Light - Matisyahu
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Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

  • Summary: The third album for the New York-based reggae artist was produced by David Kahne.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 15
  2. Negative: 2 out of 15
  1. Reggae and spiritual self-improvement remain Matisyahu's foundation, but they're increasingly buried in the mix, allowing him to focus on his developing ear as a pop songwriter. Add in a few banjos, clarinets and a children's choir, and you've got an eclectic album that's unrepentantly over the top.
  2. On his incredibly busy album, Light, there are signs of diversification too. [Jul 2010, p.140]
  3. 60
    More stirring are te rougher dancehall textures of Smash Lies and Darkness Into Light's crunching guitars and soaring rock chorus. The latter produces the unsettling, but not unwelcome, result of resembling Soundgarden after a course of toasting lessons. [Jul 200, p.103]
  4. The biggest problem with his reggae is simpler: He's unequivocally terrible at it. Not only do we get fake patois, but also raging electric guitars and cluttered hip-hop production.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 1 out of 2
  1. GregQ
    8
    More accessible than his last album, Matisyahu is still a breath of fresh air (and a great, all-audience artist) in the reggae/hip-hop/dancehall realm. Expand
  2. Its just as trashy as I remember it after I listened to it a second time. I really dont know what Matisyahu was thinking. The album is so mainstream and pop and nothing compared to his previous work. Expand