Love Is Here
by Starsailor
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. E! Online
    91
    Frontman James Walsh channels Jeff Buckley's soaring vocals so perfectly over those lovely acoustic guitars and pianos that you won't be surprised when you hear the band's named after a Tim Buckley album.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    As much as you want to tell [James] Walsh to calm down, this stirring debut wouldn't be half as potent without him. [18 Jan 2002, p.80]
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  3. PopMatters
    90
    Sure, Starsailor may be part of bloated hype-fest, but it's important to remember that sometimes things get hyped because they deserve it.
  5. Alternative Press
    80
    Starsailor back up their hype with a debut album worthy of more than a few cursory spins. [Feb 2002, p.80]
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  6. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Starsailor have produced a debut album of real emotional depth.
  7. AllMusic
    80
    Each song soars with intricate musicianship and melodic lushness.
  8. Q Magazine
    80
    Their debut bears the hallmarks of carefully assembled, widescreen pop-rock.
  9. Billboard
    80
    Starsailor is one of those wonderfully rare bands that manages to be gentle and sensitive while also rocking admirably.
  10. Playlouder
    70
    'Love Is Here' actually manages to deliver on all that early promise and, more than any of the singles that preceded it, completely conjures up the giant-hearted beauty they're capable of live.
  11. CDNow
    70
    Similar to the Radiohead-lite maneuvers of fellow Brits Coldplay, the bright spots (of which there are a fair share) are dulled by the facsimile presentation.
  12. Spin Cycle
    63
    The band, while heavy on charm, is light in its ability to demonstrate any diversity in its songs.
  13. Rolling Stone
    60
    Starsailor are the U.K. equivalent of the Goo Goo Dolls.... You may well like Love Is Here, but it could take a while before you admit it to yourself.
  14. Dot Music
    60
    'Love Is Here' - expansively, expensively produced, lavish yet aspiring to understatement (if such a contradiction can be accepted) and containing some affecting songs - is a pretty good record.
  15. Mojo
    60
    Love Is Here is juvenalia -- persuasive, and suggesting greatness should the band have the courage (or the license) to cut loose. [Nov 2001]
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  16. The A.V. Club
    60
    Love Is Here radiates as-yet-unfulfilled potential, like the work of a band going through the motions to get its foot in the door.
  17. Blender
    60
    If there's a fault here, it's in the slightly hand-wringing lyrics, which, of not overwrought, are certainly pretty darned wrought. [#4, p.123]
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  18. Pitchfork
    57
    Love Is Here isn't bad, and its prospect for radio play is far more appealing than, say, Train. The four just don't have the depth of their admitted influences.
  19. Austin Chronicle
    50
    The worst mistake you can make is to write off this band as just another sappy, sentimental Brit-pop effort, because you'd miss out on supreme moments of emotional clarity that far outweigh the muddier, more overwrought mistakes.
  20. Neumu.net
    50
    Although much of the record re-verses and re-crafts melodies in the same vein, there are a few gems that can't be missed.

Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Most Discussed Album of 2002
84
#84 Most Shared Album of 2002

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. TiagoD.
    Jan 6, 2008
    10
    Just awesome.
  2. mwaha
    Oct 22, 2005
    10
    Incredible, amazing, fantastic. Every song is a journey of considerable depth and intensity
  3. edt
    May 11, 2005
    10
    favourite album
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