Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. There is so much to go back to, beyond cheap thrills and catchy, yet dimensionless, hooks. An album for the ages.
  2. Love Is Simple is Akron’s most streamlined album, one that bridges their multitudes and, finally, puts forth a series of discreet songwriting ideas rather than merely splashing about in genres.
  3. The results are not only boot-in-the-ass surprising, but also the best thing the band has done to date.
  4. Often eccentric and unpredictable, Love Is Simple is wholly listenable because it is compelling, honest, and joyful.
  5. Suspending cynicism for a moment, this is their strongest release to date.
  6. Akron/Family do joy justice. You could focus on the psychedelic country folk experimentation and the odd song structures, but what you really take away from this album is pure childlike joy, even during the darker minor-key moments.
  7. It's as wild and heterogeneous as the rest of the band's work, and manages to bring all the elements at play in their music into the tightest, most carefully balanced equilibrium they've achieved yet.
  8. Under The Radar
    80
    The result is pockets of exultant moments when everything comes together and the joyful noise bursts through the clouds. [Fall 2007, p.78]
  9. The Wire
    80
    Although the hard-hearted and selfconsciously cool may dismiss them as the avant folk scene's answer to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, that's no reason to deny one's self the joyous singalong harmonies of 'Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead." [Oct 2007, p.71]
  10. Akron/Family have stepped into the light for the first time with Love Is Simple, and the results alternate between gawky and deeply enjoyable; the record is bursting at its seams with lovingly and vividly realized ideas culled from a broad selection of prior works.
  11. There’s some exceptional songwriting here.
  12. Magnet
    70
    The LP is an unpredictable and often euphoric collection with plenty to, well, love. [Fall 2007, p.90]
  13. In the end Love Is Simple is less than the sum of its parts. Its balls-out rock is fun but hopelessly overloaded (like, how many vocal tracks do these songs really need?) while its softer sections sound like brief intermissions before the guitars pick up again, making them relatively limp.
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 18
  2. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. MaxA.
    Dec 12, 2007
    0
    The most pretentious record of the year. Load and obnoxious band.
  2. MattD.
    Nov 19, 2007
    10
    I crank this album up all the time.
  3. Tyler
    Oct 8, 2007
    9
    I can't stop listening to this. It's hard to not let the hippie-acid-love trip intoxicate you. My favorite record of this year.