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His last two albums also reflected his ongoing growth as an artist, but Supper's settled but intriguing warmth is an even bigger step forward.
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UncutThe tentative pop entryism evident on albums like 1999's Knock Knock is largely absent here; instead we have his gruff baritone take us through an increasingly uninteresting outlook on love and life. [May 2003, p.108]
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MojoWhile the music is a combination of old Smog and new... there's a freshness here, a sense of change, and most remarkable, a real empathy on display. [May 2003, p.89]
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Q MagazinePoignant and sincere, this is a Bill Callahan we could do with more of. [Jun 2003, p.104]
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Entertainment WeeklyLook beyond the music... to Callahan's uncanny vocals, which are placed unusually high in the mix, lending an eerily detached air to his deadpan lyrics. [25 Apr 2003, p.150]
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The churning, blues-rock approach is a recent (Smog) development, and too often it overwhelms the feeling of cracked intimacy that makes him great. There are other times, however, when it really works.
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The WireCallaghan has served up an album that, interestingly for his fractured vocals and streaming lyrics, is unusually coherent. [#230, p.61]
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While the album retains some of the lo-fi insularity of his earlier four-track work, the full band backing makes Supper more of a living-room album than a back bedroom one.
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"Supper" is superior to the particularly subdued sound of its immediately predecessor, "Rain on Lens," landing closer to the Velvet Underground-inspired stomp of 1999's "Knock Knock."
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Neither Callahan's trademark poetic gloom nor his even-keel misanthropy have been ditched in time for 'Supper', but it does see him breathing deeper than before and moving with a surprising spring in his step away from the claustrophobic intensity of his previous work.
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Supper is a fine accomplishment, a record of sad grace and folky simplicity that outdoes its predecessors and hints at a very worthwhile future.
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A strong early contender for Record of the Year.
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It is (Smog)'s most colorful, vigorous, and alive album to date.
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An odd, almost schizophrenic collection.
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"Supper" is Callahan's equivalent of Dylan's "New Morning." It's the work of a competent, seasoned songwriting veteran who exudes confidence.