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Jun 5, 2017The thing about this album is, it shows the power of craft across the board: he's become a vivid, imaginative producer and now he's writing songs to match.
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Jun 2, 2017These songs--are inspired by seemingly little more than pure unencumbered joy. Which is a hard quality to come by these days. It’s nice to have something that’s so contagious it can rub off on us all.
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Jun 5, 2017There’s a lovely lightness of touch to each of these 10 songs and a real lushness to Auerbach’s production. Malibu Man and Stand By My Girl are the standouts, but really you’d be hard pressed to find a weak link here.
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Jun 1, 2017It's a complete, self-contained work that's just as finely crafted as its musical predecessors.
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May 31, 2017The final product is dynamic, with a warm, analog sound that brings out the best in Auerbach's writing.
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MojoMay 30, 2017As lush, escapist pop, Waiting On A Song is a triumph. [Jul 2017, p.90]
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Q MagazineMay 30, 2017It's moments like this [on Malibu Man] when Auerbach hits the classic soul button that his versatility really shines. [Jul 2017, p.113]
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MagnetJun 27, 2017The album has more in common with the genre-bending and expectation-shattering records of Shelby Lynne and Sturgill Simpson. [No. 143, p.52]
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Jun 6, 2017It’s not a world beater of an album by any means, but Auerbach’s ability to continue to branch out into things other than what he’s expected to produce can only be admired.
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Jun 5, 2017Auerbach’s career is full, and his work is constant, aspects seeming to deserve a vacation. Waiting On a Song represents that vacation: he’s having fun with friends, playing spontaneous, and performing tunes that pay ode to a “Nashville sound” and his myriad influences.
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Jun 2, 2017He's taken the right tack, tapping great talent to grow his retro style without just playing dress-up, creating a Seventies country-soul-rock palette part Lee Hazelwood, part Jim Ford, plus spare parts.
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UncutMay 30, 2017As imaginative as his guitar playing can be, Auerbach's vocals can be limited. ... And yet, Auerbach's obvious affections for these touchstones, and for these performers, more than make up for such shortcomings. [Jul 2017, p.34]
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Jun 2, 2017Still, competent and charming as it is, Waiting On A Song never quite has the spark to rise above homage and carve out something distinct.
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Jun 1, 2017While Waiting on a Song is casual in execution, it’s extremely intricate in construction, with each disco-string sweep, brass-section stab, and razor-sharp acoustic strum deployed with push-button precision. At times, the album feels less like a traditional singer/songwriter affair than a business card for Auerbach’s studio.
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Jun 2, 2017Ornate and sunny, the album is a love letter to '60s R&B and '70s soft rock, with lushly arranged strings peppering the songs, none of which are longer than four minutes-and, truthfully, none of which would sound out of place in an Urban Outfitters following a Leon Bridges power hour.
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Jun 2, 2017Even though this is unlikely to appeal to hard core Black Keys or Arcs fans, the songwriting effort (the sweet, sensitive “Never In My Wildest Dreams” could have come from Burt Bacharach’s pen) and detailed creativity of the arrangements is impressive.
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Jun 2, 2017It’s a perfectly pleasant ride to go along with him on, too, and given that ‘Turn Blue’ sounded a tired effort pretty much from the get go, this return to his roots will hopefully bode well for the band when they eventually reconvene.
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Jun 1, 2017“Shine On Me” sounds like a George Harrison out-take, while the kitschy-corny “Livin’ In Sin” (“Your touch is electrical/I’m so susceptible”) recalls The Beach Boys circa 15 Big Ones. But there are threads of sly invention woven throughout, most notably the unusual alliance of dobro slide and Bacharach horns that lifts “Wildest Dreams”.
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May 30, 2017Although it features a few radio-ready summer moments, Waiting on a Song never quite rises to the heights reached by its famous collaborators or canon-approved inspirations.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 13 out of 20
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Mixed: 6 out of 20
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Negative: 1 out of 20
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Jun 29, 2017
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Jun 4, 2017