by
Jesse Malin
- Record Label: Artemis / One Little Indian
- Release Date: Jan 28, 2003
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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UncutThe Fine Art of Self Destruction is one of those amazing records that appear seemingly out of nowhere... that within a couple of plays sound already like something you've been listening to for years. [Album of the Month, Dec 2002, p.128]
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The voice asserts itself as the record sinks in, however, and not only does each song stand out, but the production variegates a sonic grandeur grounded in the rock verities.
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Rich in heart-rending beauty, tough-but-lovable gutter poetry, and plenty of genuine emotion.
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Thankfully, Malin has the heart -- and the tunes -- to pull off the tattered-troubadour trip.
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MojoMalin and Adams have managed to create a record whose fearless classicism is all part of the point. [Dec 2002, p.114]
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Q MagazineThese folk and country-tinged tunes are melodic, deft and emotive. [Dec 2002, p.108]
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An impressive look at Malin's musical maturation.
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BlenderMalin convincingly wraps his tortured warble around the dust-caked tunes. [#14, p.139]
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It's Malin's personal reflections, such as growing up a child of divorce in the Seventies in "Almost Grown," that give Fine Art its soul.
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As you're listening, the songs begin to sound more and more like play-acting, as if Malin's trying to sound like his heroes more than he's trying to create anything that's all his own.
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Alternative PressSounds like a good Wallflowers record. [Mar 2003, p.98]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 3
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Mixed: 0 out of 3
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Negative: 1 out of 3
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OrlaMMar 25, 2003
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ReggieEMar 12, 2003