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. Rolling Stone
    40
    Veers close to self-parody.
  2. ShakingThrough.net
    60
    At times, Callahan's penchant for clever phrasings gets the better of him.
  3. 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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  5. 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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  6. Q Magazine
    40
    Pointless drifting that fails to grip even on repeated listening. [Jun 2005, p.118]
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  7. Magnet
    40
    Too much of A River, though, doesn't give you enough music to love it. [#68, p.110]
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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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