Countless Branches
by Bill Fay
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. AllMusic
    Jan 17, 2020
    90
    Countless Branches, perhaps due to its profound yet intimate vision as well as its craft, just may be Fay's masterpiece.
  2. Mojo
    Jan 14, 2020
    80
    Instead of meeting fire with ire, there's an attempt to provide calm, clarity, a space to contemplate what really matters. [Feb 2020, p.93]
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  3. musicOMH.com
    Jan 21, 2020
    80
    Countless Branches is just 27 minutes long, but it’s majestic. Its brevity allows the listener the chance to become immersed in Fay’s lyrical world of love, time and hope.
  5. Paste Magazine
    Jan 21, 2020
    73
    Listening to it feels like sitting down and soaking in the stories of someone who has seen it all, written in a direct, uncomplicated and emotionally resonant way.
  6. Pitchfork
    Feb 11, 2020
    78
    The album is beautifully and judiciously arranged, but a collection of bonus tracks on the expanded edition show how Countless Branches might have sounded with more instruments and more people.
  7. PopMatters
    Jan 22, 2020
    80
    Despite its shifts in style, Countless Branches is cohesive in terms of both sound and subject matter.
  8. Q Magazine
    Jan 14, 2020
    80
    The minimalism only focuses the listener on his searching, spiritual lyrics and lovely, time-aged voice. [Feb 2020, p.111]
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  9. Record Collector
    Jan 14, 2020
    80
    It’s a lot to take in, and fresh corridors reveal themselves with each listen; it’s questionable whether they lead to any answers, and Fay would be the last person to claim they do, but it’s an intriguing exploration every step of the way.
  10. The Line of Best Fit
    Jan 15, 2020
    85
    This is one of those rare records were extra additions aren't just unnecessary; fine as they are, the fuller arrangements of some of these same songs included here as bonus tracks suggest that Fay has cooked up material of such elemental and fragile beauty that any additional noises could easily scare away the magic.
  11. The Wire
    Mar 3, 2020
    90
    Countless Branches does nothing different, but seems to knock them all dead by virtue of its naked simplicity alone. Some of these tracks are scarcely crafted songs at all but simple musings, addressed to no one in particular, not even an inward self, just uttered over soft, slow piano chords. [Mar 2020, p.48]
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  12. Uncut
    Jan 14, 2020
    80
    It's a warmer interpretation of Fay's celebration of and concern for the state of the world than on 2015's icier Who IS The Sender? [Feb 2020, p.22]
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  13. Under The Radar
    Jan 16, 2020
    80
    Fortunately, with this, his first album since 2015's Who Is the Sender?, his status as a modern chamber pop mainstay is strongly confirmed.

Awards & Rankings

62
#62 Best Album of 2020

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
  1. Menios
    Jan 18, 2020
    8
    I can't believe that he released only two albums during the 1970s before his return this past decade of the 2010s. He is seriously underrated.I can't believe that he released only two albums during the 1970s before his return this past decade of the 2010s. He is seriously underrated. "Countless Branches" truly proves that, being one of the best folk albums I've heard in the last two years. It is a magnificently made albums, with very good and to-the-point production, given the folk genre's distinction, which is that it does not really depend on the production. In this album, Fay is frugal and his album is adorned with Doric simplicity. Hope he lives for many more years, to bless us with so fine folk music as this album.… Full Review »
  2. Lajaleaa
    Mar 22, 2020
    6
    ( 62/100 )

    Ausente de dirección, sin un concepto musical que realmente se pueda explorar y carente en intensidad que realmente pueda    ( 62/100 )

    Ausente de dirección, sin un concepto musical que realmente se pueda explorar y carente en intensidad que realmente pueda atrapar y sostener al público. La brevedad de la música simplemente se estipula como una invisible decoración que acompaña a las letras que cuentan prácticamente nada sobre la vida, su ternura e inmediatez. No hay nada nuevo o importante que pueda ser rescatando en este álbum. Otros proyectos tocan los mismos temas con más preocupación, poética y creatividad interesante o entretenida.

    Absent of direction, with no musical concept that could be really explored and lacking of an intensity that can catch or keep the public. The briefness of the music simply shows itself as an invisible decoration that joins the lyrics that sings practically nothing about life, it's cuteness and immediacy. There is nothing new or relevant that can be rescued in this album. Other projects treat the same topics with more concern, poetic and interesting or entertaining creativity.    … Full Review »
  3. Jamesone
    Feb 3, 2020
    10
    Another superb album both in the music and production. I have the vinyl De-lux version and it is a joy to listen to the high audio quality ofAnother superb album both in the music and production. I have the vinyl De-lux version and it is a joy to listen to the high audio quality of this record. The ten songs on the album are very good with a lot of space evident with minimal musicians used. The additional 7 songs on the De-lux version are bigger band versions of 4 songs from the album,two other 2 songs and a live studio version of At the Time of the Last Persecution.
    A classic.    … Full Review »
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