Pushin' Against a Stone
by Valerie June
  • Record Label: Concord
  • Release Date: Aug 13, 2013
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
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  1. theBEAT
    Oct 13, 2014
    10
    A mix of traveling Appalachian folk and vintage blues soul, Valerie June's Pushin' Against a Stone is a stunning debut.
    BEST TRACKS: Somebody to Love, Twined and Twisted
  2. adhamhany
    Feb 19, 2014
    8
    Good luck trying to fit this album in a specific genre. There's blues, folk, some country, and other things too. And they all sound wonderful. But more than the music, her voice is truly enchanting. It feels like out of this world. The lyrics are beautiful as well.

    I wish more people would hear this. The best tracks: Somebody to Love, and the title track (it has a kick-ass guitar solo).

Awards & Rankings

98
#98 Best Album of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Rolling Stone
    Oct 18, 2013
    70
    Credit June's vinegary, slightly oddball vocals, equal parts Diana Ross and Dolly Parton, which guide each song like an old tractor retrofit with LED high beams: luminous, ancient, unstoppable.
    Read full review
  2. Blurt Magazine
    Oct 17, 2013
    80
    Pushin’ Against A Stone is an impressive calling card to the rest of the world that this, until now, under heralded artist is both an adept student of American folk music traditions and a modern day practitioner with perhaps preternatural talents.
    Read full review
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Oct 4, 2013
    89
    Pushin' Against a Stone showcases a stunning and unique new voice.
    Read full review
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