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- Critic score
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- By date
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Apr 13, 2018It's not perfect (Hugs and Kisses is something of a misfire) but it certainly stands alongside the best of what Rouse has done before.
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Apr 12, 2018The overall production aesthetic is slick and appealingly moody, with the hint of a smile to reveal just how much fun Rouse is having dabbling in this sonic milieu. It's a welcome break after the heaviness of his previous outing and, with his smart pop songwriting and clear vocal delivery, the veteran singer takes quite easily to the role of new romantic bard.
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Apr 12, 2018Overall, it’s less of a curiosity than it might look on paper; not so much a departure as it is a confidently mapped-out alternative route.
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Apr 12, 2018It’s not perfect. It’s not really revelatory. But the guy realized after two decades of making solid folk-pop albums that he ought to put the guitar down for a bit and try something new.
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Q MagazineMay 11, 2018There's nothing here to quicken the pulse, but like an uneventful beach holiday it's the perfect place to pause and refresh. [Jun 2018, p.114]
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MojoApr 23, 2018Most of the songs are observations from an emotional distance. [Jun 2018, p.96]
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UncutApr 12, 2018He's been inspired by the Blue Nile and Prefab Sprout, but in truth the synthetic textures and drum machines bring to mind a more downbeat Bruce Hornsby. [May 2018, p.33]
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Apr 13, 2018It’s inoffensive, unobtrusive, innocuous and difficult to hate. But it’s also hard to get excited about as these songs quietly fade into the background like the music of the generally forgotten acts of the ’80s Rouse tries to emulate.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 3
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Mixed: 1 out of 3
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Negative: 0 out of 3
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Jun 6, 2018
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Jun 5, 2018