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Jan 12, 2015Like Earle's best work, Absent Fathers is low on flash and high on emotional honesty and perceptive songwriting, and paired with Single Mothers this is some of his most intelligent and moving music to date.
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Feb 18, 2015While not his best effort to date, there are still some standout songs on this one.
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Jan 13, 2015Almost every song has a mournful tone, and too many sound alike: slow, ponderous ballads steeped in negativity.
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Classic Rock MagazineFeb 26, 2015The basic country sounds frame a compelling singer. [Apr 2015, p.97]
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Jan 7, 2015Absent Fathers, Earle’s sixth album, is a distinct and deeply personal statement about the search for a rock, an anchor, anything to keep from floating into the ether when it feels like there’s nothing left to hold on to.
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Jan 28, 2015The problem is that Earle's melancholy has taken primacy over his songwriting, which is uncharacteristically generic here, making this subdued and plodding release a career low.
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Jan 7, 2015It’s subtle, it won’t grab you by the lapels, much less the jockstrap or G-string, but it does carry that twangy tang of life.
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Jan 14, 2015Absent Fathers doesn't offer much in the way of answers--it's more a snapshot of a process.
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Jan 13, 2015While the album’s primary appeal may come from the rich storytelling in Earle’s songs, the musicality on display is nothing to balk at either.
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Q MagazineJan 7, 2015Although recorded at the same time as Mothers, Absent Fathers sounds more cohesive, Earle's vocals stronger, the playing a little more direct. [Feb 2015, p.117]
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Jan 7, 2015While Steve’s fingerprints continue to leave a few smudges, six albums in, Justin looks like he’s better equipped than ever to step out of the shadow--and he’s apparently done so by exorcising a few ghosts.
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Jan 13, 2015With the separate releases of Single Mothers and Absent Fathers, Earle has made two distinct albums that manage to succeed both as standalone and complementary works.
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Jan 12, 2015Both albums [Single Mothers and Absent fathers], particularly Absent Fathers, are a finely tuned wallow in male heartache.
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Apr 29, 2015Life has been a struggle for the son of Steve but the closing track, Looking for a Place to Land, suggests there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
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UncutJan 7, 2015A very fine record, for sure, but Earle has a nagging habit of stopping just short of the hands-down classic he's capable of. [Feb 2015, p.78]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 7
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Mixed: 2 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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Feb 18, 2016
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Jan 19, 2015