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The Old Fabled River Image
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 5 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Record Label: Drag City
  • Genre(s): Folk, Celtic, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Neo-Traditional Folk, Indie Folk, British Folk, International, Contemporary Celtic
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Aug 24, 2021
    90
    The Old Fabled River is an exceptional record, a powerful example of a living folk music based on exchanging stories and remaking cultures in the process.
  2. Aug 24, 2021
    80
    The Old Fabled River is a moving and inspired collection that followers of both folk and experimental music will find greatly rewarding.
  3. Uncut
    Aug 24, 2021
    80
    On Robert Burns' "Song Composed In August," the voices lend beautifully in a seasonal (temporary?) celebration of love. [Sep 2021, p.33]
  4. Mojo
    Aug 24, 2021
    80
    The Old Fabled River deals only in wistful enchantment, with four, typically bardic, otherworldly Roberts originals augmented by traditional ballads and a brace of Norwegian hymnals, achingly emoted by saxophonist Marthe Lea. [Aug 2021, p.88]
  5. The Wire
    Sep 1, 2021
    80
    Musically, it’s a perfect mix. It didn’t seem possible to top Roberts’s association with Amble Skuse and the great David McGuinness, but Völvur’s use of saxophone and fiddle, paired with Roberts’s deceptively relaxed picking, makes for a perfect, unpredictable setting. Nothing synthetic here. The word, if you want it, is syncretistic. [Sep 2021, p.57]