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July Flame Image
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

  • Summary: The Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter included more strings on her seventh album produced by Tucker Martine.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Veirs' new album July Flame sends us on hikes through dreamy landscapes evoked by her uniquely tangy voice, casting minimal instrumentation in glistening arrangements to captivate the melancholy imagination.
  2. July Flame is carefully composed, ever-deepening, glinting and glowing in new ways each time it’s played; there’s an inkling of something greater coming just around the bend, but for now it’s Veirs’ finest work.
  3. Q Magazine
    80
    Always an engaging songwriter with a strong mystical and elemental bent, the seamlessly flowing July Flame now adds an increased accessibility to her armoury. [Feb 2010, p. 112]
  4. It has such an unassuming, homespun quality that you're constantly surprised by how expansive and richly textured its songs are.
  5. July Flame is ultimately a record that's easy to get into and just as easy to stay with.
  6. The album showcases Veirs’ warm vocals, deft guitar picking and country-inflected songwriting. It’s not all so stripped down as to be dull, however, and songs like the title track are intricately woven tapestries of strings, woodwind and cooing backing vocals.
  7. With summer so far away, this record’s only downside is that it lacks a hit song to help it last until July.

See all 19 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Sep 16, 2013
    10
    Laura Veirs' masterwork to date, an alchemical blend of elements and skills she's displayed in previous work synthesized in one place soaringLaura Veirs' masterwork to date, an alchemical blend of elements and skills she's displayed in previous work synthesized in one place soaring vocals, unintuitive but resonant lyrics, and a patchwork Americana landscape that engages and invites repeat listening. One of the finest albums of 2010, and a superb gateway to new fans who haven't yet given Veirs a listen. Expand
  2. ScooterM
    Jan 22, 2010
    10
    I think this is just a stunning piece of work!
  3. SeanC.
    Jan 15, 2010
    9
    A wonderful new album from the prodigiously talented Veirs. Quick anecdote: I put it on at work at random -- without a word -- while a cohort A wonderful new album from the prodigiously talented Veirs. Quick anecdote: I put it on at work at random -- without a word -- while a cohort and I were working on some paperwork, and within three seconds of the first track, he turned his head and said, "That sounds delightful." It does indeed. Expand
  4. Aug 14, 2013
    9
    As soon as Laura Veirs starts singing on July Flame, she holds your attention whether you're washing dishes or reading while listeningAs soon as Laura Veirs starts singing on July Flame, she holds your attention whether you're washing dishes or reading while listening throughout the whole album. It's a beautiful album that has no real comparison to other female singer/songwriters with guitars. The Liz Phair and Suzanne Vega comparisons that the critics have been summoning have no real validity. Laura Veirs is unique, and this album will show you just how and why this is so. Her best album ...so far. Expand