Sun on the Square
by The Innocence Mission
User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
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  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 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 whoAfter 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.… Collapse

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. 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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  2. Q Magazine
    Jul 3, 2018
    80
    A set that sounds hauled up from another time and place. [Aug 2018, p.111]
  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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