Even in Exile
by James Dean Bradfield
  • Record Label: Montyray
  • Release Date: Aug 14, 2020
Metascore
83

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. Clash Music
    Aug 12, 2020
    90
    One of our greatest living guitarists has conjured up something truly special.
  2. The Observer (UK)
    Aug 17, 2020
    80
    Bradfield supplies his usual tender bombast. Some of it could be sketches for a musical, and there’s real intelligence and verve to the electronic, acoustic and orchestral arrangements, with surprising yet successful touches of prog and psychedelia.
  3. AllMusic
    Aug 14, 2020
    80
    The key to Bradfield's album is how it respectfully salutes Jara while conveying the emotions and ideas stirred within the singer/songwriter -- a rare trick that is quite compelling on this urgent yet nuanced song cycle.
  5. Classic Rock Magazine
    Aug 14, 2020
    80
    Bradfield’s invention knows no bounds as he shines light on the darkest corners of history.
  6. musicOMH.com
    Aug 13, 2020
    80
    The powerful Santiago Sunrise closes the album, confirming Even In Exile to be an undoubtedly impressive outing, both in terms of being an engaging, impactful set of songs but also as an educational exercise in shining further light on an important musician and cultural figure.
  7. The Independent (UK)
    Aug 13, 2020
    80
    A master at cramming elaborate lines into verses far too small for them, Bradfield could have made Even in Exile a wordy tangle of exotic oppressions. Instead, to draw parallels with the “acceptable” brutalising of today’s socialist figures, he takes a more impressionistic approach.
  8. Q Magazine
    Aug 12, 2020
    80
    It's a record that draws you in, first with its story, and then with its songs. [Aug 2020, p.106]
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  9. Uncut
    Aug 12, 2020
    80
    Jara's story gives a dramatic, yearning quality to the libretto that suits Bradfield's epic style, and allows a sense of unity to emerge through individual songs. [Sep 2020, p.27]
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  10. Mojo
    Aug 12, 2020
    80
    Protest songs can be dour, but Bradfield dresses lyrics adapted from the poems of Patrick Jones in his most ornately uplifting arrangements. [Sep 2020, p.85]
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  11. New Musical Express (NME)
    Aug 12, 2020
    80
    It’s a deft, heartfelt and above all personal record that pays fitting tribute to Jara’s immense legacy, all the while providing a platform for some of Bradfield’s finest songwriting in recent years.
  12. Under The Radar
    Aug 12, 2020
    80
    Building impeccably upon the foundations laid by its successor back in 2006, Even In Exile is an album that fully illustrates Bradfield’s stature as a solo artist of some repute.
  13. Beats Per Minute
    Aug 18, 2020
    70
    Even if it’s a bit much at times, Even in Exile could well be the best record Bradfield has lent his voice to since 2009’s Journal for Plague Lovers; it’s not a classic, but a very strong, autumnal call to arms.
  14. DIY Magazine
    Aug 13, 2020
    60
    With more focus, this could have felt quite vital.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. cameron326
    Aug 17, 2020
    10
    A brilliant and sonically adventurous album from Britain’s most underrated songwriter. Strong from start to finish.
  2. JoshuaInsole
    Aug 25, 2020
    9
    Absolutely outstanding. Gave me chills as soon as 'Recuerda' exploded into that huge chorus. Beautiful, delicate, hard-hitting, powerful.
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