Albums to watch

Barton Hollow

The Civil Wars

Barton Hollow

A full UK release for the debut album of Americana from the Nashville duo Joy Williams and John Paul White

ADM rating[?]

7.2

Label
Columbia
UK Release date
  1. 9.0 |   DIY

    Delicate duets, bluegrass string strumming and some of the most genuinely emotive lyrics you’ll hear all year combine to produce an album of rare and beautiful quality
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  2. 8.0 |   Paste Magazine

    The sparse instrumentation provides a flowing structure for Williams and White’s vocal blend to follow, but that structure can become too rigid and predictable on a few of the somber tracks
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  3. 8.0 |   All Music

    Those who don’t like rootsy ballads are in for some slim pickings, since Barton Hollow shines its brightest whenever the tempos slow, the lights dim, and the voices rise up
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  4. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    It's a deliciously understated album, acoustic and largely percussionless
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  5. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Starts off country-ish, only to blindside you with a move into territory that’s more California than Nashville
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  6. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    A glossy thing that entwines her Californian folky yin around his Southern gothic yang
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  7. 8.0 |   The Observer

    A bewitching debut album of sparse, spectral Americana. Pitching up somewhere between the brooding beauty of Mazzy Star and the understatement of Low
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  8. 8.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Barton Hollow is, largely, an exemplary remodelling of the alt.country template but it doesn’t quite manage a level of unbridled, breathless excellence throughout
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  9. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Two gorgeously restless, swarthy voices destined to be together. Print edition only

  10. 8.0 |   BBC

    A timeless, anachronistic record, Barton Hollow could be from 30 years ago, or it could be from 30 years hence. What’s certain, though, is that you truly feel it in the here and now
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  11. 7.0 |   Rave Magazine

    Throughout, the duo’s close vocal harmonies are powerful, the instrumentation subtle and pure
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  12. 7.0 |   Uncut

    There's a passion and naturalism to these songs. Print edition only

  13. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    They sound best when raising hell on the title track — the moment when a pleasant listen turns out to have teeth
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  14. 6.0 |   The Scotsman

    A straightforward, accessible album of country and roots music gussied up with a slick lick of rock and pop production
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  15. 5.0 |   Entertainment.ie

    Moments of any real purpose and intent and few and far between on Barton Hollow, which is a shame when you consider just how talented the pair of them are
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  16. 4.0 |   Q

    Smacks of marketing men discovering there's money to be mined in the Americana hinterland. Print edition only


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The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow

  • Download full album for just £6.99
  • 1. 20 Years N/A
  • 2. I've Got This Friend N/A
  • 3. C'est La Mort N/A
  • 4. To Whom It May Concern N/A
  • 5. Poison & Wine N/A
  • 6. My Father's Father N/A
  • 7. Barton Hollow N/A
  • 8. The Violet Hour N/A
  • 9. Girl with the Red Balloon N/A
  • 10. Falling N/A
  • 11. Forget Me Not N/A
  • 12. Birds of a Feather N/A
  • 13. Billie Jean (Live) N/A
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