Not a very enjoyable album, but I guess some enjoy pain. The music/sounds do come across more potently on vinyl than on CD, the bass croons even more, and the Faust like cringing and spasms of the winning idiots conjured by Holden are truly vivid, but so, what's the point? I tell you, you give this a good listen, on vinyl, once or twice, just get it, and then you'll never have to play this ever again.The album artwork, on the other hand, is really, really enjoyable, specially as a contrast to the "music".

I tell you, you give this a good listen, on vinyl or whatever, once or twenty times, just get it, and then you'll always have to play this ever again.

I remember listening to this in a record store the first time back in the days, I didn't bought it because I didn't understand it, nevertheless a few weeks later I bought it, thankfully, and then I listened more intently to it... and it really opened doors in my way of understanding electronic music.I hope that someday I can give him a big hug for what he gave to me with this record.6/5

One of the best electronic albums yet. It breaks boundaries and creates something truly unique. A master piece, a true musical composition. I think Holden deserves praise for this album...Consequently I find it strange that its being criticized by people for being too experimental and what not. Is this not what electronic music is originally about? The only ways for things to improve is by testing the limits. This album does just that and the result is some of the best melodies I have heard yet. A must have.

This LP has seperated people do to criticism. Some cannot hear it and reject it, and others love it more than anything. This is exactly the attention it deserves. Yes it is different from "normal" dance music, but isn't that a step towards something new? It remains fascinating how melancholy in music gives us such relief and satisfaction. I give Holden huge credit for creating something beautifully complex and inspiringly melodic. The fascinating melodies are very much the focus of these tracks. No other artist has made me close my eyes during a song as often as James Holden has, in a moment of perfect and fullfilling sadness. It is listening music, yet dancable, and basically this should be recognized as a new genre. No wonder Stephan Bodzin's "Liebe Ist..." is being called "Post Holden". Some like it and others don't, and that is good that way. It is different, and different is good. "The Idiots Are Winning" is a great step for electronic music.

I love it that people hate this album. It tells me that Holden is never going release something that has already been done before. That being said, this album is outstanding as expected. '10101', 'Corduroy', 'Idiot' and 'Lump' are all genius pieces of electronic sound, and really the only tracks that this album should be judged by. '10101' reminds me of a dark street in the early morning hours, splashed with a sudden downpour--a lone street lamp forming halos in the murk. Think 'Blade Runner'.

So, it seems that a lot of people are not into "The Idiots Are Winning." I find it to be an excellent musical achievement. Holden uses some brilliant sounds on this album, constructing simple but effective rhythms and deconstructing harmonies into their most base elements. The glitch and bastard beats may be a bit too much for progressive house heads to handle, methinks. The highlight of the album for me is the first track, "lump," which Damian Lazarus used on his "Suck my Deck" CD a few years back. I had been looking for that one for awhile. I think it's forward, different, and very fresh.

Given the brilliance in some of his remixes, I am more than just a little disappointed by this album. Although the sound is fresh and experimental, some of the tracks are less like music and more like a collection of noises that are frequently agitating; other tracks seem simply uninspired. This album is discordant symmetry at its finest. Corduroy is this album’s saving grace.

This is one of my favorite electronic albums of the early double aughts. Madness I say! Listen to it again. Give it a chance. It will infect you eventually.

I find all of the tracks on this album very hard on the ear. The elements are off time, not in harmony. Its as if they intentionally made this way just for the sake of being weird. I've tried many times to listen to this with an open mind and I am consistently disappointed. I say this in all fairness...these tracks sound like a dj mixing 3 records together that have no business being mixed. I'd love to sit down with someone that enjoys this album and have them point out the postive aspects of this type of music because I cannot hear it. I fear that people are kidding themselves when they say that they enjoy this...maybe because they want to feel like they are separated from people that like "normal" dance music? Maybe people like me are the "Idiots" that Holden is referring to with this album title. 2012 Update: If I were a buyer looking to pick up my first Border Community album, I would avoid this title, and instead go with Nathan Fake's "Drowing In A Sea Of Love" as a much more enjoyable alternative.

There are probably lots of people who have problems with the way Holden is developing his music further into progressive. But whether you're into minimal & progressive or still hoping for the Horizon/Nothing times to come back, there should be no doubt that the quality of the tracks on this album is extremely high. He trully is a master in creating music. Whatever style-genre it may be..