Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. Q Magazine
    80
    Elson's theatrical but appealing voice adds genuine drama to the darkly brooding Stolen Roses, while the title track is a handsome murder ballad. [Jul 2010, p.133]
  2. While The Ghost Who Walks occasionally feels a little long and scattered, it's still a beautifully made album that earns Elson a place among moody songstresses such as Neko Case, Amanda Palmer, Hope Sandoval, and Paula Frazer.
  3. Even during its less-memorable moments, this is an album that maintains its atmosphere, and Elson is an engaging narrator (although there's no trace of her Oldham roots to be heard).
  4. 70
    Elson leans toward both bluegrass and chamber pop--the fiddle-laced "Cruel Summer" is worlds away from the twee, jewelry-box twinkle of "100 Years From Now." Her twangy, echoing soprano recalls Jenny Lewis and Loretta Lynn, aided craftily by husband/producer Jack White.
  5. The backup flatters Ms. Elson's voice, which shows the wavering concentration of a promising amateur. Some phrases are focused and persuasive, with a girlish feistiness; others are shaky. The lyrics, too, have graceful moments alongside awkward ones.
  6. Each composition is fleshed out as well as it can be, the end result still a kind of Appalachian wallpaper music that after further inspection and subsequent listens, leaves the record sounding much more flimsy than urgent. What impression it leaves doesn't last.

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