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Kindly Now Image
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 7 Ratings

  • Summary: The latest full-length studio release for the British singer-songwriter features five piano ballads.
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  • Record Label: PIAS
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Chamber Pop
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 10
  2. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Sep 15, 2016
    80
    He likes to throw an occasional hot coal into your lap, such as The Pugilist’s angry strings, and Comfortable Love’s rock torrent, somewhat Jeff Buckley-esque. Yet the naked, tearful Alright and Good Lust cut the deepest, when time seems to stand still in the face of Keaton’s suffering.
  2. Sep 16, 2016
    80
    As Keaton forcefully exclaims in The Pugilist, “I’m an artist, and I still have songs in me yet”, a sentiment he has demonstrated perfectly with Kindly Now.
  3. Sep 21, 2016
    80
    Some people may find the intensity a bit too much, and it’s fair to say that this is an album that you can only listen to if you’re in a particular mood. Yet the beauty to be found in Henson’s bleakness is undeniable, and in Kindly Now he’s created what could well stand as one of the best albums of 2016.
  4. Uncut
    Sep 23, 2016
    70
    The spartan tracks without drums, backed only by clumsy piano, remain highly effective. [Nov 2016, p.31]
  5. Sep 19, 2016
    60
    It’s on less conventional tracks, where his voice gets looped (March) or lost among electronic and orchestral textures (Gabe), that the desolate atmosphere really starts to take hold.
  6. Sep 16, 2016
    60
    While Kindly Now consequently makes for interesting, albeit heavy listening, the prospect of Henson’s next move is now all the more intriguing.
  7. Sep 15, 2016
    40
    His piano playing is beautiful, and there’s something of the instrumental magic of his 2014 album Romantic Works in the inventive string embellishments, but much of Kindly Now feels over-egged and overwrought.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Sep 16, 2016
    10
    Kindly Now is Keaton Henson's masterpiece! He has taken all the best elements of his previous work (Dear, Birthdays and Behaving) and hasKindly Now is Keaton Henson's masterpiece! He has taken all the best elements of his previous work (Dear, Birthdays and Behaving) and has thrown them together to mesmerize the listener! It is a personal and deeply emotional album on which he reveals parts of his inner soul. It is therefore not always an easy listen and it feels as if you are eavesdropping when you listen to the album. He has also taken longer to work on this album than on any of its predecessors and it shows. The man is a true artist. Standout tracks are Alright, No Witnesses and Good Lust. If you are a Keaton fan, you will LOVE this album. If you don't know his music, what are you waiting for?! Expand