- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
It is one thing to not take yourself to seriously but it is quite another to go to the other extreme. For all his knowing winks, Green walks the fine line between decadency and distaste.
-
Green's self-consciously dweeby vocals hang his off-kilter lyrics like a doomed curveball.
-
His sparse, sweet acoustic songs charm more than they shock, and make you think rather than irritate.
-
Over the course of Gemstone's 15 tracks, Green's heavily enunciated, lumbering delivery become more irritating than a busload of thespians on their way to an audition. Thankfully, Green's elementary-school melodies, which call to mind Jonathan Richman at his silliest, ultimately save this album from the topical hell to which it aspires.
-
Kitschy lyrics spin out of control here.
-
He's gone for a sound that's somewhere between '50s and '60s rock and musical theatre, halfway between Buddy Holly and Broadway.
-
New Musical Express (NME)'Gemstones' sees Adam go much deeper into cabaret territory. [22 Jan 2005, p.51]
-
UncutHis quirks often overwhelm him, and his shock tactics are more infantile than transgressive. [Feb 2005, p.76]
-
BlenderGreen's cutesy Bacharach-ish chamber pop loses all novelty after a few spins. [Apr 2005, p.118]
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 18 out of 24
-
Mixed: 2 out of 24
-
Negative: 4 out of 24
-
alistarrMay 1, 2006
-
gazmJun 4, 2005read stylus magazines review for all that i have to say
-
timburtonMay 26, 2005great as hell, fine in words