A Moving Picture
by Devlin
  • Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Feb 4, 2013
Metascore
51

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. The Observer (UK)
    Feb 11, 2013
    60
    There's plenty of widescreen, orchestral-surge production to match the look-how-far-we've-come sentiment, but Devlin remains most compelling in scowling underdog mod
  2. Q Magazine
    Feb 8, 2013
    60
    His picture would be that much more moving if he spliced his peaks with the occasional trough. [Mar 2013, p.98]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Mojo
    Feb 6, 2013
    60
    It's just a shame his parochial worldview is often at odds with his music's overreaching grandstanding. [Mar 2013, p.94]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. The Guardian
    Feb 6, 2013
    60
    The patter doesn't always feel original nor particularly self-aware.
  6. Uncut
    Feb 6, 2013
    50
    James Devlin adds orchestral strings and cinematic melodrama to his hard-edged urban rhymes on this cluttered second album. [Mar 2013, p.70]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Feb 6, 2013
    50
    His breathless, this-really-matters delivery is ill-served by lines such as "Ain't a fan of vegetables/ It ain't about the peas".
  8. Clash Music
    Feb 6, 2013
    50
    The brazen flows of Dagenham spitter, Devlin, shown on this outing don’t quite translate to the forced templates they lay on, meaning that the formula needs working.
  9. musicOMH.com
    Feb 6, 2013
    50
    Devlin’s talents as both lyricist and rapper are never in doubt, but for all the album’s pomposity and scale, musically speaking, it feels like a big step backward.
  10. RapReviews.com
    Mar 27, 2013
    45
    Amalgamating these with pop choruses makes the listening experience too scattered and ultimately leads A Moving Picture to stutter from frame to frame, and it doesn't help that the experience bows down to every chart formula around.
  11. BBC Music
    Feb 6, 2013
    40
    A Moving Picture proves a more nakedly ambitious--in the humdrum sense of the word--follow-up, which struggles to strike the right balance between street cred and pop appeal.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
4.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 2 out of 4
  1. hiphop97
    Nov 12, 2013
    10
    I for really enjoyed the album. Not as good as his debut but still good lyrically and his flow is sick! Production and features could haveI for really enjoyed the album. Not as good as his debut but still good lyrically and his flow is sick! Production and features could have been better but overall a good album!… Full Review »
  2. JasonWoods69
    Feb 26, 2013
    3
    This album, featuring the likes of Ed Sheeran and Katy B, is just confirmation to me that grime is now becoming obsolete on the music sceneThis album, featuring the likes of Ed Sheeran and Katy B, is just confirmation to me that grime is now becoming obsolete on the music scene and is sadly turning into pop hip-hop. The decline of Devlin via this album is sad, but just confirms that grime is about to die, and that nothing can be done to stop it becoming mainstream pop music. 3/10.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »