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Oct 2, 201285Blessed with great songs, wonderful arrangements and vocal performances that seriously raise the bar in our expectations of what she's capable of, it is a record that shows real artistic growth in every area and is destined to become a classic that rivals Trailer Park and Central Reservation.
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Nov 21, 201280A great comeback from an artist who's been away for far too long.
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Oct 26, 201280Orton remains a luminous presence among often monotone peers. [Dec 2012, p.75]
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Oct 22, 201280Even in Beth's comfort zone, her acoustic band, produced by Tucker Martine, enrich some beguiling songs, with not a dud among them. [Nov 2012, p.90]
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Oct 22, 201280This folk-rooted album is ideal for listeners who think they're tired of folk music. [Nov 2012, p.94]
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Oct 11, 201280It's charming in every way, but still rooted in the pop folk that brought Beth to us in the first place.
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Oct 10, 201280Sugaring Season isn't a breakthrough, but it's a consolidation of Orton's strengths. [#92, p.58]
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Oct 10, 201280One of the strengths of this album is how Orton alternates moods while maintaining a sense of pace.
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Oct 3, 201280Album number five, Sugaring Season, is her purest work yet, stripped right down to the bare essentials and, as a result, it fits perfectly on an English folk timeline.
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Oct 1, 201280More important on first contact, anyway, is the feel of the music, which grooves. Really good.
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Oct 1, 201280Sugaring Season is sophisticated, mature, and rife with quiet passion.
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Oct 1, 201280This is a seductive if not immediately obvious piece of work, her adventures into folky-jazz work well, never straying too far from pleasing familiarity into all-out experimentalism.
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Sep 28, 201280She's continued to move away from electronica, but these rich, emotionally sophisticated songs (which will appeal to Cat Power fans) still have a strong rhythmic core.
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Sep 28, 201280Despite a half decade of keeping relatively quiet, Orton has emerged with a fresh approach, and a batch of songs both intricately gorgeous and, more importantly, a hearty distance from familiar.
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Sep 27, 201280The result is a fresh, autumnal album that's unashamedly mature yet impressively free.
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Oct 3, 201277There are no unexpected detours or superfluous tangents, just 10 songs of sweet resilience delivered by a voice of seemingly effortless expression.
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Nov 21, 201270The constant shifts in tone and temperament ultimately affirm Orton's unpredictable instincts, and give Sugaring Season a sweeter appeal.
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Oct 8, 201270The album slows to a crawl in its latter half, and that sense of lethargy ultimately detracts from the things Orton gets really right throughout.
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Oct 3, 201270The warmest songs are the least compelling, but in their way, they strengthen Sugaring Season for varying up the tone.
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Sep 27, 201270Although not all cowboy-ready, the album is steeped in country vibes. This style lends itself to the vulnerable nature of Season, a strong return for Orton. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.113]
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Sep 27, 201270On Sugaring Season she captures both the melancholy and the confidence that comes with growing older really rather well.
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Sep 27, 201270This delicacy was always the logical progression, and fans growing with Orton will find much to love about Sugaring Season.
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Oct 12, 201264[Thought there are] a few sweet moments on Sugaring Season--especially melancholic, piano-driven "Last Leaves of Autumn--it all feels a bit saccharine.
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Oct 4, 201260Even though Sugaring Season has a quiet, contemplative feel to it, the album's surprisingly full sound sneaks up on you, revealing a richness that doesn't have to fall back on synthetic rhythms or production tricks for texture and depth.
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Oct 4, 201260While the whole album can't quite sustain the easygoing thrills of its high points, going out with less of a bang and more of a whimper, Sugaring Season still makes a good case that it's better late than never that Orton is finding her own vision as an artist.
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Oct 2, 201260There is something elemental about Orton's folk soul; at its best, it sounds like the world's prettiest campfire music, all hickory smoke swirling into a starlit sky.
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Oct 1, 201260Her wisp of a voice has found more weight and with it more feeling.
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Oct 2, 201258Without a steady beat to ground it, Orton's music tends to float into the ether. And unfortunately in the case of Sugaring Season, this means many of the album's best, moving moments fade into the background.