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Brother Is To Son Image
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

  • Summary: 'Brother Is To Son' is nominally a solo effort for Daniel Smith (aka "Brother Danielson," aka leader of the Christian indie-rock outfit the Danielson Familie), although fellow Familie (and, in real life, family) members appear throughout this acoustic-only disc, as does frequent collaborator'Brother Is To Son' is nominally a solo effort for Daniel Smith (aka "Brother Danielson," aka leader of the Christian indie-rock outfit the Danielson Familie), although fellow Familie (and, in real life, family) members appear throughout this acoustic-only disc, as does frequent collaborator Sufjan Stevens. Collapse
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. Brother is to Son is a genuine pop triumph, the perfect execution of conceptual complexity and musical audacity, tied together with the timeless expression of one man measuring the motions of his soul.
  2. Uncut
    80
    At times it's almost unbearably candid, an unflinching examination of his devotion both to homestead and to God. [Jul 2004, p.112]
  3. Filter
    80
    There is a lot going on here, sonically and substantially. [#11, p.98]
  4. It’s one fat, grotesque record. A used-car salesman’s pitch during the Apocalypse.
  5. Brother Is to Son is weird, but it's neither incomprehensible nor didactic.
  6. However, after one has settled in to the comforts of "Daughters," a shriek comes swooping down in the form of Daniel Smith's falsetto voice. Even on these faster-paced tracks, where Smith's falsetto demands less attention, it is impossible to deny this is the shortcoming of Brother Is to Son.
  7. The first few minutes sound like very early David Bowie without Mick Ronson, electricity, or songs. The rest is so annoying that after 15 minutes you'll fondly remember grade-school sing-alongs and eating paste during arts-and-crafts.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. JonathanW
    Apr 30, 2005
    10
    Pppperfect.
  2. Brandon
    Apr 7, 2006
    10
    This album reveals a little bit more brilliance with each listen.