression which is used very often, but it seems like a simplification. What is required, what should be required or what should be an aspiration in everyone is the ability to cherish something which is well crafted, something which offers depth, even if it is experimental or abstract and may therefore be more demanding and require time. I believe that this is what "intelligent" tries to convey, without intending to resorting to elitism. The "dance" may indeed be misleading, in so far that it describes not necessarily that this style is danceable, which sometimes it is, which may add to misunderstandings, but that elements of "dance" are used in new ways.

It's all down to taste. I can't stand Prog House or Trance, but my taste is different to yours. Despite my distaste for those two genres I'm not about to poopoo them just because I don't like them. In the end it's my loss not anyone else's, as it I am the one who is unable to enjoy something that so many other believe is the penultimate of music.With regards to the album itself, I feel it has dated a little since I first heard it in '06.

Agreed.

Holden had a great start, fusing a listenable, and sometimes danceable, blend of minimalist progressive house and trance, but seemed to have used up all his brilliance and mass appeal on these first releases. He fell off the wagon after about '04, deciding to dive headlong into a minimalist trench of obscurity. I don't know if you want to call it avant-garde or musique concrete, but it's often unlistenable and definitely not danceable.

When a track like the densely textured "Lump" kicks off an album, you know you're in for a treat. And that's exactly what James Holden's THE IDIOTS ARE WINNING is. "10101" is spartan at the start, but once the synths come in, it becomes like an electric ocean, with waves of crackle and synth ripples. "Corduroy," on the other hand, starts ticking away into acid-like wobbles, while the ambient, atonal "Flute" accumulates layers of noise and feedback. "Idiot" takes its steady thump through several tonal variations, while its sister track, "Idiot Clapsolo" is a slightly stripped-down version. "Quiet Drumming" ends the album with a heavily-filtered rhythm track, almost a counterpoint to the tracks elsewhere. The album as a whole: a musical smörgåsbord.

intentionally left blank

Pretty sure it's an homage to John Cage's 4′33″.

What's the meaning of that "track"? Seriously...

There are pieces that shine brightly but overall, Holden's first studio album feels unfinished and almost disappointing (although still better than 90% of the electronic music out there today). Holden has so much talent, evident on tracks such as "Lump" and "10101" but there seems to be a little too much "filler" which is only mildly interesting. Another common critique is the length of the album. Clocking in at barely 40 minutes in length, "The Idiots Are Winning" is much shorter than your average electronic studio album. I think this album would have received better reviews (and sales) if James had removed the more experimental tracks and left it as an EP, perhaps with a couple remix/versions of older songs of his. In summary, there are a few AMAZING tracks on this album, certainly worth the purchase, but don't approach "The Idiots Are Winning" looking for an entire album of Holden's trademark genius because you will likely leave unsatisfied.

He's making his upcoming album which will be released at the end of 2012, maybe he's going to finish what's unfinished.

An excellent piece of work from Holden, including many works far from what we would expect from this progressive house artist. While many of us would have liked to see his earlier works compiled into an album, this release far outdoes what any such album could have done in that it's so complex and coherent that the whole album feels like one big piece of art. Very IDMish, and extremely experimental, but Holden's talent for production shines. Recommended.