• Record Label: Nylon
  • Release Date: Aug 11, 2009
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 27
  2. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. When the dust settles around the closing notes of The Bachelor’s outro, 'The Messenger,' it’s clear that Wolf has achieved that rare artistic feat: total catharsis. And a beautiful batch of it, at that.
  2. The Bachelor's overall tone reflects a nihilistic view of both romance and humanity, making for an about-face from the relative sunshine of 2007's "The Magic Position," and this tone is reflected in some of Wolf's most ambitious, baroque compositions to date.
  3. A rousing vessel in which Wolf has finally had the chance to channel his newfound zany confidence into his most extravagant and captivating record yet.
  4. Wolf's music has always held itself in reverence of a wild, untamed Mother Nature; and while The Bachelor is less organic and unfettered in its sonics than, say, the snap and crackle of Wind In The Wires, its message--to preserve all the things a broadband connection cannot provide for us--is clearer than ever.
  5. Richly textured electro-pop teems with flamboyance and sees Wolf come over like a cosmic Martin Fry.
  6. The power of this album comes from the mystifyingly cohesive blend of piano ballads, orchestral choirs, heavy metal, and completely danceable electronic.
  7. 80
    It’s a ravishing production, and with a companion disc promised next year, feels like a fresh start for a brilliant career.
  8. Under The Radar
    80
    Never cheaply manipulative or sentimental, The Bachelor is Wolf's most ambitious album both sonically and thematically. [Summer 2009, p.69]
  9. Q Magazine
    80
    Daft, complex, and beautiful, it's also his best yet. [Jul 2009, p.133]
  10. Wolf, ever so self-aware, makes The Bachelor's most intimate moments its most powerful ones, where the frivolity stops and the artist reverts to his eccentric, idealistic nature.
  11. Listeners who are not acquainted with the idiosyncratic vocal stylings of Wolf's Britpop predecessors (think of Bryan Ferry, Dave Gahan and especially Morrissey) might find his singing too over the top to take seriously. The way Wolf sees it, though, very serious topics require very dramatic treatment.
  12. There's little here in the way of cohesion, but Wolf demonstrates a nuanced affection for his craft that’s easy to appreciate.
  13. The Bachelor is a thoughtful record whose greatest flaw is only that it’s overthought (though to the fans obsessive enough to fund it, that’s probably a bonus).
  14. It's all gloriously indulgent--Wolf is one kook who should never try to resist his own kookiness.
  15. Wolf has often stated that he has no allegiance to styles when it comes to recording, but The Bachelor feels most alive when it's wallowing in its own dusky ruin.
  16. 70
    The Bachelor is quite a journey with a clear direction and theme. Wolf is going through an inner struggle and seeks to find a resolution.
  17. While The Bachelor is not a bad listen, it takes a little more energy to understand than seems fair for what it delivers.
  18. The Bachelor most damningly lacks the charm attendant with any of those character descriptions, continuing Wolf's ability to please one's inner music critic, but too often ignoring any sort of pleasure principle.
  19. The Bachelor sounds like another attempt by Wolf to perfect something that he got pretty much right on his first album.
  20. The Bachelor is the work of a hugely fertile imagination, skipping from the aforementioned Celtic folk to electro to glam, but one wonders how much more affecting Wolf might be if the grand passions were calmed down a little, the musical magpie impulses restrained a tad. For now, he's a little too much of a good thing.
  21. The Bachelor has more than a whiff of a histrionic West End musical confined to a primary school assembly hall which means it's 10 out of 10 for effort, but for execution...
  22. There’s talent here, but it seems Wolf’s spent so much time devising a plan to smuggle abstraction over the pop barricades that he neglected to pack the payload.
  23. 60
    His fourth album is a buzzing, overblown concept piece about psychic warfare, in which sheer force of will conquers icky stuff like depression and homophobia.
  24. Alternative Press
    60
    The London-based compulsive hair-dyer follows 2007's soulful breakout "The Magic Position" with the luxurious sounds of The Bachelor, the first half of a double album to mixed results. [Sep 2009, p.108]
  25. Patrick Wolf still engenders a puzzling and sometimes fascinating discussion about romanticism and pretension and authenticity and songwriter worship, but what’s disappointing is that he seems to no longer be a part of that discussion, simply the subject of it.
  26. Where his previous records felt vital and exciting, The Bachelor often sounds staid and predictable.
  27. Mojo
    40
    If you open your album with a song, 'Hard Times,' which rails against the mediocrity of the modern world, it might be worth ensuring it isn't the only tune out of 14 that sticks in the memory. [Jul 2009, p.105]

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