Phil presents his thoughts here with stunning candor, using just a laptop and a microphone to capture his characteristically amorphous guitar lines and thin yet comforting balm of a voice.
A Crow Looked at Me is a masterpiece in the manner of A Grief Observed and “She Will Find What is Lost”. All of these works create a special communion between creator and observer, artistic experiences that join individual circumstances of loss with whatever the listener/reader/viewer brings to the work.
Pain is the crux of Elverum’s career, and without resorting to any of his brutally stark instrumentation, he offers his most sobering full-length to date, and likely of all time.
There is sad music, which is to say music that deploys lyrical or musical motifs meant to connote misery. And then there is this album, which mostly exists in a space beyond those concerns. It is an album because a musician made it and it is broken up into songs, but it is also a diary, a balled-up tissue, found art.
It illuminates very real, very constricting emotions that you know you’ll have to either deal with in true form, or kindle within someone you love upon your own passing.
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
By far the most honest, poetic and just... beautiful grief-related art that I've ever seen/heard. It's such an engrossing and "fatiguing" listen, yet I can't stop playing this record over and over again.
The way Phil delivers these sometimes simple, but always devastating lines is incredible. He's truly one of a kind. I want to hug him.
All the imagery related to the forest, the ocean, Genevieve's ashes, the birds, the "realness" of everyday life transformed by her sudden absence... The subtle lyrical/melodic references to previous Microphones/Mount Eerie releases... This is honestly one of the best records I've ever heard.
"It’s dumb, and I don’t want to learn anything from this. I love you."/ "I can't remember, you did most of my remembering for me" / "We are all always so close to not existing at all" / "Now I can only see you on the fridge in lifeless pictures" / "I missed you, of course. And I remember thinking the last time it rained here you were alive still" / "Look at me. Death is real" / "Conceptual emptiness was cool to talk about, back before I knew my way around these hospitals" / "I went back to feel alone there" / "And there she was."…Expand
I disagree this isn't the best album of 2017 not being negative i'm just telling the truth. The most talked about album in a positive way areI disagree this isn't the best album of 2017 not being negative i'm just telling the truth. The most talked about album in a positive way are the best albums, but again I mean no disrespect I just don't think it is the best album I can name 3 albums that were better this year than this one to be honest.…Expand
I had a hard time deciding when I was going to listen to this album. I just had my first baby boy, and I am married to the love of my life. ToI had a hard time deciding when I was going to listen to this album. I just had my first baby boy, and I am married to the love of my life. To a certain extent and in certain circumstances, the musicality of an album becomes less important than the messages and emotions. I cried listening to this album several times. And I mean really cried. It's a very, very personal album that beckons to be listened to in private. I made the mistake of listening to it during a slow work day and it wrecked me. Death is a scary thought, but his bluntness and openness allowed me to receive peace when dealing with the harshest, most confusing, realest lesson of losing a loved one. I highly recommend this album.…Expand
This album is just so overwhelmingly depressing and hits so close to home on so many levels. On this album, Phil not only delivers gut punchThis album is just so overwhelmingly depressing and hits so close to home on so many levels. On this album, Phil not only delivers gut punch after gut punch but he does it over perfectly conceived production. I cannot remember a record as powerfully destructive as this album.…Expand
A beautiful demonstration of the power of medidative minimalism. The melodic devices here aren't particularly pronounced, but they perfectlyA beautiful demonstration of the power of medidative minimalism. The melodic devices here aren't particularly pronounced, but they perfectly compliment the evocative, powerful storytelling.…Expand
Deeply depressing. I cannot fathom why it is so sparse yet complex. The words transcend the sound. Unfortunately whether it is it's theme orDeeply depressing. I cannot fathom why it is so sparse yet complex. The words transcend the sound. Unfortunately whether it is it's theme or very repetitive production and limited range i find some songs very skippable and like repetitions of others making the album challenging to accomplish or bother revisit.…Expand
Rather than discuss the tragic death of Phil's wife or the path that has led his career to this album I would like to very plainly, talk aboutRather than discuss the tragic death of Phil's wife or the path that has led his career to this album I would like to very plainly, talk about the music that is on this album, and it is simply terrible. Lazy compositions that are barely distinguishable from each other, almost comically disinterested vocal delivery, the same three chords over and over. What is most surprising is the complete lack of emotion here, the lack of anything to really feel, this is ostensibly a heart-breaking album dealing with the loss of a loved one, and yet there is no feeling, no passion, no effort to actually channel that pain into catharsis, into something worth listening to. Something worth listening to, this is the point, because music isn't just art, it is a specific form of art, where by using instruments one creates intriguing sounds that engage a listener, in one way or another. "A Crow Looked At Me" is not music in that way, it does not engage you at all, Phil seems anything but engaged or interested by his own compositions or words, in fact the only thing he seems to care about on this wreck of an album is making sure the listener realizes that he is so apathetic and devoid of energy that he can do no more than sadly pantomime the motions singing and songwriting.…Expand
Over the next month, we'll be collecting year-end top 10 album lists from over 200 music critics, publications, record stores, and other sources. Find individual lists and this year's cumulative rankings inside.
Published: December 21, 2017We reveal the 40 highest-scoring album releases of the year, as well as some of 2017's bests and worsts in other music categories.
Published: November 27, 2017Over the next month, we'll be collecting year-end top 10 album lists from over 200 music critics, publications, record stores, and other sources. Find individual lists and this year's cumulative rankings inside.
Published: July 7, 2017We rank the highest-scoring albums released during the first half of 2017.