- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
SpinOn these subtly lovelorn songs, his voice quavers with a grounded, lived-in authority. [Feb 2005, p.92]
-
‘Emoh’ is revealing at all times, but utterly dignified throughout, and it’s a wonderful solo record.
-
Emoh is one of the first surprisingly great albums of 2005.
-
It's a mature, accomplished statement for one of indie rock's most reliably miserable men.
-
UncutHe delivers 14 sweetly sombre neo-folk tunes that reveal just how subtly pervasive the man's influence really is. [Mar 2005, p.108]
-
While this new batch of songs is pleasant and often charming, they're not as memorable or passionate as Barlow's best.
-
14 songs focused intently on melody and chord progressions, not licks or repetitive riffs or tricky drumbeats.
-
Emoh is full of quiet lyricism and Nick Drake beauty.
-
The album has a sonic cohesiveness that makes for a consistently pleasant listening experience.
-
Barlow fails to write an indie rock standard, something he usually manages once per album, but EMOH still exceeds expectations.
-
As far as songs go, Barlow hasn't been this good in years.
-
New Musical Express (NME)Where once lo-fi underachievement stifled Barlow's outsider pop genius, 'Emoh' abandons dictaphones to the dustbin and sees Lou documenting his wonderful, incisively literate pop songs with something resembling sheen. [5 Feb 2005, p.51]
-
EMOH is a bit rambling, and could stand to lose a song or two so as to not detract from the its power, but considering Barlow's sometimes egregious prolificacy, these 14 songs are about as polished as he gets.
-
But while it's appealing to hear Barlow sound so contented as he approaches middle age, Emoh can't help but lack in the emotional immediacy so typical of Barlow's earlier, non-eponymous work.
-
This set of songs disappoints with its unwillingness to take real chances. Seemingly afraid to sound foolish, Barlow now sounds just okay.
-
It lacks both the lurching DIY energy and emotional intimacy of his more rough and ready recordings.
-
Those in search of classic Barlow would do far better to dig out their battered old copies of Bakesale.
-
Under The RadarThe lack of distinctive arrangements eventually diminishes the songs' individual merits. [#9]
-
Beyond its opening hat trick, Emoh dissolves into a retread of the same psychic wound, recycling the same themes with less inspired, more pedestrian results.
-
Nowhere near as affecting as even latter day Sebadoh records like Harmacy, Emoh shows Barlow in a typically maudlin frame of mind, but the starkness of his voice is smoothed over with pointless overdubs
-
Q MagazineLack[s] both the energy of Sebadoh and the quirkiness of his Folk Implosion project. [Mar 2005, p.98]
-
Barlow's precious melodies and don't-wake-the-baby vocals never reach fertile ground, making Emoh more Dashboard Confessional (or maybe Dadbored Confessional?) than anyone may be comfortable with.
-
Alternative PressAs singer-songwriters go, Barlow's not worthy to make a Starbucks run for Conor Oberst, Jim White, Joseph Arthur or Chris Carrabba. [Mar 2005, p.122]
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 17 out of 19
-
Mixed: 1 out of 19
-
Negative: 1 out of 19
-
jasoncApr 24, 2005easy to dismiss at first listen i've grown to love this set of songs.
-
[Anonymous]Mar 31, 2005
-
allenmMar 24, 2005