• Record Label: Daptone
  • Release Date: Apr 2, 2013
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
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  1. Q Magazine
    May 13, 2013
    80
    This is living, breathing music that avoids the trap of comfy nostalgia. [Jun 2013, p.94]
  2. May 6, 2013
    80
    An album for the ages.
  3. May 2, 2013
    89
    He's the finest true soul voice of his generation.
  4. Apr 11, 2013
    80
    Bradley and his band are such great interpreters and expanders of the soul tradition that you don’t mind the nagging feeling that you’ve heard these cuts before.
  5. Mojo
    Apr 9, 2013
    80
    His quiet, reasoning delivery works beautifully, and reminds one of the singer's instinctive ability to transform a song. [May 2013, p.91]
  6. Apr 5, 2013
    70
    It’s pretty uniformly vintage-soul stuff--barreling horns, wafting backing vocals, single guitar chords on the upbeat--but it never sounds antiquated.
  7. Apr 5, 2013
    68
    Victim of Love is ultimately a less successful record than No Time for Dreaming. For one, Bradley seems less connected with this set.
  8. Apr 4, 2013
    80
    it’s unfair to expect him to suddenly modernize now. He does, however, explore some unexpectedly psychedelic terrain here, which he handles impressively.
  9. Apr 4, 2013
    80
    Victim of Love is best described as classic and authentic without feeling anachronistic in the least.
  10. Apr 3, 2013
    80
    Bradley’s sophomore album, Victim Of Love, burns hard and slow.
  11. Apr 2, 2013
    80
    You hear him at the peak of his powers on the title track, whose acoustic soul reels in the band and lets Bradley tell his story, one wounded sentiment at a time.
  12. Apr 2, 2013
    84
    If you were a fan of No Time For Dreaming you’re going to be a fan of Victim of Love, and you shouldn’t really need to know anything about it other than it’s an album full of Charles Bradley songs.
  13. Apr 2, 2013
    70
    It's Bradley's voice that seals the deal.
  14. Apr 1, 2013
    80
    Victim of Love is meant to be taken literally; it's a rare and continued opportunity for a sexagenarian to finally get his chance in the soulful sun. Something the album proves that he's both appreciative of and not taking lightly.
  15. Apr 1, 2013
    80
    He’s lived it long and hard, and with this album Bradley continues to lay out all the goodness and badness of life and love, with soul to spare.
  16. Uncut
    Apr 1, 2013
    70
    A couple of the more freeform screamers may be a holler too far for some ears, but there's no denying the passion and power of Bradley's formidable lungs. [Apr 2013, p.67]
  17. 70
    The new album is a little less pointed [than his debut], and a good deal less surprising. But Mr. Bradley, once again wailing against the convincing grit of the Menahan Street Band, sounds bolstered by all the touring he has done over the last two years.
  18. Apr 1, 2013
    80
    Victim of Love showcases growth--and a sound not heard before on Daptone--while not straying from the gritty soul that established the singer; it is every bit as strong as its predecessor and more diverse.
  19. Apr 1, 2013
    80
    Its quality never falters over the album's 40 minutes, from Let Love Stand a Chance's gorgeous swoon to Where Do We Go From Here's tense funk.
  20. 80
    Victim of Love may only be Charles Bradley’s second album but it marks another remarkable footstep in the life of its creator.

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