• Record Label: Nettwerk
  • Release Date: Apr 6, 2004
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Paired with his ever-fertile tunesmithery, ether-plucked choruses, and airwave melodies, singer and song beget a pop ball worth fetching again and again on Retriever.
  2. 80
    The genius of Sexsmith’s seventh and best work is the way he surrounds (or, depending on your perspective, atones for) the empathy overload with deftly assimilated, gloriously ascendant pop hookcraft.
  3. It contains all the things that you, no doubt, love about Sexsmith already: A sort of wistful but reassuring melancholy, beautifully simple arrangements, strong lyricism, and Sexsmith's trademark Kermit-like vocals.
  4. Q Magazine
    60
    He's shot truer and more heartfelt arrows than these. [Jul 2004, p.122]
  5. The A.V. Club
    90
    While Sexsmith's music once seemed both too precise and too remote, on Retriever, he brings a subtle urgency to a set of songs that could double as proverbs.
  6. If you know Sexsmith's work, then you already have a good idea of how good this album is, and if you don't, this is a fine place to get acquainted.
  7. Mojo
    80
    It is a pleasure to report that nothing has changed. [Jun 2004, p.108]
  8. Uncut
    80
    A rare treasure indeed. [Aug 2004, p.101]
  9. Chiming 1960's folk-rock and Beatles-tinged melodies can't quite pull Ron Sexsmith out of the moderate despair that suffuses his songs.
  10. Sexsmith has always known how to deliver a gentle melody, but his work has a new gravity on Retriever; it adds up to his best album yet.
  11. [A] very wonderful, very adult set.
  12. Sexsmith isn't pushing the musical envelope as intensely as he has on past efforts, and while his songwriting is as delicate and graceful as ever, there's simply nothing here that he hasn't done better or with more flair elsewhere.
  13. The same indefatigable hopefulness that sets Sexsmith apart also makes Retriever a bit tiresome.
  14. Sexsmith is incapable of dishonesty, insincerity or cliché in his writing or performance, but none of these melodies soar and the lyrics reveal nothing new for him.

Awards & Rankings

User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. matta
    Jul 13, 2005
    10
    Ron Sexsmith is a musical genius and this very well could be his best album yet. Twelve totally flawless, beautiful gems. The best album of the year.
  2. kikthae
    Dec 13, 2004
    10
    Genius Songsmith. Retriever is exceptional. Ron is at the top of his game, and that is saying something for a guy who rarely dips below inspiring.
  3. JulioC
    May 2, 2004
    9
    Ron Sexsmith never fails! Good example of good melodies.