Albums to watch

Natural Rebel

Richard Ashcroft

Natural Rebel

Fifth full-length release by English singer-songwriter and former frontman of The Verve produced with Jon Kelly and Emre Ramazanoglu

ADM rating[?]

4.7

Label
BMG
UK Release date
19/10/2018
US Release date
19/10/2018
  1. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Ever constructed around our hero's robust tenor and rattling acoustic, then adorned with A-grade orchestration, it inescapably evokes Urban Hymns. Print edition only

  2. 8.0 |   Q

    These songs might not defeat Fu Manchu, but they're a fine addition to Richard Ashcroft's hand. Print edition only

  3. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    Roots rocking for car journeys everywhere
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  4. 6.0 |   Under The Radar

    Natural Rebel, in spite of his idiosyncrasies and self-aggrandizement is an easy album to enjoy. Just don't pay attention to every lyric
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  5. 5.0 |   musicOMH

    Though Natural Rebel has its moments, it all feels a bit staid and stale: not so much rock’n’roll rebellion as conventional cliché, both musical and lyrical
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  6. 5.0 |   All Music

    There's nothing rebellious about the music and not much natural, either -- but its immaculate anodyne tones are soothing, and that's superficially pleasing, even if it doesn't remotely seem attached to the Richard Ashcroft of lore
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  7. 4.0 |   Clash

    If this is a present for fans then you have to wonder what these long-suffering people have done to deserve such a fate
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  8. 4.0 |   The FT

    The latest misfire in an oddly underwhelming solo career
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  9. 4.0 |   The Irish Times

    A craggy voice on an uninteresting album
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  10. 4.0 |   Evening Standard

    For an artist once known for his distinctive melodies and passion, his latest stands out only for its anonymity: there is little in the way of rebellion here
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  11. 4.0 |   NME

    A sack full of ‘Sonnets’, this fifth solo album finds the Wigan wonder sounding almost like a pastiche of himself
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  12. 4.0 |   The Independent

    For a 10-track album, it feels hideously overindulgent – only two songs fall under the four-minute mark, and those still feel drawn out by plodding, bog-standard riffs
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  13. 3.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    It’s a record in love with its own reflection – and far too close to the mirror for its own good
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  14. 2.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    In an era where the likes of Idles and Sleaford Mods [...] are kicking up a storm against the political and social injustice that surrounds them, there's never been a less appropriate time to say nothing than the present. Sadly, Natural Rebel oozes magnolia from every pore, and in the current climate that simply won't do
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