Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. Dec 3, 2013
    80
    It’s the product of a chronic overthinker refining his teeming thoughts into crystalline song, forming an album that doesn't shy away from the gravitas of grand gestures, and, more importantly, the emptiness that follows when they prove to be futile.
  2. Nov 11, 2013
    80
    The album puts Krug front and center, armed with nothing but piano and voice. It's a ballsy move, but it pays off in spades.
  3. Oct 30, 2013
    80
    Julia is more touching than any Krug record made before it.
  4. Oct 29, 2013
    80
    The piano has displaced Krug's veil of intellect and mystery. What remains is something warm, something sentimental, something beautiful. Spencer Krug has never sounded better.
  5. Oct 28, 2013
    80
    A classically trained ivory tickler, Krug's compositional style is as esoteric as his prose, lending an unpredictable musicality to the proceedings that allows the listener to forget that they’re essentially listening in on a very intimate solo performance.
  6. 80
    Like the image which adorns the cover, sometimes it’s good to just take in the wonder of the simple things, and the modest but pensive charm of this album is well worth getting lost in.
  7. Oct 25, 2013
    80
    Not another album updating the great musical ideas of the past, then, but an album updating the great sentiments: to tell someone how much you need them and that you’d be lost without them. If you’re not in love right now--an album to fall in love with, until then.
  8. Oct 25, 2013
    80
    Krug doesn't let the instrumental limitation restrict him and, while the listening experience jarringly contrasts his past body of work, it exposes a rawer, more intimate side of Krug, to much success.
  9. Oct 25, 2013
    80
    A far cry from the piano-tinkling heard in formulaic modern pop, Krug’s ivories are often filmic (Barbarian), or musical-theatre enough to evoke Hugh Jackman or Julie Andrews singing amidst a mountainscape (November 2011).
  10. Nov 19, 2013
    78
    Such is Krug’s way with words: deliberately or not, he’s weaving a huge tapestry that makes the author clearer to us. Julia With Blue Jeans On is another section in it and is a damned beautiful, it not great one at that.
  11. Nov 1, 2013
    78
    This barebones form is less than accessible, but Krug took the risk and consequently produced the most authentic collection of music he’s ever created.
  12. Nov 14, 2013
    77
    Julia's impressive discipline rarely gets in the way of its ability to affect; it's all so deeply felt, it's impossible not to feel it, too.
  13. Nov 18, 2013
    70
    At the end of this quite exhausting album, it is hard to ascertain whether anything has been resolved. However, if this is what Krug needs to move on, then Julia With Blue Jeans On is a testament to the healing power of creativity.
  14. Oct 31, 2013
    70
    As with its predecessors, Julia With Blue Jeans On forges new ground for the prolific artist, both musically and aesthetically.
  15. Oct 29, 2013
    69
    Moonface is essentially making Krug more admirable and less enjoyable. Depending on what you look for, that is the measure of its success.
  16. 67
    There are moments on Julia where he succeeds in creating the important and honest music he wants to make. Of course, when you’re using a shotgun, you’re bound to hit something.
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Nov 13, 2013
    9
    I had written off Spencer as going too far off the deep end. The whole everything being a metaphor with allusions to greek mythology (andI had written off Spencer as going too far off the deep end. The whole everything being a metaphor with allusions to greek mythology (and mythological creatures) thing was getting really stupid. This abum has redeemed him in my eyes. Magnificent, majestic, simple, and beautiful, with hardly any of the crap listed above. Full Review »
  2. Nov 2, 2013
    10
    Simply amazing. For those unfamiliar with Spencer Krug, he is a talent that is like an albino deer -always surprising when you see it butSimply amazing. For those unfamiliar with Spencer Krug, he is a talent that is like an albino deer -always surprising when you see it but beautiful and majestic to experience. These songs are his most accessible to date. Julia showcases his pop sensibility and his originality that is so lacking in today's music scene. Great from the first listen, yet grows with every spin. Each song is memorable and resonates like a first fallen snow. I am sure his next effort will contain yodeling and a washboard but I guarantee you, it will be a spectacle. Full Review »
  3. Oct 29, 2013
    9
    This is an extremely beautiful album that evokes memories of a past that has since long disappeared in the musical landscape. All we have isThis is an extremely beautiful album that evokes memories of a past that has since long disappeared in the musical landscape. All we have is Spencer Krug's vocals and his piano, and in many ways this minimalism could ruin a musician, but in this case this stripping back of sounds proves to be Krug's biggest advantage. He makes the piano sound majestic and powerful something I have not heard a musician achieve in recent times.

    The most pensive tracks prove to be the strongest: 'Love the House You're In' and 'Dreamy Summer' both pan across Krug's masterful piano playing and melancholic vocal style, climaxing in a crescendo of piano keys that is chaotic but beautiful at the same time.

    The album feels like a turning point for Krug, whose work in countless indie bands, and more 'busy' sound under his past Moonface releases, pale in comparison to this new piano-driven sound. I feel it is an artistic milestone for Krug, and it's bounty will be enjoyed by many broken hearts out there for many years to come.
    Full Review »