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Saint Bartlett Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

  • Summary: The latest album for the singer-songwriter was produced by Richard Swift and recorded in just under week.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Jurado may not be as concrete or direct as he has been in the past, but his ability to conjure emotion is still very, very strong.
  2. Clearly, the reduction in volume and scale has lead to fantastic musical growth--a fine, accomplished and emotional album that ranks among his very best.
  3. Blasts of feedback and other dissonant elements crop up at points, but otherwise this is an album of focused calm in both singing and playing, a vision of concern and empathy amid unease.
  4. Saint Bartlett, Jurado's ninth album and a perfect place to start for the uninitiated, succeeds mostly because it seems to attempt nothing in particular.
  5. Saint Bartlett won't change the opinion of anyone who's already had his or her mind made up on Damien Jurado, but for those awaiting a welcome fork in the road, the record more than satisfies.
  6. But for all the sonic changes and glimmers of hope, the best stuff here still sounds like boilerplate Jurado. Swift's production is at its best when it adds subtle atmospherics to the fragile melody of "Kansas City," or the dusty flourishes to the chorus of "Harborview."
  7. Uncut
    60
    Swift guides Jurado through the sub-Spectorisms of "Arkansas" and "Throwing Your Voice" with a sensitive touch. [Jun 2010, p.96]

See all 15 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of