Clear Heart Full Eyes
by Craig Finn
  • Record Label: Vagrant
  • Release Date: Jan 24, 2012
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. The Boston Phoenix
    Feb 14, 2012
    63
    The mood ... is decidedly bleak- populated by disillusioned lovers and working class escapists, the lyrics splitting at the seams with dark religious imagery.
  2. The Quietus
    Feb 10, 2012
    70
    The arrangements are simple, often pretty ... but mostly they serve to support the delivery of some of Finn's most evocative and well observed lyrics.
  3. cokemachineglow
    Feb 8, 2012
    78
    With Clear Heart Full Eyes he's established himself, tentatively, as a man apart from his band.
  5. Expert Witness (MSN Music)
    Feb 7, 2012
    83
    He nails three [songs] flat-out....The rest tend more, how to say it, evocative.
  6. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Feb 1, 2012
    90
    All the things that give an album its personality--the sound of a band finding its feet, the little tempo fluctuations, the requisite "are we rolling, Bob?" fits and starts--are here in spades.
  7. Beats Per Minute
    Jan 25, 2012
    70
    With much of the flash stripped aways from him, Craig Finn proves that he is a formidable songwriter first and foremost, and here we find him sitting on a stool and playing songs at his most comfortable.
  8. Paste Magazine
    Jan 25, 2012
    64
    With his first solo release, Finn hasn't gone too far away from his core aesthetic, but the move is enough to justify his own album.
  9. No Ripcord
    Jan 24, 2012
    70
    The Hold Steady this ain't, but as far as new directions go, Craig Finn could have done much worse.
  10. AllMusic
    Jan 24, 2012
    80
    Anyone expecting the bar rock bravado of the Hold Steady is probably going to be disappointed by Clear Heart Full Eyes' subdued vibe, but anyone looking for more of Craig Finn's sprawling tales will feel right at home.
  11. The A.V. Club
    Jan 24, 2012
    83
    As a solo artist, Finn has created a new world of characters and songs that's rich enough on its own, and worth someday revisiting.
  12. Blurt Magazine
    Jan 24, 2012
    70
    Finn's compelling without the usual bluster that provides him momentum--his voice never approaches its old roar but his nice melodic sense comes out here more.
  13. Rolling Stone
    Jan 24, 2012
    70
    Cut with a country-rock pickup band, his first solo album is full of bleakly funny noir tales.
  14. The New York Times
    Jan 23, 2012
    80
    Instead of howling about misspent youth against huge, churning guitar riffs, he ruminates on the wages of adulthood, musically enveloped in a cosmic, plaintive version of Americana.
  15. Chicago Tribune
    Jan 20, 2012
    63
    The Hold Steady is all about bombast and getting bombed. Clear Heart Full Eyes is about the morning after, and everything's a blur.
  16. Sputnikmusic
    Jan 19, 2012
    70
    Clear Heart Full Eyes is entirely at ease with itself, rarely forcing the issue beyond the gently affecting, but affecting is definitely the right word.
  17. Prefix Magazine
    Jan 19, 2012
    70
    Finn's best songs are the ones when he's fully in the present, in tune with every emotion and every detail his protagonists might experience during a particular moment.
  18. BBC Music
    Jan 9, 2012
    80
    Clear Heart Full Eyes [is] a work of understated beauty.
  19. Rock Sound
    Jan 9, 2012
    80
    This record is the result of Finn turning his hand to songwriting for the very first time and, yes, he's nailed it.
  20. Kerrang!
    Feb 6, 2012
    80
    This is an album that feels as much like a series of compelling stories as it does a collection of fine songs. [21 Jan 2012, p.53]
    All this publication's reviews
  21. Entertainment Weekly
    Jan 20, 2012
    75
    These windy beach narratives tend to lie back in the hammock when they should be shooting the curl. [27 Jan 2012, p.71]
    All this publication's reviews
  22. Uncut
    Jan 9, 2012
    80
    Clear Heart Full Eyes is a low-key triumph, containing some of the most emotionally satisfying work Finn has yet produced. [Feb 2012, p.82]
    All this publication's reviews

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. alishaa
    Mar 23, 2013
    6
    Nice information, valuable and excellent design, as share good stuff with good ideas and concepts, lots of great information and inspiration,Nice information, valuable and excellent design, as share good stuff with good ideas and concepts, lots of great information and inspiration, both of which I need, thanks to offer such a helpful information here.

    Download wallpapers
    Download wallpapers    … Full Review »
  2. j30
    Mar 20, 2012
    6
    Clear Heart Full Eyes by Craig Finn is far from a miss, but it's not exactly an album you can fully invest in. Maybe the music feels a littleClear Heart Full Eyes by Craig Finn is far from a miss, but it's not exactly an album you can fully invest in. Maybe the music feels a little too laid back for my liking. However you kind of get the feeling CHFE is a precursor to great Hold Steady album in the making (in which they're in the studio as we speak).… Full Review »
  3. alice3372
    Mar 5, 2012
    10
    According to liner notes in Petty's Playback box set, he and Jeff Lynne were playing some elaborate stuff on the keyboard that all startedAccording to liner notes in Petty's Playback box set, he and Jeff Lynne were playing some elaborate stuff on the keyboard that all started with 3 simple chords. Lynne suggested that Tom stop all the hard stuff and just sing some words to those three chords, and he came up with "She's a good girl... loves her mama..." just to make Jeff smile, and they kept going from there.
    divorce help    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »