Strangers
- Ed Harcourt
- Band Name: Ed Harcourt
- Record Label: Astralwerks / Heavenly
- Release Date: Feb 1, 2005
- Critic Score
- Most active
- Publication
- Most clicked
-
Perhaps Harcourt's strongest asset is in making the hackneyed sound fresh. [#8, p.106]
-
90Comparisons to Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright certainly make sense, but the consistent personality of Strangers affirms Harcourt's unique talent.
-
90It's the sound of a man in perfect harmony with himself.
-
Harcourt... has done the unthinkable: fallen in love with a laydee and made his "happy" album. Luckily for us, it's the best of his career. [11 Sep 2004, p.55]
-
80If relationships were straightforward they'd be no need for albums like this. Thank god they aren't.
-
80The music is cheery even when the feelings are miserable; it's like rainy-day Smiths driven by pianos instead of guitars. [Mar 2005, p.140]
-
A devastatingly accomplished album.
-
[A] slap-happy hodgepodge of an album. [4 Feb 2005, p.133]
-
The warmest, most life-affirming album of his still-budding career.
-
70This is probably the record that everyone who bought the Keane album should buy.
-
70Clearly he's been listening to much Jeff Buckley... as Strangers throbs with that familiar bluesy bombast. [Mar 2005, p.112]
-
It's a very good effort, but ultimately it lacks the consistency of true greatness.
-
There's little rhyme or reason to it, and the whole doesn't equal the sum of its parts. But many of the parts are worth noting.
-
60Often he makes a lot of noise without really connecting. [Oct 2004, p.100]
-
60The intensity of his pain is inescapable in this exhausting explanation of what really becomes of the broken-hearted. [Oct 2004, p.124]
-
Sodden ballads rear their mopey heads in the second half. [10 Feb 2005, p.80]
-
Harcourt's piano proficiency separates him artistically from guitarists who tinker with mere chord-banging to accompany lyrics. There are a few misshapen puzzle pieces on this one, though.
-
60Pretty and pleasant without ever being especially compelling. [#67, p.100]
-
Suggests that he's finally coming into his own, albeit gradually and grudgingly.
prev
next
Page:
- 1
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 5 out of 5
-
Mixed: 0 out of 5
-
Negative: 0 out of 5
-
matta9
-
DavisW8
-
MusicGuy9