Universal Themes
by Sun Kil Moon
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 40
  3. Negative: 2 out of 40
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  1. SirNilesIV
    Jul 15, 2015
    3
    What a slow waste of a terrific artist. Kozelek has what seems like limitless potential, but his last few albums (including this) are such a waste of time, I'm not sure how anyone could recommend it other than the sycophants. Give me April, Rock 'N' Roll Singer, and the literally fantastic Ghosts of the Great Highway, anyday. This, I and YOU, should pass on.
  2. Custom_Concerns
    Jun 9, 2015
    5
    I'll preface this by saying that Benji is not only my favorite album of 2014, but one of my favorites of all time. Despite the similar lyrical approach in Universal Themes, the detailed stories are far less poignant this time around. Instead of being about the most significant moments of Kozelek's life, they are rather the small, everyday aspects. While this approach has been successfullyI'll preface this by saying that Benji is not only my favorite album of 2014, but one of my favorites of all time. Despite the similar lyrical approach in Universal Themes, the detailed stories are far less poignant this time around. Instead of being about the most significant moments of Kozelek's life, they are rather the small, everyday aspects. While this approach has been successfully implemented (see: Courtney Barnett), it doesn't work very well here. The instrumentation and songwriting are too incoherent and unfocused to provide a strong backdrop to the lyrics, especially considering the songs are so long. Overall, the album feels more unfocused than it does avant-garde.… Expand
  3. nirvanafreak
    Jun 3, 2015
    8
    No album has moved me this year like Sun Kil Moon's Universal Themes. His lyrics are intriguing, his vocals are raw and he has just put out one of the best albums of the year with 8 long but fulfilling tracks about a mixture of subjects and cry me a river Williamsburg sleeve tattoo blues is an amazing title, just saying.
    Fav tracks:The possum, garden of lavender, cry me a river    No album has moved me this year like Sun Kil Moon's Universal Themes. His lyrics are intriguing, his vocals are raw and he has just put out one of the best albums of the year with 8 long but fulfilling tracks about a mixture of subjects and cry me a river Williamsburg sleeve tattoo blues is an amazing title, just saying.
    Fav tracks:The possum, garden of lavender, cry me a river Williamsburg sleeve tattoo blues, little rascals
    Least fav track:I don't know i guess if I had to pick I'd say Birds of flim    … Expand
  4. Nedloh94
    Jun 2, 2015
    9
    This is a dense listen. Each song feels aimless, but every song has a central idea behind it. Overall, though, the album feels as though Kozelek is talking about being thrust into situations that make him feel out of place, or where other people are out of their comfort zones. Definitely gives the middle-of-nowhere cover art a bit more meaning. In that sense, the album is a brilliantThis is a dense listen. Each song feels aimless, but every song has a central idea behind it. Overall, though, the album feels as though Kozelek is talking about being thrust into situations that make him feel out of place, or where other people are out of their comfort zones. Definitely gives the middle-of-nowhere cover art a bit more meaning. In that sense, the album is a brilliant amalgamation of seemingly random incidents that each connect. With that, there is almost nothing else like Universal Themes. Though it is dense, and occasionally shambolic and dissonant, Universal Themes is wildly rewarding, and characteristically heartfelt and human of Kozelek, while still finding the Koz pushing his craft in exciting, challenging directions.… Collapse

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Mojo
    Jul 6, 2015
    80
    Aching, poetically quotidian observations permeate Universal Themes. [Aug 2015, p.89]
  2. Q Magazine
    Jul 1, 2015
    80
    Universal themes absorbs and moves far more than it frustrates. [Aug 2015, p.113]
  3. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jun 22, 2015
    60
    The album is as stuck in time as a delivered text or dead second cousin. The songs remain the same.
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