Votolato invokes real empathy with the drifters, losers and hard-done-by who populate his songs, not unlike a more folky Elliott Smith. [Mar 2006, p.110]
Votolato has a lot to offer as a musician, but his songwriting veers into stale territory too often over the course of 12 songs, neglecting to pull itself from its many holding patterns in time for salvation.
On Makers, Votolato rarely digs deep enough to scar, and he tends to wander where he thinks inspiration might live instead of letting it find him. [#70, p.110]
this album is beautiful. much more personal, insightful and poigniant than his earlier albums, even though those albums are terriffic. The this album is beautiful. much more personal, insightful and poigniant than his earlier albums, even though those albums are terriffic. The critic reviews are complete bullshit here, the pitchfork review even spelled half of the songs wrong and it sounded like he never even really listened to the record. This is a great album for a rainy day, a long drive, or just to reflect. Makers is probably one of my favorite songs ever written.…Expand
The critic reviews here are bulls***. A), because they only pooled to poor reviews (this album has recieved high praises elsewhere) and B), The critic reviews here are bulls***. A), because they only pooled to poor reviews (this album has recieved high praises elsewhere) and B), had it been released last month, it would most definitly be album of the year material. If you know your contemporary folk music scene, you'll know that Votolato stands out at the forefront of the genre. He's like an early Ryan Adams, back when critics still looked at him as a promising folk prodigy. Honest, intelligent, simple music, theres nothing wrong with that. Now, I'm a huge Ryan Adams fan, but it's a crime to give '29' a higher metacritic score than 'Makers'.…Expand
For some reason, something about Rocky Votolato has always caused many critics problems. I recall the band Waxwing being referred to as For some reason, something about Rocky Votolato has always caused many critics problems. I recall the band Waxwing being referred to as "emo-stigmatized." Pretty strange, I never thought of them as anything more than a rock band. Either way, It is obvious that Rocky V is far too genuine for many people to handle, and is often looked at as being contrived, repetative, un-original, etc. Interestingly, in Pitchfork's terrible review of the album, they mention the song "Crabtree & Evelyn" from Burning My Travels Clean, probably the single worst song he has ever written. This man is not perfect and he does not claim to be. All one needs to do is listen to the lyrics of Rocky's self-titled album, which is amazing, to see where this man is coming from, and many years later, i do not think his aesthetic or his music has drastically changed. Some of the lyrics on Waxwing's "One for the Ride," (another album that Pitchfork hated) truly had meaningful affects on my life for many years after originally hearing them. Rocky's music is for people who know that they are trapped and that there isn't any way out, but who are still passionate and emotional about life and willing to keep working and fighting despite the impossible odds. This may not be the best album of the year or something that will win awards or blow people away with catchy riffs and lyrics and trendy stylistic nuances, but it's really good stuff and I will be listening to it for a long time to come.…Expand
A dissapointing album from one of my favirote songwriters. A Brief History is still his best, followed by Suicide Medicine. This album is A dissapointing album from one of my favirote songwriters. A Brief History is still his best, followed by Suicide Medicine. This album is just a little too repetitive and, quite frankly, boring at times.…Expand
