Sun on the Square
by The Innocence Mission
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
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  1. Paste Magazine
    Jun 28, 2018
    81
    All told, the album feels like a hand-crafted work of art, put together carefully by its creators, charmingly imperfect but much preferred over a mass-produced piece with no stitch out of place, and no soul to match.
  2. Q Magazine
    Jul 3, 2018
    80
    A set that sounds hauled up from another time and place. [Aug 2018, p.111]
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  3. Mojo
    Jun 28, 2018
    80
    While subsequent albums have traced the faultlines of parenthood, until now on the exquisite Sun On he Square, their teenage kids are leaving home. Everywhere, Peris notes absence. [Aug 2018, p.94]
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  5. Uncut
    Jun 28, 2018
    80
    At the fluttering heart of this 10th album is the voice of Karen Peris. Her phrasing and tonal glides are as distinctive as those of Victoria Williams or Iris DeMent. [Aug 2018, p.28]
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  6. AllMusic
    Jun 28, 2018
    70
    Rather than chasing trends or aiming for reinvention, the Innocence Mission seem content at this point in their career to carry on doing what they do best and expand on their trademark sound with another fine release.
  7. PopMatters
    Aug 15, 2018
    60
    The music isn't what anyone would call edgy. .... Sun on the Square's greatest strengths are Karen Peris's vocal melodies. After repeated listens, they have a pleasant way of nestling into your brain, regardless of the lyrical content.

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User Score
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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. StevenX
    Nov 20, 2018
    9
    After more than one album so hushed and whispered that I feared they might just disappear mid-song, the now-duo The Innocence Mission pullAfter more than one album so hushed and whispered that I feared they might just disappear mid-song, the now-duo The Innocence Mission pull off the biggest good musical surprise of the year. Just enough has been added to the songs instrumentally to flesh them out (including the return of original member Mike Bitts' bass), giving them a lushness and atmosphere not heard from the band in who knows how long. Some of their later albums made you feel like you were eavesdropping on a combination practice session/ritual; these tracks are productions, feeling like a spiritual period piece long overdue, and Karen Peris is the most singular voice in modern music since Bjork (with all of the latter's passion, channeled through perpetual joy and wonder, and none of her excesses). It's so nice for it to have a more substantial cloud to float on. Husband/guitar lace master Don takes a sweet vocal turn on "Star Of Land And Sea" that almost sounds like a calmer Neil Young, in a good way. For my money, their self-titled first album long ago is still their best, but this one moved to number two in one listen. More, please.… Full Review »
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