Critic Reviews
| 100 |
Entertainment Weekly
A transcendent and seductively personal sound.
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| 90 |
Mojo
Her songs, paradoxically both epic and intimate, shimmer and pulsate as their kaleidoscopic images and mysterious characters drift in and out of focus.
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| 90 |
Billboard
This time there's less gimmickry, more sympathy for the words and melodies. Harris... has crafted 11 profound, graceful poems that rank with the best songs she's ever recorded.
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| 90 |
Wall of Sound
Harris is making music that stands with -- and perhaps eclipses -- her most well-regarded work.
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| 80 |
Sonicnet
Red Dirt Girl is a model of tasteful genre blending: a little bit country and a little bit electro-ambient pop.
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| 80 |
Q Magazine
Five years ago she collaborated with Brian Eno and U2 producer Daniel Lanois on the ambient Wrecking Ball. Now she returns with a less intense but no less powerful new record that continues that album's heavy/ethereal vibe, courtesy of producer (and Wrecking Ball engineer) Malcolm Burn, but with a more melodic touch.
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| 70 |
CDNow
The songs don't vary a great deal dynamically. Harris' lyrics set Red Dirt Girl apart.
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| 70 |
New York Magazine
Though the album follows the path cleared by Wrecking Ball, Harris takes more confident strides... Unfortunately, a little knowledge of the recording studio can be a dangerous thing, and Red Dirt Girl occasionally crosses the line from mellow into mannered.
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| 60 |
All Music Guide
Alternately sparse and lush, Red Dirt Girl can be seen as a companion piece to 1995's Wrecking Ball... The diverse production only adds to Harris' earthy songwriting, adding interest to what could otherwise be lulls during the more subdued songs, and really showcases the understated lyrics that the singer has slowly become recognized for.
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| 50 |
Rolling Stone
This collection of mostly originals, her first since 1985's The Ballad of Sally Rose, is swamped in beauty: swooning vocal harmonies; delicate poetics; lilting Celticisms.... But Red Dirt Girl is stiflingly exquisite.
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| 50 |
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
What a weird (dishonest? ironic? clueless?) name for a record that's all literature and arty sound effects.
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| 40 |
Spin
Mud-footed trip-hop production... [Nov. 2000, p.208]
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