by
Valerie June
- Record Label: Concord
- Release Date: Mar 12, 2021
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Mar 17, 2021A standout among her already impressive catalog, The Moon and Stars is utterly beguiling with a luster that only deepens with repeated spins.
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Mar 9, 2021June has given us an album that is powerfully, elegantly subversive. [April 2021, p.20]
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Mar 16, 2021The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers is June’s strongest whole document so far; it has such a crystalline, atmospheric take on her favored genres that it seems to exist both within and without the confines of those styles. Her singular, moving, astral take on songwriting appears fully formed with this album, and it’s as exciting as anything to see a promising artist truly deliver.
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Mar 12, 2021It may be called The Moon and Stars, but June’s latest showing for Fantasy Records is music to consume while perched by a window fragmented with sunbeams. Just the sound of June’s voice is enough to defrost any lingering icy memories of a cruel winter.
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Mar 10, 2021As June continues to shape her style, it’s clear she’s zeroing in on her muse. The essence of June’s sound is perfectly captured in the album title. She transports the listener through lush soundscapes that not only leave echoes; they leave a lasting halo-like glow.
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MojoMar 9, 2021The idiosyncrasies of her voice are showcased to full effect in soul showstopper Call Me A Fool, with dramatic rasping and swooping that some might find off-putting, but which undeniably underlines her distinctive character. There's a delicacy too. [Apr 2021, p.80]
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Mar 9, 2021June has never sounded more fully and thrillingly herself than she does on her latest album, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers, which merges pop ambition, folksy open-heartedness and blues wisdom.
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Mar 9, 2021The rest of The Moon and Stars is a similarly ambitious, dizzying jumble of genres and tones, and June manages to hold everything together on the power of her beguiling voice and charisma.
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Mar 17, 2021June tends to write in easy, sly rhyme schemes reminiscent of the late John Prine, whom she eulogized last April with a solo cover of “In Spite of Ourselves,” the famous duet that they performed while touring together in 2018. For every moment when this style borders on hokey, there are others when it feels complete in its Prine-like knack for waiting until the very last word to earn the listener’s smirk.
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Mar 15, 2021As much as you want to applaud this idiosyncratic soul outing, the straightforwardly acoustic, demo-grade Fallin’ is probably the record’s most lapel-grabbing moment.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 13 out of 14
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Mixed: 0 out of 14
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Negative: 1 out of 14
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Mar 13, 2021Slow burner, different sound/feel to her previous album "The Order of Time". It needs a few listens to fully appreciate. Excellent album
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Jul 4, 20217/10
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Mar 20, 2021What a beautiful day collection of deep cutting yet effortless songs. Valerie June has cemented her place in the future of Americana music.