User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
- Summary: Bill Callahan's 12th Smog album finds him joined in the studio by such musicians as Jim White (Dirty Three) and Joanna Newsom.
- Record Label: Drag City / Domino
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
-
Positive: 23 out of 29
-
Mixed: 6 out of 29
-
Negative: 0 out of 29
-
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.
-
Burrows deep into the collective unconscious of American song.
-
The results are stunning.
-
You’re going to want to hear this one.
-
As much as it hurts to admit it, not everybody will get so much out of Smog's latest understated masterpiece.
-
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.
-
MagnetToo much of A River, though, doesn't give you enough music to love it. [#68, p.110]
Score distribution:
-
Positive: 10 out of 10
-
Mixed: 0 out of 10
-
Negative: 0 out of 10
-
SecretJuniorJun 6, 2005
-
-
Nov 27, 2022I was shocked to see this score. The critics were so wrong about this. This needs an instant reappraisal.
-
-
tintmantintmanJun 8, 2005i put it on at midnight i heard it about 7 times till dawn it is the best effort of smog to date probably a record i will grow older and wiser with
-
-
plexusOct 19, 2005Classic, you gotta hear this record.
-
-
stephenmDec 9, 2005A must have album, second only to the mighty "Illinoise" by Sufjan Stevens in my best of 2005
-
-
TimJAug 1, 2005
-
-
LawrencePMar 15, 2006"This one's called the well..."
-