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Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

  • Summary: Michael Collins is joined by a full band--plus guests like Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood--on his second album as Drugdealer.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Uncut
    Apr 18, 2019
    80
    This is another unhurried set of expertly played FM gold. [May 2019, p.27]
  2. The Wire
    Jun 20, 2019
    80
    Sounds as if it could have been recorded in the city 50 years ago with a hotshot producer like Bones Howe or Curt Boettcher at the helm. ... “If You Don’t Know Now, You Never Will” might be the best example of this delicate balance, with the track “Fools” being the second; even though that song sometimes leans into mid-1970s schlock territory best left to Boz Scaggs or Andrew Gold. [Jun 2019, p.65]
  3. Apr 18, 2019
    80
    A collection of authentic songs about self-discovery and understanding.
  4. Apr 19, 2019
    80
    Fulfills all the promise of the debut and more.
  5. Apr 24, 2019
    80
    What unites the songs, if anything, is a breezy insouciance that belies careful construction. You get the sense that, like Yeats’ women, this is an album that must “labor to be beautiful.” It hides the work very well behind a sunny façade, but you don’t get movie-perfect string swells and luminous vintage keyboard lines and cheerful blurts of all-hands brass without a certain amount of forethought. Consider Collins the impresario, taking what his collaborators give him and polishing it to a high gloss.
  6. Apr 23, 2019
    75
    The second Drugdealer album isn’t quite the knockout it could have been, but it easily delivers on the promise of Collins’ debut. If his idea is to let this latest incarnation stick around for a while, we’re in for a real treat.
  7. 60
    It’s an album that feels made for technical appreciation, rather than necessarily engaging the listener.

See all 13 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Apr 22, 2019
    8
    An album of consistently strong 60s/70s inspired tunes, Drugdealer has made an album that flows just as you'd want it to whilst demandingAn album of consistently strong 60s/70s inspired tunes, Drugdealer has made an album that flows just as you'd want it to whilst demanding enough attention to keep you excited and interested.

    Instantly likeable, undoubtedly great, and completely inoffensive makes this album a solid eight out of ten.
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