• Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Sep 11, 2007
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Oakley Hall's almost indescribably transcendent quality burns through in songs like 'All The Way Down,' which rides amplified waves of fiery guitar and tuneful wailing, while evoking the reassuring fellowship of church camp.
  2. The slight psychedelic divergences and other assorted flourishes keep the album interesting, but they’re not enough in the forefront to make Oakley Hall come off like some permutation of psych-rock.
  3. The range is fantastic but never jarring.
  4. Though Oakley Hall's songs aren't catchy enough to be instantly familiar, I'll Follow You possesses a sound rich enough to warrant listening until they are.
  5. Under The Radar
    80
    That's what we get with much of the album--quintessential Oakley Hall, with brillant guitar tones and interplay, painstaking harmonies, a swirling attack, and an aggressive take on dour country songwriting. [Summer 2007, p.76]
  6. As skilled as they are, they also know when to just let their simple art stay focused, and it's this sort of unified variety that makes I'll Follow You a disc worth going after.
  7. The band seems powerful at their best moments, but may yet be too tentative to really grab hold of their own work.
  8. 72
    I’ll Follow You is a pleasant enough halfway point for a respite.
  9. I'll Follow You is a record that shows off the diversity of Oakley Hall's palette, country and folk and rock, equally important and equally imposed, and because of this, something worth listening to.
  10. Blender
    70
    Their hard-bitten Calvinist worry and storm-a-brewing' guitar tangle feel earthier than most back-to-the-land hipster escapism, especially when threshed out by roundhouse drummer Greg Anderson. [Sep 2007,p.129]
  11. Magnet
    70
    The only misteps are when Oakley Hall drifts into more straight-forward terrain. [Fall 2007, p.106]
  12. 'Rue the Blues' is easily the most euphoric thing here, with that banjo-tuned-guitar, um, pickin' up a storm, I guess, and Sullivan opening his throat when he sings.
  13. Spin
    60
    Patrick Sullivan and company hint at broader possibilities on their fourth album, verging on a nasty ZZ Top-like boogie in 'No Dreams," and tiptoeing into funk on the crunchy rocker 'Alive Among Thieves.' [Oct 2007, p.108]
  14. Sullivan and Cox are attentive enough to make room for understated fiddler Claudia Mogel, who keeps the band’s country flame burning when they flail and strut. None of this, though, is enough to strip the album of a staleness and fatigue
User Score
6.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Negative: 2 out of 6
  1. KennyM
    Sep 12, 2007
    10
    i haven't listened to this album yet, but I saw oakley hall open from bright eyes at the first show of the cassdaga tour...and they were i haven't listened to this album yet, but I saw oakley hall open from bright eyes at the first show of the cassdaga tour...and they were flawless, with a booming sound and energy that rivaled bright eyes. i expect this album will be great, but nothing like their live performance. Full Review »