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Mothertongue Image
Metascore
78

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

User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

  • Summary: The sophomore album for the New York composer is divided into three suites of music.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. An exciting release that deepens with further listens, Mothertongue is a great step forward from Muhly.
  2. It's a gorgeous performance that anchors Mothertongue with its strength and solemnity.
  3. It's searching, quizzical, and filled with alternately fleeting and sustained passages of astonishing beauty.
  4. This is decidedly Muhly's vision, and though he plays only keyboards and a few other instruments here, he composed the entire album, which will go down in history as a cult classic for especially adventurous listeners.
  5. These three suites get under your skin in a good way, none more so than the final track, a haunting gothic tale of sororicide sung by fellow Vermonter Sam Amidon.
  6. Muhly makes more pastiche-y compositions, whose power comes from the incongruity of the comparators.
  7. Muhly has talent and an eager curiosity; the problem is, this inquisitive intelligence often finds more meaningful expression in his interviews (or on his gabby, regularly updated blog) than in his music.

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. JohnS
    Sep 15, 2008
    10
    This album is wonderful. Each section carries it's own emotion. I can not recommend this highly enough.