For Those I Love
by For Those I Love
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 33
  3. Negative: 1 out of 33
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  1. Ricko
    Apr 18, 2021
    9
    This is one of those records that very much has a wow factor. It's 46 minutes of catharsis and channelling of grief into something amazing. The album is a collage of beats, samples and field recordings with David Balfe's heavily accented poetry rolling over it. Balfe name checks many of his influences across the album including Mike Skinner and The Streets. Such is the scale of the talentThis is one of those records that very much has a wow factor. It's 46 minutes of catharsis and channelling of grief into something amazing. The album is a collage of beats, samples and field recordings with David Balfe's heavily accented poetry rolling over it. Balfe name checks many of his influences across the album including Mike Skinner and The Streets. Such is the scale of the talent here, "For Those I Love" would still exist with or without The Streets, but their is no doubting it would be in a very different form. "For Those I Love" is a special record and I expect it to challenge for the Choice Music Prize for best Irish album next spring. The biggest question hanging over it is the extent upon which Balfe relies on grief and death to drive the album. It works magnificently here but in my humble opinion the path forward for his art needs to have a different muse for it to be sustainable.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Best Album of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. The Quietus
    Apr 30, 2021
    80
    This record is full of deft brass lines, clever little melodies and memorable refrains. Because at the root of everything For Those I Love writes great pop songs.
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  2. Dusted Magazine
    Apr 7, 2021
    80
    For Those I Love is a wonderfully open-hearted portrayal of young Ireland akin to contemporaries Fontaines D.C. or the Murder Capital.
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  3. musicOMH.com
    Mar 26, 2021
    80
    Anchoring the album with his own painful history and never admitting defeat, Balfe has scripted a exhilarating album that contends with unimaginable loss whilst warmly celebrating persistence.
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