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10.0
130701
10.0 |
The Independent
This irresistible album is overflowing with love and gratitude to friends, family, lovers and fans
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9.0
130727
9.0 |
Rolling Stone
The best music she’s ever made
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8.0
130709
8.0 |
NME
Positivity reigns on the star's fourth album; a jubilant collection of confidence anthems and romantic serenades
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8.0
130702
8.0 |
The Guardian
The pressure she claims to be feeling doesn’t show on an album that delivers melancholy anthems and Chic-y disco while revitalising the cliches of self-care and empowerment
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8.0
130703
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Lizzo’s fourth album feels like a party in your honour from the moment you press play
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8.0
130734
8.0 |
DIY
Lizzo’s breakthrough came in a blast of glitter-soaked celebration, then its follow-up might be more complex but it’s almost certainly the right move for the superstar to have made
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8.0
130789
8.0 |
The Observer
Her astonishing vocals and relatable lyrics remain a joy as the force-of-nature singer-songwriter picks up where Cuz I Love You left off
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7.0
130732
7.0 |
Exclaim
Although inconsistent at times, Special contains enough effusive catchiness and unapologetic positivity to make it an enjoyable summer listen
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6.4
130756
6.4 |
Pitchfork
As the relentlessly positive artist ascends to pop culture ubiquity, her hook-filled and saccharine music feels increasingly boxed in by the Lizzo brand
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6.0
130791
6.0 |
The FT
The singer draws on Prince, hip-hop and positive thinking for her fourth record
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6.0
130705
6.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
For most songs on Special, there is a rawer, more real iteration somewhere else in Lizzo’s catalog. These are songs with the glossiest pop sheen steamrolled over them, erasing any wrinkles or mishaps – the exact thing that made her so endearing to begin with
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6.0
130707
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
The closer “Coldplay” is a reminder that Lizzo could go all-out neo soul any time she wanted, and do it well
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5.5
130726
5.5 |
PopMatters
Lizzo’s Special is as much a celebration of the Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook cosmos as it is an in-person, post-Covid bacchana (Take 2, 7/10).
Special is such a disappointment because you can hear the better album Lizzo is capable of making, but she insists on cranking out one-size-fits-all empowerment jam (Take 1, 4/10)
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5.0
130801
5.0 |
Spectrum Culture
Aggressive optimism made Lizzo a beacon of positive energy in the years following Cuz I Love You — but on Special, her mission to lift everybody up dilutes her message with transparent attempts at casting her net as wide as possible.
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