User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info

This Is a Photograph
by
This Is a Photograph Image
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 15 Ratings

  • Summary: The seventh full-length solo release for singer-songwriter Kevin Morby was produced by Sam Cohen and was inspired in part by old family photographs he looked at after his father had a heath scare.
Buy Now
Buy on
  • Record Label: Dead Oceans
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
  • More Details and Credits »

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    May 11, 2022
    100
    Epic in sound and vision, its sprawling Americana and gritty rock’n’roll taking in the big themes.
  2. Uncut
    May 11, 2022
    90
    With This Is A Photograph, he offers the wisest and most assured rendering of the Middle American vision he’s been honing of late, one where Dylan-esque anti-singing narrates impassioned, earnest and earthen tales of family, place, love and heroes, and a crack band shakes the rafters. [Jun 2022, p.32]
  3. AllMusic
    May 13, 2022
    90
    One of the best chapters in an already impressive catalog; one that finds a new artistic depth as it faces some of life's eternal concerns.
  4. Mojo
    May 11, 2022
    80
    A record that feels warmer, wiser and less forced than any of his albums so far. [Jun 2022, p.88]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. The Guardian
    Jan 3, 2023
    80
    These are beautifully elegiac songs, celebrating life’s transient joy, struggle, laughter and heartbreak, reflecting the fact that “sometimes the good die young, and sometimes they survive”.
  6. Rolling Stone
    May 16, 2022
    80
    The album hits its strongest points when Morby opens himself up to reckless abandon, stripping himself of the introspective pretenses of soul-searching and instead embracing the unpredictable chaos of life and all its imperfection.
  7. Sputnikmusic
    May 18, 2022
    60
    This Is A Photograph is an album which aims for an impressively grand vision, but rarely hits the mark. In its less grandiose moments, though, it’s frequently successful, providing the listener with a number of lovely folk tunes.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Nietzschebot
    May 13, 2022
    10
    Heaths are very scary. Just ask Macbeth. This is a great album. It is definitely one of his best.
  2. ChiliPants
    May 13, 2022
    10
    Morby writes his best lyrics and composes his best muscial output yet, surpassing an already high bar of excellence.
  4. Skouzbex
    Dec 23, 2022
    10
    We feel through this album a poetic sincerity, the titles have a sound of ''déjà vu'' whereas no, simply and just excellent. Favorite track:We feel through this album a poetic sincerity, the titles have a sound of ''déjà vu'' whereas no, simply and just excellent. Favorite track: goodbye to the good times… Expand
  5. Dmdobr02
    May 14, 2022
    10
    There are no skips on this album. It’s a thing of beauty. Kevin takes you on a journey from the first track to the last. You can tell he isThere are no skips on this album. It’s a thing of beauty. Kevin takes you on a journey from the first track to the last. You can tell he is deeply dialed in to deliver a masterpiece.… Expand
  6. indierash
    Jun 28, 2022
    9
    Kevin Morby was at his childhood home in Kansas City not too long ago, where one evening after dinner, he witnessed his father collapse inKevin Morby was at his childhood home in Kansas City not too long ago, where one evening after dinner, he witnessed his father collapse in front of him. They took his father to the hospital and he would eventually recover, but it forever profoundly changed the musician.

    Reeling from shock, fear, and anxiety about what happened to his dad and how it shadowed his own life, Morby started pouring over a collection of old photographs of his family when a photo of his father struck him deeply and as a result This is a Photograph was born.

    Photograph is not only sonically rich, but a lyrically profound and deeply self contemplative album. With an arsenal of twisted emotions, Morby moved to Memphis to set up a studio at the Peabody Hotel, where he absorbed the musicians he admired that came through the area before him.

    The vast array of instruments Kevin used adds to the overall experience's complexity and richness of the album. Its intricately crafted, teasing surprises await around every corner, as Photograph draws you in right from the start, and leaves you in awe until the very end.

    Morby has crafted a grand sprawl of Tennessee, Americana folk-rock with his latest release. All these songs have their own individual style, and Morby expertly ties them all together, culminating in an album with a stunning overall flow. Airy, dreamy reverb and warm and haunting room tone that only Memphis can generate are ever present throughout Photograph and Morby sounds right at home here.    … Expand
  7. extintordodidi
    Jun 3, 2022
    8
    Absolutely stunning! An amazing album that every track is unskippable and beautiful at any single detail. Truly masterpiece.
  8. All_ButTrU4
    May 13, 2022
    7
    Morby greatest record since the world weary "singing saw". It's a laborious undertaking that instead comes through as a understand grandMorby greatest record since the world weary "singing saw". It's a laborious undertaking that instead comes through as a understand grand statement. This is one of the year bests for sure.… Expand

Related Articles

  1. Best of 2022, Music

    The 40 Best Albums of 2022

    The 40 Best Albums of 2022 Image
    Published: December 21, 2022
    Here is Metacritic's final official list of the 40 best-reviewed albums released in 2022.
    More »
  2. Best of 2022, Music

    The 20 Best Albums of 2022 So Far

    The 20 Best Albums of 2022 So Far Image
    Published: June 30, 2022
    Here are the 20 best-reviewed albums released during the first half of 2022, ranked by Metascore.
    More »

Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best Album of 2022

Current Music Releases

Full List »
99 Tim: Let it Bleed Edition [Box Set] - The Replacements
97 Picture of Bunny Rabbit - Arthur Russell
95 Fountain Baby - Amaarae
95 Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die (world war) - Jaimie Branch
95 Smash: The Singles 1985-2020 [Box Set] - Pet Shop Boys
93 Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy - John Coltrane
91 The Greater Wings - Julie Byrne
91 Black Rainbows - Corinne Bailey Rae
91 Guts - Olivia Rodrigo
90 The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We - Mitski
90 Maps - billy woods
89 That! Feels Good! - Jessie Ware
89 Rat Saw God - Wednesday
89 Valley of Heart's Delight - Margo Cilker
89 Chrome Dreams - Neil Young
89 Blómi - Susanne Sundfør
89 I Am Not There Anymore - The Clientele
88 The Complete Dirty South - Drive-By Truckers
88 Wait Til I Get Over - Durand Jones
87 My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross - Anohni & the Johnsons
All Current Music »