HipHopDX: Undun Review
The remainder of undun speaks through the instrumentals, where innocent pianos and violins turn into reckless percussions that fade into searing strings suggesting Redford has died.
New York Times: The Roots: 2 Albums, One Quest
The album has an instrumental coda… an elegiac string quartet and a last dissonant piano chord, an unpeaceful final rest.
The Guardian: Undun Review
Undun is also a mirror held up to present-day America, where ambitions are more likely to die than prosper. It's a downer, but timely and affecting, with moments of beauty.
Chicago Tribune: Undun Review
A gorgeous neo-classical suite closes the album… If an album can be both chilling and beautiful at once, "Undun" is it.
Time: The Roots Have Made A Concept Album. And It’s Good!
“All told, the story undun tells is sometimes chilling, often thrilling, and always illuminating.”
Rolling Stone: "Undun" Review
“The Roots’ 13th release is a concept album with a bravura twist: It narrates the story of a bootstrapping hustler in reverse, from death to birth.“
Pitchfork: "Undun" Review
“The Roots' 13th album, which includes a brief, four-part orchestral suite that builds off a Sufjan Stevens piece, is definitely their most downbeat.“
NPR: First Listen: Undun
Finally, credits roll over a sublime string quartet, mercifully for Black Thought's black thoughts — at least for a moment, before ?uestlove's meticulously arranged strings are silenced by the chilling, deathly growl of a struck piano.