- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Alternative PressIt's a thing of subversive beauty, a striking debut that's self-assured and captivating. [Mar 2004, p.104]
-
The poetry of pain is so strong, and mixed with superbly produced music that doesnt take a nanosecond for granted.
-
SpinLike a Postal Service for hippies living off the grid. [May 2004, p.108]
-
Its ridiculously eclectic, yet uniformly affecting; a winter warmer that moves with a mysterious grace.
-
Me First proves to be a remarkably consistent and memorable listen.
-
Sennett twists and turns his songwriting more when he's alone than he does with Rilo Kiley, and while playing spot-the-influences isn't hard... it's also pointless in light of the album's genuine warmth.
-
A discernibly West Coast-influenced affair, it's an album of anecdotal moments set to a glorious country-rock backdrop: graciously sun-kissed melodies, vocal harmonies, neat arrangements and refreshing, varied instrumentation.
-
He may not be the first to mix the bucolic with the mechanic, and God knows he wont be the last, but here all the symptoms of overexposure sink under the unassuming grace of his gifts.
-
Entertainment WeeklyThe mournful harmonies and orchestral sweetening on some tracks... spread a seductively decadent sheen over the oddly uplifting proceedings. [27 Feb 2004, p.98]
-
"Me First" may not be greater than the sum of its parts, but it certainly is equal to them, which is a lot. [1 Mar 2004]
-
The overall sonic experiment succeeds, but the songs never quite attain the level of some of the band's influences.
-
Me First is a Sunday record, a rainy-day record, a home-alone record, a lying-on-the-floor, staring-at-the-ceiling record.
-
BlenderA casual, mostly charming sketchbook of diffident alt-country laments. [Mar 2004, p.116]
-
UncutAddresses the stained beauty of all things LA via psychedelic washes of keys, honking sax and country stomp. [May 2004, p.100]
-
"Me First" is an easy listen, but Sennett is not nearly as captivating a leader as Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, and the coming-of-age tunes aren't always strong enough to account for the album's lack of tempo change.
-
Peppered with dissatisfying, mommy-daddy emotastic lyrics, Jeff Tweedy impressions, and Four Tet-inspired, stop-on-a-dime, into-something-totally-unrelated segues that don't really belong on a country-twinged "let's hang out, drink, and make a record, dudes" kind of affair.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 6 out of 7
-
Mixed: 0 out of 7
-
Negative: 1 out of 7
-
merriamwebsterAug 25, 2004one word awesome
-
johnMJun 9, 2004A great album.
-
bearcrashJun 7, 2004the entire album is amazing. every single track is beautiful. im in love.