Ivywild

Night Beds - Ivywild
Critic Score
Based on 9 reviews
2015 Ratings: #878 / 1021
User Score
Based on 9 ratings
August 7, 2015 / Release Date
LP / Format
Dead Oceans / Label
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

80
PopMatters

The daring of Night Beds here is commendable, and overstuffed though it is, Ivywild is a beautiful and haunting album whose only flaw is that it offers too much of a good thing.

80
AllMusic

Acknowledging that Night Beds' strict chamber-folk fans are bound to be disappointed if not horrified, taken on its own Ivywild is sonically rich, adventurous, envelopingly wistful, and undeniably stunning.

80
NME

At 16 tracks long, it’s a dense, textured offering that ... manages to shimmer with both nimble experimentation and languid pop finesse.

75
Consequence of Sound
It succeeds in its commitment to being, first and foremost, a Night Beds album, primarily concerned with mining the past for its shining moments of beauty and disaster. For this reason, it never feels like anything other than Yellen staying true to himself, to what inspires him and makes him hungry.
70
American Songwriter
It will take at least a few spins to warm up to this oblique, at times inscrutable, and opaque music. But those willing to put forth the effort will be rewarded with a beautiful, stimulating and eclectic album that stands alone in a genre of its own making.
65
The Line of Best Fit
Yellen’s vision is ambitious and expansive, but not always easy to digest.
40
Loud and Quiet
Inspired by the breakup of a long term relationship, and self-described as an album of “sad sex jams”, tracks like ‘Sway(ve)’, ‘Lay Your Hands’ and ‘Love Streams’ bump towards that remit with open white-shirt indulgence, but Yellen’s take on a sensual confessional runs too parallel over 16 schmaltzy tracks.
32
Pitchfork

Don't let that score up there fool you—Ivywild is a must-listen, invigorating in the ways albums can be when they're so daring you can hardly believe what you're hearing.

68

Goodness this album was not really to my liking. Though maybe for some atmospheric background music it would be fine -

Lyrically its about as shallow as a high schooler writing poetry in their diary and sonically its rife with auto tuned vocals, and simple house beats.

I liked some of the acoustic tracks of his previous offering but this is a step too far for me. Ill rate it in the 60s simply because I know that this is partly subjective and that there are many who are into this sort of ... read more

RobertAckley
69

Sonically impressive, yet a lyrical let down. Perhaps with the brilliance of Country Sleep setting the bar so high, it's difficult to truly appreciate Ivywild in comparison.

70

Most underrated album of the year. A masterpiece. Moody, gorgeous, angry, self-indulgent, sensual, colorful, and brilliant.

Purchasing Ivywild from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement
Comments
Sign in to comment
No one has said anything yet.


Added on: May 26, 2015