-
8.0
87027
8.0 |
NME
Rarely is a record as melodically sumptuous as a folk-rock Proms and as packed with substance as a Wikileak
Read Review
-
7.0
86962
7.0 |
The Music
Ashcroft remains masterful at delivering emotional clout while remembering to occasionally shuffle the feet
Read Review
-
7.0
87405
7.0 |
Gig Soup
Unlikely to win over anyone who doesn’t already worship at the altar of King Richard, but that’s okay
Read Review
-
6.0
86963
6.0 |
The List
Top track ‘Ain’t the Future So Bright’ is a layered, string-laden gem about hope and despair which mercifully suggests that there’s still plenty to come from the Wigan troubadour
Read Review
-
6.0
86964
6.0 |
Loud And Quiet
While his attempts to change in parts are admirable, on ‘These People’ it’s the tried and tested Ashcroft traits that work best
Read Review
-
6.0
86958
6.0 |
Q
Ashcroft still has something to say and an engaging way if saying it. Print edition only
-
6.0
86959
6.0 |
Mojo
Sprawling, somewhat overwrought. Print edition only
-
6.0
87035
6.0 |
The Guardian
Generally Ashcroft manages to relive his heyday nicely
Read Review
-
6.0
87039
6.0 |
The Irish Times
Tracks such as Everybody Needs Somebody to Hurt show that Ashcroft still has plenty of solid ideas left in his songbook
Read Review
-
5.1
87116
5.1 |
Pitchfork
Ashcroft always fares best when he sounds like he’s addressing another person in an intimate exchange rather than megaphoning the entire human race
Read Review
-
5.0
87313
5.0 |
musicOMH
A mixture of epic ballads harking back to the sound of the Verve and attempts to move forward with rather half-hearted electronic pop. Despite some beautiful moments, Ashcroft seems to have fallen into the gap between the two
Read Review
-
5.0
86957
5.0 |
Uncut
Earnest, ponderous anthemry. Print edition only
-
4.0
87014
4.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Ultimately feels like an unruly mess
Read Review
-
4.0
87379
4.0 |
Beardfood
It’s a tough album to sit through, full of soft rock and no nuance. The strings don’t work
Read Review
-
4.0
87072
4.0 |
The FT
Ashcroft is a dramatic centre of attention, but his grand declamations are overblown in the sedate setting, like Charlton Heston in search of a biblical epic
Read Review
-
4.0
87110
4.0 |
The Observer
With the exception of the poignant and understated Black Lines, Ashcroft’s material is uninspired
Read Review
-
4.0
86960
4.0 |
Clash
That voice. Those arrangements. He can do it. Or he could do it. He hasn’t for some time now
Read Review
-
3.0
87011
3.0 |
Drowned In Sound
These People is an album that’s so safe, it’s almost dangerous; even his most fervent fans, the ones who loved Human Conditions and Keys to the World, are surely going to pick this one up and think, 'fucking hell, this is a bit middle of the road'
Read Review
-
2.0
86961
2.0 |
The Arts Desk
Richard Ashcroft sounds completely at sea here
Read Review
-
2.0
87037
2.0 |
The Independent
You’d better have more to offer than life being “just a riddle of bad dreams”, and the kind of sententious, slightly paranoid sermonising displayed in this slim portfolio of songs
Read Review
-