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My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
by
My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross Image
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 18 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

  • Summary: The first new full-length studio release from Anohni since 2016 solo LP Hopelessness was produced by Jimmy Hogarth.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. The Observer (UK)
    Jul 10, 2023
    100
    Recorded quickly, with most of the 10 songs featuring Anohni’s original vocal takes, it’s an album that manages to wear its heaviness lightly and quickly buries its way under your skin.
  2. Uncut
    Jul 5, 2023
    90
    A stunning record. [Aug 2023, p.23]
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  3. The Wire
    Jul 11, 2023
    90
    Riveting. .... The lucidity behind every message on My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross is arresting, as it is drawing from a well of pure emotion that can be comprehended in full. [Jul 2023, p.48]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. The Guardian
    Jul 6, 2023
    80
    My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross feels like a particularly powerful entry in her discography: surrounded by music that’s beautiful but relatively straightforward, that voice seems more extraordinary still.
  5. Rolling Stone
    Jul 10, 2023
    80
    The push and pull of passiveness and assertiveness on My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross feels organic at every turn. Sometimes the music can be a little too loose, careening like an out-of-control car (especially on the discordant “Go Ahead”), but the slackness is worth the freedom of hearing Anohni’s voice fly like the bird she became years ago.
  6. The Line of Best Fit
    Jul 7, 2023
    80
    The instrumentation on My Back is gentle, self-conscious, and loose in structure while that on her earlier works is poised and intricate. This rawness doesn’t make it any less powerful; it intensifies the despondency haze that hangs in the air of each song like a yet-to-rain nimbus.
  7. Slant Magazine
    Jul 5, 2023
    60
    Anohni’s charting of various cycles of decay and change have the weight and import of a Greek tragedy. It’s a pity, then, that so much of the music on My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross underserves her anguished storytelling.

See all 18 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. fabbber
    Jul 21, 2023
    10
    A masterpiece about all the s*** in this world right now in one of the most beautiful and dramatic voices of our time
  2. Lajaleaa
    Aug 22, 2023
    7
    Of course, there is a high sense of soul in this album, but I'm not sure if I'm catching the same vibes as everyone else. The lyrics and theOf course, there is a high sense of soul in this album, but I'm not sure if I'm catching the same vibes as everyone else. The lyrics and the compositions are on place, but it feels like they are not moving very much, like listening to a ghost singing and floating on the corner of some room on this house. It's not hard to see the memories, the writings on the wall, you know, the time that has passed so windy through this house, but this album doesn't precisely let you find the ghost echoing in all of these rooms, and by the time you get to the end of the album, you sense that strong presence near you, but it is so gassy, that it, kinds of, leaves you empty-handed.… Expand
  4. ernis_v
    Sep 1, 2023
    6
    While Hopelessness was just a teeny tiny bit on the line of cringe that comes from a white, privileged woman singing about the world’s issues,While Hopelessness was just a teeny tiny bit on the line of cringe that comes from a white, privileged woman singing about the world’s issues, this bridge on her back for me to cross is full-on camping on that line. Got so excited to experience a new album by Anohni, especially with Marsha P. Johnson on the cover, but the end result is just meh. blergh. :/… Expand
  5. StevenX
    Aug 19, 2023
    3
    While the new musical approach (r&b/jazz) softens the blow a bit when it's low-key (which unfortunately doesn't usually last in thisWhile the new musical approach (r&b/jazz) softens the blow a bit when it's low-key (which unfortunately doesn't usually last in this overwrought-as-usual set), it isn't enough to save ANOHNI if her idea of lyrics are "i don't want you to be dead" and "i can use you like a toilet". The voice is in ultrawarble mode to the point that "Scapegoat" especially sounds like this ultimate drama queen's microphone is broken. Then again, would that be so bad if this is what happens when it's on? The highlight is when the music finally matches the vocal histrionics on "Rest", and by then it's close but still too late. Yikes.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best Album of 2023
72
#72 Most Discussed Album of 2023

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