In the Mode

Roni Size & Reprazent released their debut album, New Forms, in June 1997 to critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at number 8 in the UK Album Chart. After winning the 1997 Mercury Music Prize, the group found international fame^[1] and became an in-demand live band. Size donated the £25,000 prize money to the Bristol youth centre where he had learned to program a drum machine.^[2] Writing for In the Mode began at rehearsals for their live tour, where the band would create new music by jamming using samplers and live instruments.^[3] This new music saw Reprazent relying on fewer jazz influences and moving towards a harder hip-hop-influenced sound.^[1][4]

The album was preceded by the release of the single "Who Told You" on 25 September, which reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart^[5] and was promoted by a music video directed by Hype Williams.^[6] The tracks "Dirty Beats" and "Lucky Pressure" were also released as singles.

In the Mode entered the UK Albums Chart during the week ending 21 October 2000 and peaked at number 15.^[7] In the United States, the album reached number 10 on the Heatseekers Albums chart and number 181 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[8]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Alternative Press	4/5[11]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[12]
Melody Maker	[13]
Mixmag	[14]
NME	7/10[15]
Q	[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Spin	9/10[18]
The Village Voice	A[19]

In the Mode was released to some critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 79, based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".^[9]

AllMusic rated In the Mode four stars out of five, though reviewer John Bush noted that "the highlights are over far too quickly, and the weaker tracks never should have appeared in the first place."^[10] Marc Savlov, writing for The Austin Chronicle, awarded the album three stars out of five saying that it was "packed to bursting with arcane beats and skittery jungle rhythms" but remarked that it was "not so much out of date as it is out of time."^[20] The A.V. Club's Joshua Klein described In the Mode as "another volley of stylish drum-and-bass", though he noted that it "suffers a bit from overkill."^[21] Writing for Drowned in Sound, reviewer Chris Nettleton wished for "more variety of tone" and awarded the album six out of ten.^[22] A review in the NME described the album as "an example of fierce, righteous, and...fearlessly British innovation." and stated that "Roni Size and Reprazent are leaders in a field of one", awarding a score of seven out of ten.^[15] Vibe writer Jon Caramanica opined that In the Mode "just regurgitates old forms" and rated the album two and a half stars out of five.^[23] Robert Christgau, writing for The Village Voice, gave the album an A rating, noting that "the album moves the way you always hope jungle will, like a cross between a tiger and a snake."^[19]

All personnel credits adapted from In the Mode's liner notes.^[24]