Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
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  1. Jan 25, 2024
    90
    He is now firmly established as one of the UK’s finest songwriters, making an album that should be treasured through the dark winter months. Sadness Sets Me Free offers hope and light for what’s ahead, in spite of the political slurry we find ourselves wading through.
  2. The Wire
    Feb 8, 2024
    80
    Although this record is Rhys’s most polished to date, he does squeeze in moments of strangeness – subtle and paired down, bubbling beneath lush production and melodic arrangements. [Mar 2024, p.52]
  3. Jan 29, 2024
    80
    Thought-provoking words, lush instrumentation – what’s not to like?
  4. Jan 29, 2024
    80
    Sadness Sets Me Free is a truly consistent affair, one of the most pleasant Gruff presented us to date.
  5. Jan 26, 2024
    80
    The result is that Sadness Sets me Free is both uplifting and comforting at once. It's also just different enough from most of his other work that it feels fresh and exciting, providing more evidence that Rhys is one of the most interesting and satisfying singer/songwriters of any era.
  6. Jan 25, 2024
    80
    Sadness Sets Me Free is a bold direction for Gruff Rhys to take 25 albums in, and for the most part, these risks paid off tremendously. Rhys finds solace in the exploration of himself rather than crafting the perfect LP, giving the album a unique personality that opts for honesty over anything else.
  7. Jan 25, 2024
    80
    Rhys’s melodies stay with you, and his wordplay is as pleasingly idiosyncratic as ever. [Feb 2024, p.89]
  8. Jan 25, 2024
    80
    It’s hard to recall a set of songs on which Rhys’s low-key radicalism and unquenchable sense of wonder have coexisted with such ease. [Jan 2024, p.24]

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