Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. 91
    Less flashy than his debut, but in pulling back on the guitar heroics, he galvanizes his genre-jumping, to.
  2. Sep 3, 2015
    89
    By sidestepping guitar herodom, The Story of Sonny Boy Slim stakes out territory Gary Clark Jr. can proudly call his own.
  3. Q Magazine
    Oct 6, 2015
    80
    He shows off his instrumental chops. [Nov 2015, p.106]
  4. 80
    It’s still early to throw accolades like “visionary” around but aspects of Clark’s music encourage that reaction. “This music sets me free,” he continues on “Healing,” and it’s likely to have the same effect on you.
  5. It’s great that Clark’s new songs separate themselves from genre restrictions. But, in the end, it’s the way he feels his strings that ends up touching us so deeply.
  6. Sep 11, 2015
    80
    This music declares that Clark is one artist who will see to it that the blues does indeed have a future, which is what makes him important and Sonny Boy Slim a serious leap forward from Blak and Blu.
  7. Oct 13, 2015
    70
    Clark's biggest triumph is in managing to splice his previous influences together in a cohesive and pleasing manner.
  8. Uncut
    Sep 28, 2015
    70
    Plurality is the key to Clark Jr's appeal here. It also has to be said that this is a pretty safe, porous realm in which soul, hip-hop, Princely funk and ringing electric blues feed into one another. [Nov 2015, p.73]
  9. Sep 9, 2015
    70
    It's a pleasant surprise to hear that he's capable of so much more.
  10. Sep 8, 2015
    67
    With a new dose of narrative flow, his second record keeps tighter boundaries than his first. It’s less adventurous but more driven, with sharper eyes on the road.
  11. Mojo
    Oct 7, 2015
    60
    [A] mix of old themes and new forms. [Nov 2015, p.96]
  12. Sep 11, 2015
    60
    The playing never stumbles, though the writing occasionally does.
  13. 60
    While he’s well served by the rugged immediacy of the mix--make no mistake, it’s an improvement--his songwriting lags noticeably behind his musical prowess. And he sings much of the album on falsetto, a thin part of his vocal range.
  14. 60
    It grows with listens, and at its best (as on Hold On), Clark’s guitar/soul-beat fusion is smooth and stylish. But some of it is just (whisper it) a bit boring.

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