Albums to watch

Sundark And Riverlight

Patrick Wolf

Sundark And Riverlight

Acoustic reworkings of songs from his back catalogue from the London pop / folktronica singer-songwriter

ADM rating[?]

6.5

Label
Bloody Chamber Music
UK Release date
15/10/2012
US Release date
25/09/2012
  1. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    At some level, he seems to believe he can be (or beat) a mainstream pop musician - and this album proves that he has all the tools and talent necessary
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  2. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    One day the mainstream is going to claim him and he’ll lose a little something, but for now he’s still the prince of the misfits and the martyrs, the waifs and the strays, Sundark and Riverlight is him at his distilled best, tears in his eyes, glitter on his cheeks, tragic, magnificent, ours
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  3. 8.0 |   Art Rocker

    Most of the acoustic versions do sound nice and offer listeners another interpretation of the tracks, yet songs from ‘The Bachelor’ era were quite a let down
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  4. 8.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    The album excels, featuring some of the artist’s finest work, despite being mostly retreaded material. Do not let this be a deterrent, though, for there is something here for the devoted members of his “Wolf Pack” as well as his fiercest detractors
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  5. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    If you’ve never really bothered checking out his stuff before then Sundark and Riverlight may well be a good “in”, presenting as it does some of Wolf’s finest pennings, adorned with fairly sumptuous arrangements
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  6. 7.0 |   DIY

    For the most part, with the low-key nature of the instrumentation being used, it’s a fairly sombre celebration of Wolf’s career so far
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  7. 7.0 |   BBC

    This stopgap album risks losing commercial momentum, but is a reminder that despite a tendency towards self indulgence, Wolf remains a songwriter to admire
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  8. 6.8 |   Pitchfork

    If the goal of Sundark and Riverlight was to prove Wolf's repertoire has songwriting merit beyond the layers of mythology and biography and reinventions, it's an unqualified success; on its own, every arrangement is entirely thoughtful and praiseworthy. It just wasn't necessary. These songs can make it alone, but they could be - and have been - so much better
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  9. 6.5 |   The AU Review

    I’m not saying it’s a bad album I just don’t understand the concept or more so the need. Some of the tracks really suit having new composition and less fanfare and are great to listen to
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  10. 6.5 |   Under The Radar

    He’s conducted a bloody autopsy, left the corpse for us to pick over, and is ready to move on to his next challenge
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  11. 6.0 |   Uncut

    There's no doubting the lyrical quality here. Print edition only

  12. 6.0 |   Mojo

    It feels like an overly polite way of celebrating a musical life spent on the fringes. Print edition only

  13. 6.0 |   NME

    A sharper edit and this would have made a great EP
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  14. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    These rewrites, though confident, are as much a curiosity as anything else, more an exercise in shape and form than an improvement
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  15. 5.5 |   Tone Deaf

    Live, these songs are mature and a centrepiece however recorded they lose some of their magic and perhaps are more appropriate for gentle, background music at a Sunday night roast
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  16. 5.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    A good deal of the songs on Sundark and Riverlight gain little from these revised arrangements, even losing some of Wolf’s patented eccentricities
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  17. 4.0 |   Blurt

    Like other such endeavors-acoustic re-imaginings, that is-the results aren't that poor. They're just boring
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  18. 4.0 |   The Fly

    It makes you long for something simpler to mark his brilliance
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Patrick Wolf: Sundark And Riverlight

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