Cleopatra

The quiet simplicity of In The Light, Long Way From Home or piano-led My Eyes suggests a delicacy within the songwriting pair of Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz that will prove far more satisfying in the long run than any future Top 10 Success. [May 2016, p.88]

Cheesy at times? Maybe. Still, the Lumineers fill the mainstream roots-rock void left vacant since Mumford & Sons went electric.

It’s a move away from crowd-pleasing ditties, a valiant turn inward and, at times--in “Gale Song,” “In the Light” and “Angela”--the songs reach a distillation of yearning and solitude. But over the course of an entire album, a glint of the Lumineers’ old whimsy would have helped.

While Cleopatra may seduce the faithful, it would be far better if next time The Lumineers are able to regain their groove.

Quieter and striking a more somber tone than their Grammy-nominated first record, it sounds as if the band went out of its way to tone down the catchiness of their initial offering. But the softer focus put the lyrics front and center and that’s, in part, what separates The Lumineers from the slew of bands that came after trying to replicate the success of “Ho Hey”.

If the Lumineers debut record was a representation of their metaphorical college years, Cleopatra is definitely their more mature, but confused, post-grad understanding of fame.

There's something admirable about the album's solemnity: the Lumineers are on a quest to be taken seriously, and even if they overplay their hand, the earnestness is ingratiating.

The likes of the title track and "Sleep On The Floor" are pleasingly Ryan Adams/Gaslight Anthem-ish; elsewhere, as on "Gun Song" and "Angela" it all gets a bit Mumford & Sons. [May 2016, p.76]

Mostly, it feels like The Lumineers are talented songwriters, wary of repeating themselves, who know what they want to say, and are still figuring out how to say it.