A River Ain't Too Much To Love
by Smog
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. AllMusic
    80
    A River Ain't Too Much to Love is a subdued, plaintive collection of songs that accompany silence; they encourage reflection without guile and unveil themselves without a hint of studied artifice.
  2. Pitchfork
    77
    Although not as compelling as his more subversive material, this softening of his sound doesn't carry the negative connotation of an artist losing steam later in his career; Callahan's distinctive baritone and cutting inflection are unchanging and iconic, and show that this sensitive appearance is just one more spin of the kaleidoscope.
  3. PopMatters
    80
    Indispensable.
  5. Uncut
    80
    The musical settings are crisp, spare, folksy, recalling '96's The Doctor Came At Dawn and allowing Callahan to play one of his best roles: a campfire-friendly Leonard Cohen. [Jun 2005, p.97]
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  6. Mojo
    80
    Callahan is back on track. [Jun 2005, p.104]
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  7. Q Magazine
    40
    Pointless drifting that fails to grip even on repeated listening. [Jun 2005, p.118]
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  8. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    Typically minimal and monochrome but beyond the dirge-like pace of tracks like 'Say Valley Maker' lies an unlikely optimism. [28 May 2005, p.64]
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  9. Rolling Stone
    40
    Veers close to self-parody.
  10. Under The Radar
    50
    [His] trademark unassuming melodic sparseness... only serves to amplify his grating, bone-decaying voice. [#10, p.114]
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  11. The Guardian
    80
    Regular Smog-watchers will have become accustomed to a degree of bleakness and black humour, but this time Bill Callahan... taps into a compelling vein of folk history and rural solitude.
  12. Drowned In Sound
    80
    He's reached another career peak to match that of 1999's 'Knock Knock'.
  13. Paste Magazine
    80
    His sinister Americana is understatedly cruel and sublimely dolorous, with a kinder view of nature than humanity. [#16, p.135]
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  14. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    An exquisite mix that conjures train tracks and piney woods. [3 Jun 2005, p.86]
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  15. Dusted Magazine
    80
    You’re going to want to hear this one.
  16. Tiny Mix Tapes
    80
    The minimalist arrangements are still here. The bored baritone voice hasn't changed any. The personal-yet-guarded lyrics can be found throughout.
  17. The Wire
    80
    Callahan is a true original. [#255, p.65]
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  18. Magnet
    40
    Too much of A River, though, doesn't give you enough music to love it. [#68, p.110]
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  19. Austin Chronicle
    89
    Burrows deep into the collective unconscious of American song.
  20. Blender
    60
    This time, he's playing with a minimalist, barely electric trio that wouldn't dare overshadow his sleepy-voiced utterances, painstakingly plucking one note at a time, and writing songs mostly about horses or mortality or both. [Jun 2005, p.115]
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  21. cokemachineglow
    77
    The cryptic, empty songs of Rain on Lens and wandering, upbeat folk-tunes of Supper have been usurped by a renewed focus and direction.
  22. Billboard
    70
    [It] doesn't offer many surprises, and as usual that's OK.
  23. Dot Music
    80
    An intelligent step forward from a unique and prolific troubadour.
  24. Stylus Magazine
    100
    The subtle backing musicians never overshadow Callahan’s reedy baritone and direct lyrics; they merely add subtle shading and light in the appropriate spots--a restraint reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s use of studio musicians on laid-back classics like John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline.
  25. Playlouder
    80
    A honky tonk Leonard Cohen, the music of Smog sounds like it's spent all its life half cut in a saloon bar way out in the American mid-west thinking far too deeply about love and life for far too long.
  26. Splendid
    80
    As much as it hurts to admit it, not everybody will get so much out of Smog's latest understated masterpiece.
  27. Lost At Sea
    85
    A River Ain’t Too Much To Love has more in common with great books than it does with great rock albums; it’s intelligent, introspective, sensitive and best experienced in a very quiet place.
  28. ShakingThrough.net
    60
    At times, Callahan's penchant for clever phrasings gets the better of him.
  29. Neumu.net
    90
    His 12th record holds no surprises for longtime fans, and yet here it is, his best, his greatest.
  30. Junkmedia
    80
    The results are stunning.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. Warehamtyler
    Nov 27, 2022
    10
    I was shocked to see this score. The critics were so wrong about this. This needs an instant reappraisal.
  2. LawrenceP
    Mar 15, 2006
    8
    "This one's called the well..."
  3. stephenm
    Dec 9, 2005
    10
    A must have album, second only to the mighty "Illinoise" by Sufjan Stevens in my best of 2005
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