Critic Reviews
| 100 |
Spin Cycle
Teetering between darkness and light, Hersh's somersaults have never been more compelling.
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| 91 |
Entertainment Weekly
As usual, the results are exquisitely unsettling... [3/9/2001, p.82]
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| 90 |
Magnet
Some of the lyrics are so biting they practically melt through the speakers... [#50, p.90]
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| 80 |
The Wire
Sunny Border Blue marks a return to a less considered, rawer style, and to lyrics which are nakedly confessional, mercilessly exposing her own and other people's weaknesses. [#206, p.67]
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| 80 |
Billboard
Beautifully strange and richly tuneful...
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| 80 |
Drawer B
Sunny Border Blue will go down as her finest album outside of the Throwing Muses because it’s her finest batch of songs.
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| 80 |
Sonicnet
It contains some of the most affecting work she's ever created, exploring the power of songs stripped to their essence, and the juxtaposition of delicate melodies with the explosive emotions conveyed by her lyrics.
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| 80 |
Pitchfork
Diminutive, but mom-tough, Hersh casually cusses her way through a baker's dozen songs that are as personal as ever, and far less cryptic than in the past. Her voice remains creaky and pregnant with emotion, matched against her signature bright-toned Collings guitars.
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| 80 |
Alternative Press
Understated but never anemic, Sunny Border Blue's tales of love, family and growth succeed largely due to Hersh's masterful acoustic guitar. [#154, p.81]
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| 80 |
All Music Guide
A few too many songs share tempos, melodies, and moods to make this a great Kristin Hersh album, but it's still a very good one that her longtime fans will appreciate.
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| 80 |
HOB.com
This is more of simply Hersh and an acoustic guitar than her last effort (1999's Sky Motel), but that just gives the appearance of other instruments greater effect. The emotional weight of her often unorthodox sentiments comes from subtle mastery of dynamics.
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| 70 |
Dot Music
Largely acoustic, the album showcases a beautifully brutal collection of warped love songs; pristine and jagged, abrasive and tender and always devastatingly honest.
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| 70 |
Rolling Stone
Astormy soundtrack to one woman's inner life that swings from acoustic guitars to explosions of layered vocals, electric guitars and the occasional lonely horn or piano.
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| 67 |
Wall of Sound
As with all her solo work, Sunny Border Blue practically bleeds with catharsis and introspection, but foraging through its dark interiors yields moments of strange, exquisite beauty.
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| 60 |
Q Magazine
These are skewed, disturbing, beautiful songs...
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