Hesitant Alien
by Gerard Way
  • Record Label: Reprise
  • Release Date: Sep 30, 2014
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
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  1. Kerrang!
    Sep 29, 2014
    100
    Hesitant Alien is a magnificently oddly-shaped album that glides and jerks between styles like a turbo-charged rubber ball. [20 Sep 2014, p.52]
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  2. American Songwriter
    Sep 30, 2014
    80
    Hesitant Alien features some of Way’s best material yet.
  3. AllMusic
    Sep 29, 2014
    80
    For as much as Way refers to other acts, this is a thoroughly original work, a vibrant reflection of all his artistic obsessions.
  5. The Guardian
    Sep 26, 2014
    80
    Way’s audible enthusiasm for this music results in a confident, swaggering set of songs packed with joie de vivre, banks of feedback and walls of guitars and saxophones.
  6. Alternative Press
    Sep 26, 2014
    80
    Hesitant Alien has enough requisite cool and clamor to insure he stays both relevant and remarkably vibrant.
  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 26, 2014
    80
    Gerard Way has wiped the slate clean and started afresh, with invigorating results.
  8. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Oct 22, 2014
    73
    Within its contents the album very much feels like the debut record from a solo artist trying to feel things out on his own as a songwriter.
  9. Classic Rock Magazine
    Dec 17, 2014
    70
    This album is absurdly in the red with ear-loading fuzz as Oasis at their most cocaine-blitzed. [Nov 2014, p.96]
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  10. Consequence
    Sep 29, 2014
    67
    Whether all of these tracks add up to a cohesive statement is debatable, and it’s a shame that the album drops off so noticeably after such a promising start. But the good news is that Way has produced something infinitely more interesting than whatever the next My Chemical Romance rock opera might have been.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 58 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 58
  3. Negative: 4 out of 58
  1. AlphaMexican
    Sep 30, 2014
    9
    I think fans of MCR will be alienated at a first listen to this album. Which is a shame, because they will not be able to appreciate thisI think fans of MCR will be alienated at a first listen to this album. Which is a shame, because they will not be able to appreciate this garage rock/Brit-pop/pop punk, wonderfully executed debut solo album!… Full Review »
  2. AlexSunPraiser
    Oct 1, 2014
    10
    Gerard Way takes what was great about MCR and turns it into a brighter direction , great album , great songs and great variety. Excited to seeGerard Way takes what was great about MCR and turns it into a brighter direction , great album , great songs and great variety. Excited to see the artist grow and learn from his past work… Full Review »
  3. ImmersedInSound
    Nov 18, 2014
    8
    A perfect transition from My Chemical Romance into more mature territory.
    The songs on Hesitant Alien aren't all great and some are much less    A perfect transition from My Chemical Romance into more mature territory.
    The songs on Hesitant Alien aren't all great and some are much less interesting than others. But all contain the same Brit Pop feel which gives the album something very special.    … Full Review »
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