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The Loves of Your Life Image
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

  • Summary: The second full-length solo release for The Walkmen frontman was self-produced and mixed.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. 90
    Eschewing the sleek production of Electric Lady Studios, which must have been mere blocks away, gives the album the raucous feeling of a bar-room jam. ... When the backing instrumentation drops out to leave Leithauser booming those words into an empty room, the album is at its most powerful.
  2. Apr 10, 2020
    82
    The album achieves a powerful sense of place, capturing the city and its innumerable narratives.
  3. Q Magazine
    Apr 7, 2020
    80
    Leithauser's voice is its usual delicious scuffed-up howl, the music covers a broad indie-rock sprawl, but the focus here is the stories. [Jun 2020, p.102]
  4. Mojo
    Apr 7, 2020
    80
    The arrangements within are more ebullient and wide-ranging. ... His subjects - all character sketches of friends or chance meetings - are also multifaceted. [May 2020, p.89]
  5. Apr 13, 2020
    80
    It may not have the immediacy of old Walkmen songs such as The Rat or Angela Surf City, but these stories of New York characters have a charm and subtlety all of their own, which is rewarded by repeated listening.
  6. Apr 14, 2020
    76
    The Loves of Your Life feels like a neighborhood that’s deeply familiar, yet so packed with life that new details emerge on each stroll.
  7. Apr 20, 2020
    60
    The Loves of Your Life was designed with each song intentionally being about a specific person, which makes even the worst songs interesting tales.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Apr 10, 2020
    10
    Another wonderful album by Hamilton Leithauser. Beautiful music, close-to-heart lyrics and amazing voice. "Black Hours", "Dear God", "I Had aAnother wonderful album by Hamilton Leithauser. Beautiful music, close-to-heart lyrics and amazing voice. "Black Hours", "Dear God", "I Had a Dream That You Were Mine" and now "The Loves of Your Life". The highest quality record! Enjoyed it a lot Expand
  2. Apr 11, 2020
    10
    Some songs sound the most "The Walkmen" Hamilton has ever sounded; which is not necessarily bad. Sounds... feels so nostalgic, and familiar...Some songs sound the most "The Walkmen" Hamilton has ever sounded; which is not necessarily bad. Sounds... feels so nostalgic, and familiar... and real and unique at the same time. I don't know about everyone else, but this is the god damn album I needed at this moment of men's history. Thanks Hamilton. Love every song. Expand
  3. Apr 15, 2020
    10
    Ham doing what he does, being the very best. "Isabella" is a career highlight and instant classic. Awful lot to love about this record, bothHam doing what he does, being the very best. "Isabella" is a career highlight and instant classic. Awful lot to love about this record, both for Walkmen stalwarts and sidewalk fans alike. Think of it as a sequel to I Had A Dream That You Were Mine, only Leithauser is playing both his role and Rostam's; when he does occasionally fall short as Rostam, he positively outdoes himself at the Hamilton Leithauser part. Never would have imagined his best work could still be in front of him when the Walkmen hung it up, but now thinking that could very well have been the case. Expand
  4. Jun 13, 2020
    8
    ( 86/100 )

    Hamilton Leithauser presenta un álbum lleno de sí mismo sobre la observación de la vida ajena y el romance alrededor de cada
    ( 86/100 )

    Hamilton Leithauser presenta un álbum lleno de sí mismo sobre la observación de la vida ajena y el romance alrededor de cada acción, palabra y situación. Hamilton no solo se toma en serio su propia música, sino que se divierte con ella. Producido por él mismo, se agradece esa falta de sonido digital y se sustituye por una poco organizada armonía que, a favor de Hamilton, en vez de caer en el desorden, eleva a los oyentes a un genuino ambiente callejero de relatos íntimos: tan público como personal. Ya sea en el Zócalo de la ciudad o en el camellón de algún pueblo, Hamilton le saca provecho a sus instrumentos y coros sin miedo a encimarlos y dejarlos sonar logrando honrar lo espectacular de la cotidianidad a la que a todos nos victimiza.
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    Hamilton Leithauser presents an album full of himself about the observation of oblivious lives and the romance surrounding each action, word, and situation. Hamilton doesn't just take with seriousness his own music, but he also seems to be having fun with it. Produced by himself, it can be appreciated the lack of digital sound, which is substituted by a not well-organized harmony that, in favor of Hamilton, instead of falling in disorder, it elevates the listeners to a genuine street ambient full of intimate stories: as public as personal. Whether it's in a city esplanade or the sidewalk of any town, Hamilton takes advantage of his instruments and chorus, fearless to overlapping them and letting them sound, achieving to honor the spectacular side of everyday life to which all of us are victims.
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