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Hands of Glory Image
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

  • Summary: Described as a companion piece to the earlier released Break It Yourself, it features one new track, two new versions of songs from Break It Yourself, as well as covers of songs by Alpha Consumer, the Carter Family, the Handsome Family, and Townes Van Zandt.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Oct 29, 2012
    89
    Companion piece Hands of Glory restructures the old and new alike in dusty-trail cowboy swag.
  2. Oct 29, 2012
    80
    Hands of Glory might not stand alone as a release without the context provided by Break It Yourself, but it nevertheless serves as a testament to how capable and creative Bird can be when he's dialed in.
  3. Mojo
    Jan 18, 2013
    80
    Hands Of Glory is a flamboyant country cousin [to 2012's Break it Yourself]. [Feb 2013, p.92]
  4. Oct 31, 2012
    70
    Produced in the same Luddite fashion as Break it Yourself, Hands of Glory takes that austerity one step further by recording all of the proceedings on a single microphone, resulting in a set that sounds both out of time and incredibly immediate.
  5. Oct 31, 2012
    66
    The majority of Hands of Glory is devoted to covers, though, and while Bird already has plenty of fine covers in his catalogue ("Don't Be Scared", "Trimmed + Burning", "The Giant of Illinois"), his efforts here are something near enough lacklustre and uninspiring.
  6. Q Magazine
    Dec 11, 2012
    60
    Maybe he's not the kind of artist you need to hear stripped down. [Jan 2013, p.101]
  7. Oct 29, 2012
    50
    His palate of sepia tones coupled with essentially contemporary lyrical twitches loses much of what makes Bird special, instead relegating Hands of Glory, to a heartwarming and honest tribute--and little else.

See all 18 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Nov 1, 2012
    8
    With Andrew Bird
  2. Nov 8, 2012
    7
    An excellent companion to this year's "Break it Yourself". It managed to capture the spirit of the "Old timey" sets during this year's tour.An excellent companion to this year's "Break it Yourself". It managed to capture the spirit of the "Old timey" sets during this year's tour. As someone who managed to make it out to two stops, this album was a nice little "thank you hat tip" from Mr. Bird. Lots of good memories evoked. Expand