Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows
by Damon Albarn
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. The Line of Best Fit
    Nov 9, 2021
    90
    While lockdown may have forced Albarn and many others through a dark period, it’s produced some of his most awe-inspiring work.
  2. AllMusic
    Nov 16, 2021
    80
    Unhurried and stark without being austere, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows seems suspended from time but not place: as misty and evocative as it is, the music is grounded in a specific location, which gives this elegiac, enveloping album an emotional weight.
  3. Under The Radar
    Nov 12, 2021
    80
    With each rotation of the record, Albarn’s artistry allows for discovering new puzzle pieces in a masterfully crafted way.
  5. New Musical Express (NME)
    Nov 11, 2021
    80
    Considering it was made during a time when we couldn’t go anywhere, this album is at worst a fittingly scenic trip through the places that inspired it, and at best a fresh new sonic chapter for Albarn and a wonderful way for you to leave all the nonsense behind; blissfully reminded that there’s a beautiful world out there.
  6. PopMatters
    Nov 11, 2021
    80
    After just a few plays, even the tiniest details begin to take shape for the listener. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows is a beautiful album, one worthy of the songwriter’s long and oddly-shaped legacy.
  7. The Guardian
    Nov 11, 2021
    80
    For all its exhausted, preoccupied darkness, The Nearer the Fountain is a genuinely beautiful album.
  8. The Telegraph (UK)
    Nov 11, 2021
    80
    The Nearer the Fountain may be Albarn’s most intimate, understated and impenetrable work yet. But if you are prepared to get lost in his self-involved hall of mirrors, you might just find yourself beautifully bedazzled.
  9. DIY Magazine
    Nov 10, 2021
    80
    Not only are many of the tracks here vocal driven, there are some single-worthy hooks too.
  10. Mojo
    Nov 9, 2021
    80
    May prove to be one of the most beautiful, tangentially produced artefacts of our strange and uncertain times. [Dec 2021, p.82]
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  11. Uncut
    Nov 9, 2021
    80
    Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows is soaked in a peculiar English melancholy. ... Best of all is the closer “Particles”, one of Albarn’s finest melodies, a woozy, drumless ballad based around a pretty Wurlitzer electric piano riff and a creepy electronic drone that gives the song a hymn-like quality. [Dec 2021, p.22]
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  12. musicOMH.com
    Nov 9, 2021
    80
    The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows is a lovely album, and a big step forward from Albarn’s previous solo effort, Everyday Robots.
  13. The Skinny
    Nov 9, 2021
    80
    An arresting blend of ecopoetics and meditations on grief.
  14. Beats Per Minute
    Nov 11, 2021
    74
    The Nearer the Fountain, The More Pure the Stream Flows is perhaps the deepest inquiry into the artist – but again, we don’t really know if what we are seeing in the mirror is real.
  15. Pitchfork
    Jan 3, 2022
    73
    The album’s most affecting moments zero in on Albarn’s close relationship with nature, one built on trust and deference.
  16. Exclaim
    Nov 11, 2021
    70
    It's a more focused effort than scattered 2014 solo debut Everyday Robots and more delicate than the bulk of his back catalogue, but Albarn's still drawing outside the lines.
  17. The Independent (UK)
    Nov 11, 2021
    60
    This is by no means an easy record to fathom, but it does show – even after so many years – you’ll never catch Albarn resting on his laurels.
  18. Clash Music
    Nov 9, 2021
    60
    It won't appeal to those who prefer his party anthems and vibrant disco, but for those who want to see yet another side to this most prolific of musical minds, it's a voyage worth taking.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 20
  3. Negative: 3 out of 20
  1. Ricko
    Jan 27, 2022
    7
    The majority of albums I have listened to involving Damon Albarn, there is a mix of songwriting genius and self indulgent nothingness. HeThe majority of albums I have listened to involving Damon Albarn, there is a mix of songwriting genius and self indulgent nothingness. He rarely makes a bad record but equally there always seems to be a few plodding tracks that end up going nowhere to be found. This is once again the case on "The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows". There are some spectacular songs, some only really shine through after many listens. Then there are a few others songs that lack anything memorable but are made interesting with some ambient background instrumentation. Ironically, after his recent Taylor Swift comments, it seems when viewed next to his work with other projects, Damon Albarn's solo albums suffer from a lack of a collaborator or foil on which to work with.… Full Review »
  2. daichislvt
    Jan 24, 2022
    0
    incredibly disappointing record, i was shocked to learn that only TWO of the songs on this album were self-written when he goes around givingincredibly disappointing record, i was shocked to learn that only TWO of the songs on this album were self-written when he goes around giving unwanted criticism towards artists who are best known for their songwriting.

    moreover, the 2 or more songwriters on each but two songs could manage to produce something so fundamentally disappointing that at certain points it seemed like the record was challenging justin bieber's ringtones album "changes" for the biggest ear cancer hazard i have ever experienced.

    in other words, it's a skip and a half.    … Full Review »
  3. kurono84
    Nov 24, 2021
    10
    One of the most beautiful albums of the year. Damon albarn does not stop and has returned to release a round album. 10/10
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