Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 18
  2. Negative: 0 out of 18
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  1. Mar 18, 2014
    90
    Darlings is a record that feels simultaneously cerebral and carnal--and things don’t get much sexier than that.
  2. Mar 18, 2014
    80
    Darlings is enormously enjoyable but it is also familiar, sometimes overly so--comfortable in a way that implies Drew is content to rest on his impressive laurels.
  3. Mar 17, 2014
    80
    Darlings comes across as a more focused and decidedly more solo effort than its predecessor.
  4. Mar 19, 2014
    76
    You get a good sense of just what kind of man Drew is on Darlings, reconciling monogamy with promiscuity, Broken Social Scene’s cheap-seats bombast with love-seat confidentiality.
  5. Mar 17, 2014
    75
    While it lacks the raw, jubilant catharsis of a Broken Social Scene release, Darlings is both understated and refined, showcasing the many facets of Drew’s romantic songwriting.
  6. Uncut
    Mar 17, 2014
    70
    This is another uplifting, honest set. [Apr 2014, p.71]
  7. 70
    An admirably well-balanced attempt by Drew to really strike out on his own.
  8. Mar 17, 2014
    70
    Where Darlings shows growth and change is in Drew's fine-tuning of his illustrious sound.
  9. 67
    Darlings is very listenable and mostly fun--just don’t overthink it and keep the BSS comparisons to a minimum.
  10. May 14, 2014
    65
    Even with dusted-up cuts, Darlings nonetheless highlights Drew's divine ability to craft an eloquent ballad all by himself.
  11. Mar 24, 2014
    60
    Darlings is warm and expansive and sexy, and feels like a more intimate affair than his debut, 2007’s ‘Spirit If...’.
  12. Mar 18, 2014
    60
    Drew's songs still zone out, but the focus here is on a stripped-down luster somewhere between occasional bandmate Feist and the National.
  13. 60
    Equal parts lo-fi sketch-like song structure and buffed-to-a-shine ’80s soft rock, these 12 songs are evidently personal and, at times, thematically obscure.
  14. Mar 17, 2014
    60
    A few verses drag out too long, but Drew’s storytelling remains firmly in the foreground.
  15. Mar 17, 2014
    60
    The best parts of Darlings make you work, as Drew does, to peel back the surface and dig into what’s there but some of it just leaves us with quiet, impenetrably sweet sounds that repetition can’t quite crack through.
  16. Apr 2, 2014
    50
    Darlings is a concrete mixer full of ideas, although it’s tricky to pinpoint if Drew’s actually laid the foundations of a decent record.
  17. Mar 20, 2014
    40
    Unfortunately after [the first two tracks] the album settles into a post-coital snooze that it doesn't really wake from.
  18. Q Magazine
    Mar 17, 2014
    40
    Although things quieten down on the pseudo-R Kelly front as the record progresses, the squirm factor never totally vanishes. [Apr 2014, p.106]
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Mar 18, 2014
    9
    Kevin Drew's paints a cool washed out picture with the tracks on this record. Not really a Broken Social Scene record, but that's not a badKevin Drew's paints a cool washed out picture with the tracks on this record. Not really a Broken Social Scene record, but that's not a bad thing. As a first true solo effort, Darlings succeeds in discovering life after BSS. Stand out tracks so far, Good Sex, You In You Were, And That's All I know. Full Review »