Albums to watch

We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River

Richmond Fontaine

We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River

The Oregon alt country act with their ninth studio album of Willy Vlautin's songs

ADM rating[?]

7.9

Label
Décor
UK Release date
17/08/2009
  1. 10.0 |   Uncut

    There’s a real heat to the band’s performance, a reminder of a musical excellence sometimes overlooked in the rush, perhaps understandable, to congratulate Vlautin for his lyrics… There is an unassuming brilliance to much that they do
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  2. 9.0 |   Blurt

    Freeway may come off as unrealistically bleak or morose to "some folks." And whoever sees it like that, can't relate, and doesn't recognize themselves in these songs should thank their lucky stars
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  3. 8.0 |   Q

    Print edition only

  4. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    The arrangements work well in successfully framing, without distracting from, the stories being told.
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  5. 8.0 |   Scotland on Sunday

    The subtle variety of nuance is what makes this such a satisfying listen
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  6. 8.0 |   The Sunday Times

    The album hints at Wilco and late-period Replacements, pulling off the neat trick of sounding gentle and urgent at the same time.
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  7. 8.0 |   The List

    A sombre, introspective record likely to appeal to Calexico, Wilco or Replacements fans.
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  8. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    Set to a kind of Wilco-with-a-hangover musical backing, the songs feature a range of frozen moments involving the usual unusual cast of everyday fuck-ups
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  9. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    First and foremost an album for devotees of that tarnished, neon-lit, small town Americana of which Vlautin has pretty much established himself as the grizzled poet laureate
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  10. 7.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    The furniture stays the same but benefits from being moved around.
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  11. 7.0 |   NME

    Print edition only

  12. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    A sustained masterpiece is unlikely. Instead, this is a record with only flashes of brilliance, but what flashes they are
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Richmond Fontaine: We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River N/A
  • 2. Northwest N/A
  • 3. You Can Move Back Here N/A
  • 4. The Boyfriends N/A
  • 5. The Pull N/A
  • 6. Sitting Outside My Dad's Old House N/A
  • 7. Maybe We Were Both Born Blue N/A
  • 8. Watch Out N/A
  • 9. 43 N/A
  • 10. Lonnie N/A
  • 11. Ruby and Lou N/A
  • 12. Walking Back to Our Place at 3 a.m. N/A
  • 13. Two Alone N/A
  • 14. A Letter to the Patron Saint of Nurses N/A
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