11/10/1998 All Music Guide
The Top
Where their previous albums were gloomy and depressing, The Top is downright scary in places. The opener, "Shake Dog Shake," doesn't sound too dissimilar to the songs found on Pornography, but the album quickly shifts gears from that point on, with rapid style and mood changes that go from manic to nightmarish near-psychedelia with disturbing themes and a swirl of odd sounds. Ultimately, The Top is the band's least consistent album and their most difficult listen, but it is an interesting study in paranoid chaos, and it provides a fascinating look at a band (and more specifically, leader Robert Smith) spinning out of control.
- Chris Woodstra
