Oedipus Schmoedipus

The album was produced by Adamson.[7] Nick Cave cowrote and contributed vocals to "The Sweetest Embrace", while Jarvis Cocker cowrote and sang on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Pelvis".[8][9] Billy Mackenzie sang on "Achieved in the Valley of Dolls".[10]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[1]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[7]
NME	7/10[12]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[13]

NME called the album "too cool to be cringingly kitsch, too deep to be flaky."[12] Pitchfork stated that "with 13 tracks that sound like they could take form and commit acts of homicide on their own, the former Bad Seed's creation is undeniably ... alive."[13]

The Guardian determined that "Adamson's psychogeographical soundtracks snag your head and won't let go: he's made a (bad) dream of a music that simulates mainstream accessibility but is drenched with the maker's own terrors, memories, fixations."[14] Rolling Stone thought that "Adamson can brilliantly—and without words—suggest entire movie scenes with dizzying combinations of dance beats, jazz phrases, finger-snapping big-band arrangements, luscious strings and even references to '60s French pop."[15]

AllMusic wrote that "Adamson's skill in layering and devising unusual sound textures still qualifies him as one of experimental rock's more imaginative composers and producers."[11] Dave Thompson referred to the album as a "supreme slab of disturbance-with-a-(bit of a)-beat."[16]