The Handler (album)

The Handler
Studio album by Har Mar Superstar
Released	September 14, 2004 (2004-09-14)
Genre	R&B, indie rock
Length	40:13
Label	Record Collection
Producer	John Fields
Har Mar Superstar chronology
You Can Feel Me (2002) The Handler (2004) Dark Touches (2009)
Singles from The Handler
"DUI" Released: 2004 "Body Request" Released: 2005

The Handler is the third solo studio album by Har Mar Superstar. It was released via Record Collection in 2004. It features contributions from Karen O, Michael Bland, Pete Thomas, and Holly Valance. ^[1] It peaked at number 68 on the UK Albums Chart. ^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	57/100 [3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Blender	[5]
Dotmusic	8/10 [6]
The Guardian	[7]
NME	8/10 [8]
Pitchfork	1.9/10 [9]
Q	[10]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Uncut	8/10 [11]
URB	[12]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57% based on 13 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". ^[3]

Jolie Lash of NME gave the album 4 stars out of 5, calling it "Har Mar Superstar's best effort to date." ^[8] Johnny Loftus of Pitchfork gave the album a 1.9 out of 10, saying, "The Handler only meagerly amplifies what he was already doing, probably pleasing his no doubt respectable cadre of core followers, but handily turning off the rest of humanity." ^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Transit"	3:36
2.	"Body Request"	3:30
3.	"DUI"	3:14
4.	"Cut Me Up"	3:11
5.	"Sugar Pie"	2:51
6.	"As (Seasons)"	3:49
7.	"Save the Strip"	3:49
8.	"O"	3:09
9.	"Back the Camel Up"	3:09
10.	"Bird in the Hand"	3:18
11.	"Back in the Day"	3:04
12.	"Alone Again (Naturally)"	3:35

Charts

Chart	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC) [2]	68

References

1. Mulholland, Garry (September 4, 2004). "Har Mar Superstar: The belly of the beast" . The Independent . Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
2. "Har Mar Superstar". Official Charts Company . Retrieved May 12, 2017.
3. "The Handler by Har Mar Superstar". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved October 3, 2016.
4. Phares, Heather. "The Handler - Har Mar Superstar". AllMusic . Retrieved March 4, 2017.
5. He's got some solid grooves... but a lot of them are borrowed. [Sep 2004, p.136]
6. O’Connell, Sharon (September 21, 2004). "Har Mar Superstar - 'The Handler'". Dotmusic . Retrieved December 14, 2025.
7. Sullivan, Caroline (September 2, 2004). "Har Mar Superstar, The Handler". The Guardian . Retrieved March 4, 2017.
8. Lash, Jolie (October 5, 2004). "Har Mar Superstar : The Handler". NME . Retrieved March 4, 2017.
9. Loftus, Johnny (September 15, 2004). "Har Mar Superstar: The Handler". Pitchfork . Retrieved March 4, 2017.
10. His falsetto voice, cutesy pitched-up female backing vocals and playground chant hooks are the stuff of kiddy pop. [Oct 2004, p.123]
11. Pristine production renders this as vital as anything by Justin Timberlake. [Oct 2004, p.104]
12. Har Mar wraps glorious, melodic R&B styled hooks around lyrics that sound dangerously inappropriate coming out of the mouths of matrons in minivans. [Sep 2004, p.114]

External links

• The Handler at Discogs (list of releases)