Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 10
  2. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. For all the guest starpower, however, the results sound as anonymous as Doe's chosen name.
  2. Bright Sky is an earnest collection of tempered observation, free from youthful romantic free-for-all but not without authentic feeling.
  3. The problem is the songs. Oh, the songs - they're pretty, all right, but there's no substance.
  4. Q Magazine
    80
    A marvellous, surprising comeback from a forgotten talent. [Mar 2003, p.103]
  5. Uncut
    60
    If Doe intended to create an interlocked set of pieces that sustained a mood of pensive reverie, he succeeded, though there's a marked shortage of ear-grabbing, individual songs. [Mar 2003, p.95]
  6. Blender
    60
    So low-key that even the amplified instruments sound semi-acoustic. [#10, p.116]
  7. 90
    The tunes here are full of immediately memorable, if not obvious, hooks, and the vocals capture a tenderness and vulnerability he's never before revealed.
  8. Mojo
    80
    It's his skill as a bruised, intimate narrator that makes this album such an alluring addition to Doe's swelling canon. [Feb 2003, p.90]
  9. Resonance
    80
    Seems the perfect sweet and sour soundtrack for some yet-to-be-made Paul Thomas Anderson film. [#36, p.54]
  10. The album forsakes Doe's past rockabilily, country, and punk leanings for a fairly morose, maudlin mood.
User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. AdamL
    Jan 14, 2005
    10
    My favorite album of 03! No doubt that John can do whatever he sets out to do!
  2. JamesL.
    Oct 9, 2002
    5
    At first, I could barely sit through the entire album as it is very low key. After several listenings, I have grown to like it better. The At first, I could barely sit through the entire album as it is very low key. After several listenings, I have grown to like it better. The major problem is that the harmonies are barely distingushable and it simply doesn't ever take off. Full Review »