Buy Now
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Sep 7, 2016This may be Cline's quietest recording, but it is one of his finest.
-
Aug 17, 2016On Lovers, Cline is effective at making re-interpreted songbook selections his own.
-
Aug 4, 2016Lovers is, simultaneously, Nels Cline’s most ambitious and most straightforward project.
-
Aug 12, 2016When he steps away from alt-country-rock (or whatever you want to call Jeff Tweedy et al) Cline tends to veer towards a more experimental jazz sound and this is where Lovers really surprises.
-
Aug 4, 2016The orchestra’s nearly perfect. Cline’s selections are non-traditional but trustworthy and intelligent. The album keeps a persistent mood even as it reflects on the mood. But 80 minutes of it requires patient listening, and there aren’t enough moments to really grab here.
-
Aug 4, 2016There are certainly lulls among the 18 tracks, moments of randomness, and even an occasional lack of direction. But if Cline is indeed trying to conjure a feeling of romance through instrumental jazz, he's done just that on this record.
-
MagnetAug 11, 2016Although one of his most accessible, it's not constrained to formula. ... It was worth the wait. [No. 134, p.54]
-
Aug 8, 2016Almost half of the first CD is made up of Cline originals, and these pale a bit in comparison with the surrounding material. Though thanks to its sly and measured embrace of the experimental, Lovers still has all the originality it needs to endear.
-
Aug 5, 2016It’s that sense of timelessness--and, yes, mood--that makes Lovers such an essential collection both for Nels Cline fans and anyone who believes in the beauty and power of jazz.
-
Aug 4, 2016Lovers is a departure for Wilco guitar swami Nels Cline, whose side projects generally involve free-jazz freakouts. That's not to say this wordless double-disc set, featuring an all-star orchestra full of sharp improvisers, isn't wildly inventive in its water-colored way.
-
Aug 18, 2016Blending Cline originals and recent covers with reimagined standards by the likes of Jerome Kern and Rodgers & Hart, all realised in beautifully enigmatic arrangements which wrap woodwind, horns, strings and tuned percussion around Cline’s guitar. Throughout, atmosphere is paramount.
-
UncutAug 5, 2016[A] splendid debut for Blue Note. ... Backed by a brilliant ensemble of strings, wind and percussion, Cline's guitar creeps stealthily through arrangements elegant and enigmatic, lush and low. [Sep 2016, p.71]
Awards & Rankings
There are no user reviews yet.