There's No Leaving Now
by The Tallest Man on Earth
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
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  1. musicOMH.com
    Jun 8, 2012
    100
    With mystique to spare, it's a record to cherish.
  2. Beats Per Minute
    Jun 12, 2012
    87
    There's No Leaving Now is one of the best albums of the year.
  3. Filter
    Jun 12, 2012
    82
    The Tallest Man on Earth continues his approach; it's both likable and rousing.
  5. Sputnikmusic
    Jun 25, 2012
    80
    There's No Leaving Now is an album that begs to be picked apart, but that can't be picked at.
  6. Clash Music
    Jun 13, 2012
    80
    With a voice that creaks like well-loved furniture and lyrics telling tales of the lives and losses of others, this album represents a career highpoint.
  7. PopMatters
    Jun 13, 2012
    80
    You can bring your emotional baggage to There's No Leaving Now, whatever its weight or shape, and Matsson will help you carry it.
  8. Exclaim
    Jun 12, 2012
    80
    There's No Leaving Now is another sweetly concise collection of ten songs by the eloquent Swede, whose nationality remains brilliantly masked by a Midwestern twang.
  9. Under The Radar
    Aug 8, 2012
    75
    Overall, There's No Leaving Now is a cohesive, wonderful album.
  10. The A.V. Club
    Jun 12, 2012
    75
    Matsson employs more (though still not much) instrumental shadings to his heart-rending songs on There's No Leaving Now, though he's still riding mostly on the quality of his songs and the spunk of his performances.
  11. Pitchfork
    Jun 12, 2012
    71
    It's a pretty and intimately rendered collection of folk songs, but those moments of jarringly direct, piercing emotion are few.
  12. AllMusic
    Jun 11, 2012
    70
    There's No Leaving Now succeeds best when he breaks out of that mode of one enjoyable enough ingredient constantly reused, or at least tempers it more thoroughly than at other times.
  13. Alternative Press
    Jun 8, 2012
    70
    Matsson's third LP is a wide-eyed exercise in water testing, adding counterpoint and pathos to his road-worn sneer and elegiac melodies. [Jul 2012, p.100]
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  14. Uncut
    Jun 8, 2012
    70
    Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson has upped his skill factors on this. [Jul 3012, p.84]
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  15. Paste Magazine
    Jun 13, 2012
    64
    There's No Leaving Now settles too readily into a single slumberous mood. It's all pull and no push.
  16. Mojo
    Aug 8, 2012
    60
    It may prove hard for Matsson to get heard above the quiet din made by so many others who clutter his field, but he's one of the all-too-few worth listening to. [Sep 2012, p.94]
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  17. Q Magazine
    Aug 2, 2012
    60
    A record that perhaps only Dylan fans need apply for. [Aug 2012, p.110]
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  18. NOW Magazine
    Jun 28, 2012
    60
    His third album is likely to disappoint fans and critics listening for those big, emotional climaxes, but Matsson's career has been defined by his ability to find new ways to paint with a limited palette.
  19. Consequence
    Jun 15, 2012
    60
    His raspy voice still aches and arches over the songs and caries his wandering soul and eager heart, but near every other facet of There's No Leaving Now is compressed, leaving a much smaller impression than his previous albums.
  20. Slant Magazine
    Jun 11, 2012
    60
    While There's No Leaving Now doesn't accomplish anything new, it never drags down the upbeat timbre of the singer's attractive moodiness.
  21. Drowned In Sound
    Jun 8, 2012
    60
    This is an agreeable record, but it comes from a man who we know is capable of something sublime.
  22. DIY Magazine
    Jun 21, 2012
    40
    'There's No Leaving Now' in fact resonates like the stark antithesis to Jeffrey Lewis' wry, comical anti-folk. It's dreary as hell.
  23. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jun 12, 2012
    40
    By the time he hits the solo, which sounds like a cracked organ from a crazy kiddie fair, you might find yourself thinking that some riddles are just not interesting enough to solve.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 39
  3. Negative: 1 out of 39
  1. TwilightSonata
    Jun 12, 2012
    10
    It's a different beast compared to his earlier work and admittedly, even I wasn't too keen on it to begin with. But having stuck with it, itIt's a different beast compared to his earlier work and admittedly, even I wasn't too keen on it to begin with. But having stuck with it, it soon had its talons in me and I can confidently proclaim it to be Kristian's best release yet.

    It's unlike anything you've ever heard before. This man just cannot be from this world.    … Full Review »
  2. logic
    Sep 17, 2012
    10
    I absolutely love this record. His use of open tuning produces some stunning guitar work. Any of these songs put in the hands of a bigI absolutely love this record. His use of open tuning produces some stunning guitar work. Any of these songs put in the hands of a big producer and a backup band could be pop masterpieces. Listen to this. Trust me.… Full Review »
  3. GSWstatic
    Feb 23, 2022
    10
    it may well have been 10 years but, I will never get used to how raw, moving this record is. from opening to closing the songwriting onit may well have been 10 years but, I will never get used to how raw, moving this record is. from opening to closing the songwriting on display here is some of the best you'll find in the flok blues world you will find. it's become art that has lasted and will always be in my life.… Full Review »
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