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Oct 2, 2012Blessed with great songs, wonderful arrangements and vocal performances that seriously raise the bar in our expectations of what she's capable of, it is a record that shows real artistic growth in every area and is destined to become a classic that rivals Trailer Park and Central Reservation.
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Nov 21, 2012A great comeback from an artist who's been away for far too long.
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UncutOct 26, 2012Orton remains a luminous presence among often monotone peers. [Dec 2012, p.75]
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MojoOct 22, 2012Even in Beth's comfort zone, her acoustic band, produced by Tucker Martine, enrich some beguiling songs, with not a dud among them. [Nov 2012, p.90]
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Q MagazineOct 22, 2012This folk-rooted album is ideal for listeners who think they're tired of folk music. [Nov 2012, p.94]
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Oct 11, 2012It's charming in every way, but still rooted in the pop folk that brought Beth to us in the first place.
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MagnetOct 10, 2012Sugaring Season isn't a breakthrough, but it's a consolidation of Orton's strengths. [#92, p.58]
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Oct 10, 2012One of the strengths of this album is how Orton alternates moods while maintaining a sense of pace.
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Oct 3, 2012Album number five, Sugaring Season, is her purest work yet, stripped right down to the bare essentials and, as a result, it fits perfectly on an English folk timeline.
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Oct 1, 2012More important on first contact, anyway, is the feel of the music, which grooves. Really good.
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Oct 1, 2012Sugaring Season is sophisticated, mature, and rife with quiet passion.
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Oct 1, 2012This is a seductive if not immediately obvious piece of work, her adventures into folky-jazz work well, never straying too far from pleasing familiarity into all-out experimentalism.
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Sep 28, 2012She's continued to move away from electronica, but these rich, emotionally sophisticated songs (which will appeal to Cat Power fans) still have a strong rhythmic core.
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Sep 28, 2012Despite a half decade of keeping relatively quiet, Orton has emerged with a fresh approach, and a batch of songs both intricately gorgeous and, more importantly, a hearty distance from familiar.
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Sep 27, 2012The result is a fresh, autumnal album that's unashamedly mature yet impressively free.
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Oct 3, 2012There are no unexpected detours or superfluous tangents, just 10 songs of sweet resilience delivered by a voice of seemingly effortless expression.
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Nov 21, 2012The constant shifts in tone and temperament ultimately affirm Orton's unpredictable instincts, and give Sugaring Season a sweeter appeal.
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Oct 8, 2012The album slows to a crawl in its latter half, and that sense of lethargy ultimately detracts from the things Orton gets really right throughout.
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Oct 3, 2012The warmest songs are the least compelling, but in their way, they strengthen Sugaring Season for varying up the tone.
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Under The RadarSep 27, 2012Although not all cowboy-ready, the album is steeped in country vibes. This style lends itself to the vulnerable nature of Season, a strong return for Orton. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.113]
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Sep 27, 2012This delicacy was always the logical progression, and fans growing with Orton will find much to love about Sugaring Season.
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Sep 27, 2012On Sugaring Season she captures both the melancholy and the confidence that comes with growing older really rather well.
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Oct 12, 2012[Thought there are] a few sweet moments on Sugaring Season--especially melancholic, piano-driven "Last Leaves of Autumn--it all feels a bit saccharine.
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Oct 4, 2012Even though Sugaring Season has a quiet, contemplative feel to it, the album's surprisingly full sound sneaks up on you, revealing a richness that doesn't have to fall back on synthetic rhythms or production tricks for texture and depth.
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Oct 4, 2012While the whole album can't quite sustain the easygoing thrills of its high points, going out with less of a bang and more of a whimper, Sugaring Season still makes a good case that it's better late than never that Orton is finding her own vision as an artist.
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Oct 2, 2012There is something elemental about Orton's folk soul; at its best, it sounds like the world's prettiest campfire music, all hickory smoke swirling into a starlit sky.
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Oct 1, 2012Her wisp of a voice has found more weight and with it more feeling.
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Oct 2, 2012Without a steady beat to ground it, Orton's music tends to float into the ether. And unfortunately in the case of Sugaring Season, this means many of the album's best, moving moments fade into the background.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 6
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Mixed: 1 out of 6
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Negative: 0 out of 6
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Dec 19, 2012
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Dec 16, 2012