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Mojo

While it still whispers, this third endeavour works its way into your soul.

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Sonicnet

Mojave 3's lead singer, primary songwriter and aforementioned poet, Neil Halstead, writes simple, graceful love songs populated by lonely characters who are usually hopelessly hopeful and usually, albeit fleetingly, in love.... Excuses for Travellers is beautiful music for romance's never-ending cycles of beginnings and ends.

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Dot Music

As tear-soaked and gorgeous as we ever might have hoped.

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Magnet

For the most part, Excuses plays like a companion piece to 1998's Out Of Tune--chock full of the lethargic pedal steel and Topanga Canyon-rock cornerstones that make [Neil] Halstead's songs so powerful. However... Excuses leaves room for more delicate moments and patient ballads... [#47, p.108]

Launch.com

Stronger than 1999's terminally delicate Out Of Tune, Excuses takes a bolder and more assertive approach to Halstead's tunes, giving him a sound akin to like-minded Aussie singer-songwriter Paul Kelly.

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Spin

A record that's at once stark and lush... Mojave 3 makes sadsack rock of the first order, flying over the lives of the hopeless in such a way as to make their failures cinematic, their pains panoramic.

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All Music Guide

Their third timeless gem...

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CDNow

The country-tinged melodies and beautifully simple arrangements combine with the downcast romanticism of singer Neil Halstead's lyrics in a way that is simultaneously inspired and confident.

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HOB.com

The tight focus on craft and detail within the simple compositions and deep emotions Mojave 3 display on their third album, Excuses for Travelers, is something to take note.... Halstead's writing compares closely to Wilco, and Hank Williams on occasion...

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Billboard

A melancholy gem of gorgeous, whispery folk and delicate countrified rock.

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New Musical Express

The difference this time is small but significant, in the overall high quality threshold - from the silken slo-mo waltz of 'In Love With A View' to the listless Dylan-lite stumble of 'She Broke You So Softly', there's not a bum note here. Which is not necessarily a recommendation. Because if you stand too close to these tunes they can seem suspiciously perfect, like a newly painted Wild West movie set.

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Rolling Stone

Spectacularly sullen...

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Alternative Press

Decidedly mellow and acoustic in nature, 'Excuses' continues [Neil] Halstead's love affair with country, folk, and pop.... masterfully written, recorded, and played. [#147, p.103]

Q Magazine

The songs here convey life's troubles - failing relationships, feelings of rootlessness - with an unfeasibly languid, almost opiated calm.

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Pitchfork

One of Excuses for Travelers' greatest weaknesses is that the album is too uniformly boring to be affecting in the least.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.6 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

donnie darko gave it a 10:
one of the best albums ever.

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Excuses for Travelers

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