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Saltbreakers
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Saltbreakers Image
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 15 Ratings

  • Summary: The Portland, Ore-based singer-songwriter reunites with producer Tucker Martine (The Decemberists) for her sixth album, which is titled after her backing band.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. The A.V. Club
    91
    Saltbreakers is exceptionally strong, and it shows Veirs has more than just poetic whimsy up her sleeve.
  2. Dot Music
    90
    Veirs here is at the peak of her game, and as refreshing as a lungful of oxygen.
  3. Hot Press
    85
    By eschewing the careworn vulnerability so favoured by many female artists, Veirs allows her remarkable songcraft and ornate use of language to shine.
  4. AllMusic
    80
    Upon first listen, Saltbreakers feels significantly less chilly than 2005's sparse Year of Meteors, but further spins reveal a dark core that radiates warmth only intermittently.
  5. Mojo
    80
    This remains at its essence an album of beguiling, rain-splashed intimacy. [May 2007, p.106]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. cokemachineglow
    77
    Veirs’ songs are content to be four-minute pop numbers that exude hooks and instrumental magic; her album is content to be a collection of these songs, with no big finish or three-act dramatic arc.
  7. Pitchfork
    47
    The record grows soggy with Veirs' over-reliance on nautical themes.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. MattD.
    Apr 16, 2007
    9
    Ok, that does it. I'm not even going to Pitchfork to try to learn about new artists. None of their reviewers knows what they are talking Ok, that does it. I'm not even going to Pitchfork to try to learn about new artists. None of their reviewers knows what they are talking about. This CD has some enchanting songs where you can really use your imagination and visualize. But she also complements these songs with the sing-along song "Saltbreakers" and the punky "Phantom Mountain." A well rounded and inventive CD.… Expand
  2. FlemmingF
    Mar 28, 2007
    9
    Up there with her best (being Carbon Glacier). Catchy as hell.
  4. BrettN
    Apr 28, 2007
    8
    Pitchfork is usually out of line. I think their take on the Sufjan Stevens' relationship here is way off base and ignores the temporal Pitchfork is usually out of line. I think their take on the Sufjan Stevens' relationship here is way off base and ignores the temporal relationship of the emergence of these two artists. I rarely pay any attention to Pitchfork (I hate even having to capitalize it, because I don't think it merits such importance).… Expand
  5. Dan
    May 3, 2007
    8
    Has anyone noticed that Veirs' best song to date and the best song I heard this year thus far is on this album? "Drink Deep" is Has anyone noticed that Veirs' best song to date and the best song I heard this year thus far is on this album? "Drink Deep" is absolutely stunning!… Expand
  6. thrownfree
    May 13, 2007
    8
    Here's the problem with the pitchfork review: The writer, by his own admission, decided before he gave the album a chance--or even, Here's the problem with the pitchfork review: The writer, by his own admission, decided before he gave the album a chance--or even, probably, a listen--that it was imitative. It then goes on to fulfill his expectations. So, yeah, let's not even try to be disinterested. I found the album less obviously outstanding than Year of Meteors, but there's much to love. Far from "adult contemporary" instrumentation (as the pitchfork reviewer states), the musicianship is infectious, articulate, but never hints at either melodrama or a sterile, "boxed" studio sound. Though I loved YofM, I found some of Veirs' lyrics overwrought. Lyrically, this album is stronger, the images somehow more direct and less fussy.… Expand
  7. TimB
    Apr 18, 2007
    7
    Not as good as her last 2 albums but still really enjoyable and far far better than the Pitchfork review will lead you to believe
  8. CaptainWacky
    Apr 29, 2007
    7
    Ha ha, suck shit Pitchfork! Wrong again! I haven't actually been madly in love with much that Laura's done since her early EPs, but Ha ha, suck shit Pitchfork! Wrong again! I haven't actually been madly in love with much that Laura's done since her early EPs, but it's still good to see some chicks on the bench. Keep up the good work, toots.… Expand

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