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Like the River Loves the Sea Image
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

  • Summary: The seventh full-length solo release for the Kentucky-based singer-songwriter was produced with Sir James Elkington and recorded in Iceland.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Uncut
    Aug 27, 2019
    90
    The results are exquisite. [Sep 2019, p.34]
  2. Sep 10, 2019
    85
    Joan Shelley’s greatest gift is her approach to making music—to create a welcoming refuge from the world’s noise. A balm for our troubled times. A haven for those who need it, if only for an album’s length every couple of years. You’ll want to stay longer.
  3. Sep 4, 2019
    81
    Mostly, Like the River Loves the Sea succeeds in elevating Shelley’s ruminations on “the ground I am bound to” and “the tender things around me” to matters of universal resonance.
  4. Aug 27, 2019
    80
    On Like the River Loves the Sea, Joan Shelley proves she may be the only active musician who can surround herself with collaborators and sound exactly like herself.
  5. Mojo
    Aug 27, 2019
    80
    This album engages out minds while it explores, but as it raises questions, it still comforts. [Sep 2019, p.92]
  6. Q Magazine
    Aug 27, 2019
    80
    Beautiful and inscrutable, it runs very deep indeed. [Sep 2019, p.117]
  7. Sep 3, 2019
    70
    Her latest, Like the River Loves the Sea, feels simultaneously grounded and even more expansive as it tracks its way through the changing seasons of a relationship.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Sep 3, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. NFR IS LANA' S BEST WORK, She takes you on a musical journey that is unforgettable. From the title track to songs how I disappear is gorgeous. Expand
  2. Sep 5, 2019
    9
    Simple and soothing (though overly repetitive in places) instrumentation and Joan Shelley's beautiful, Julie Fowlis-esque vocals and ruefulSimple and soothing (though overly repetitive in places) instrumentation and Joan Shelley's beautiful, Julie Fowlis-esque vocals and rueful lyrics combine to produce an experience akin to a Lori McKenna-penned spin on "For Emma, Forever Ago"-era Bon Iver with an overall brighter tone and more hopeful outlook. Expand
  3. Sep 1, 2019
    8
    eu poderia ouvi-lo numa varanda de frente para um campo lindo, grande e cheio de vida, mesmo apresentando faixas repetitivas.