Albums to watch

Gentle Spirit

Jonathan Wilson

Gentle Spirit

Debut album from LA-based singer-songwriter and producer recorded in his own analogue studio

ADM rating[?]

7.4

Label
Bella Union
UK Release date
08/08/2011
US Release date
16/08/2011
  1. 9.0 |   Clash

    Everything here is gorgeously sung and this woozy, gently uplifting collection of songs is pretty close to perfect
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  2. 8.0 |   The Scotsman

    The record's head and heart are in Laurel Canyon, the hip hideaway for California's 70s rock hierarchy, who never sounded so good out of it
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  3. 8.0 |   NME

    Some of the most luxurious folk of the year
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  4. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Place Gentle Spirit in a musical identity parade alongside its vintage counterparts, and the album could easily pass off the as the thing it’s setting out to emulate: a long-lost early 70’s LA cosmic singer-songwriter double vinyl opus
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  5. 8.0 |   NME

    Astonishing debut. Print edition only

  6. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Beautiful and bewitching
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  7. 8.0 |   The Independent

    The further Wilson gets from his heroes, the better he gets
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  8. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    The melodies barely move, sung by a voice as soft as mousse, while tempos seldom stir above a flip-flopped stroll
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  9. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Reference-spotters, it more or less goes without saying, are going to have a high old time. Print edition only

  10. 8.0 |   Mojo

    By being so dedicated to the past, Wilson has shaped a delicious future. Print edition only

  11. 8.0 |   BBC

    Warm, wistful and golden-hued, coated in creamed harmonies – but also, crucially, alive
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  12. 8.0 |   FasterLouder

    There are some real gems to be found amongst this large box of sepia photographs with Wilson managing to craft something delicate, soft and ethereal- a real labour of love
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  13. 8.0 |   Rave Magazine

    A hazy blend of ‘70s-informed folk rock and gentle, liquid psychedelia
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  14. 7.0 |   DIY

    There is a certain pleasant charm to its laidback soft grooves
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  15. 7.0 |   Bowlegs

    Wilson's abundance of laid-back melody and thickly layered production distances him from the plain and ordinary
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  16. 6.0 |   Q

    Overflows with ideas, albeit ones mostly from circa 1972. Print edition only

  17. 6.0 |   Under The Radar

    It's engaging stuff. It just outstays its welcome a bit
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  18. 6.0 |   Blurt

    It's nice to see that this forlorn balladeer has another forebear to turn to. In this case anyway, ambiance is everything
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  19. 6.0 |   The Observer

    This immersive double-length album is so languid that it might have its own gravitational field
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  20. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    The songs on Gentle Spirit are quality, authentic items, full of sweet, hymnal acoustic guitar backing lyrical streams that touch on introspection and the nature of existence
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  21. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    Skates dangerously close to self indulgent pastiche yet contains some immaculately played gems that possess the definitive crackle of old school analogue tape sessions
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