The Lone Bellow (album)

The Lone Bellow
Studio album by The Lone Bellow
Released January 22, 2013
Genre Alt-country, alternative rock, blues, country rock, folk rock, indie folk, indie rock, pop rock, roots rock, soul
Length 46:50
Label Descendant
Producer Charlie Peacock

The Lone Bellow was the first studio album by the American folk rock trio The Lone Bellow. The album was released on January 22, 2013 by Descendant Records label, and the producer on the album was Charlie Peacock. The album has achieved critical and commercial acclaim.

Music and lyrics

The trio sing songs that have been described as being in the following genres: alt-country,[1][2] alternative rock,[3] blues, country rock,[2][4] folk rock,[1][2] indie folk,[3][5] indie rock,[1][3] pop rock,[1] roots rock,[2] soul.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 79/100[6]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Glide Magazine [3]
Paste 9.4/10[7]
PopMatters [8]
Rolling Stone [2]
Roughstock [4]
Tampa Bay Times A[9]
USA Today [5]

The Lone Bellow has got mostly positive and favorable reviews from the critics. At Metacritic, they assign a weighted average score to reviews and ratings from mainstream music critics, which the Metascore earned for this release is 79 out of 100.[6] Allmusic's Steve Leggett called the album "a gem" that is "full of haunting, passionate songs that breathe with country soul and a kind of autumnal grace", which this "solid debut, made by a band that arrives fully formed and has a great future."[1] Brian Palmer of Glide Magazine noted that the band is "making some waves" with their new album, which he evoked that the album "will soothe your soul or help you drown your sorrows, depending on your preference", and told that "either choice sound[s] appealing and you’ll want to experience it again and again."[3] Holly Gleason of Paste found that "working with producer Charlie Peacock, The Lone Bellow figured out a way to harness the acoustic-rock template being mined by Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers and The Civil Wars and add a sense of powerful vocal incandescence. If Fleetwood Mac shimmered more, rocked less and were organic without being raw, that might suggest the level of evocative language and romance The Lone Bellow exudes."[7] Roughstock's Matt Bjorke alluded to how "The trio's earthy harmonies drive their sound and while the comparisons to popular rootsy folk bands like Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Needtobreathe and The Civil Wars are obvious, The Lone Bellow showcases throughout this fantastic self-titled album an ability to bridge the trend of the moment with a more wholesome, heartland sensibility that could and should lend the band to the ears of mainstream Country Music fans."[4] Conversely, Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone claimed that "anyone expecting funny-bearded fiddle jams about artisanal pickles might be disappointed. The trio shape folk, gospel and blues influences into straight-ahead roots rock somewhere between the Lumineers and Lady Antebellum."[2] Jerry Shriver of USA Today proclaimed that the album is "Passionate and self-assured, this trio's debut treads a middle ground between Mumford bombast and neo-folkie navel gazing" that has "a rootsy brew flavored with close harmonies and light on hipster pretension."[5] At PopMatters, Steve Leftridge highlighted that some may criticize the effort because it may seem a bit "sounding trend derivative", which he found the album "simply too good to need any qualifying", and this lead him to note that it's hard "to knock and the year's Americana debut to beat."[8]

Commercial performance

The album charted at No. 64 on the Billboard 200, as well as placing at No. 14 (Alternative albums), No. 12 (Folk albums), No. 10 (Independent albums), No. 20 (Rock albums) and No. 58 (Current albums).[10]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Zach Williams except where noted. 

Tracklist
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold"  Brian Elmquist 4:14
2. "Tree to Grow"    5:01
3. "Two Sides of Lonely"    4:35
4. "You Never Need Nobody"  Sam Ashworth 4:50
5. "You Can Be All Kinds of Emotional"    3:20
6. "You Don't Love Me Like You Used To"  Elmquist, Trisha Ivy, Matt Knapp, Kanene Doheney Pipkin 3:15
7. "Fire Red Horse"    3:53
8. "Bleeding Out"  Elmquist, Knapp, Charlie Peacock 3:41
9. "Looking for You"  Matthew Perryman Jones 5:28
10. "Teach Me to Know"  Caleb Clardy 3:29
11. "The One You Should've Let Go"    5:04
Total length:
 46:50

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[10] 64
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[10] 14
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[10] 12
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[10] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[10] 20
US Top Current Albums (Billboard)[10] 58

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Leggett, Steve (January 22, 2013). "The Lone Bellow - The Lone Bellow : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Dolan, Jon (March 15, 2013). "The Lone Bellow: The Lone Bellow (Descendant)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Palmer, Brian (January 31, 2013). "The Lone Bellow: The Lone Bellow". Glide Magazine. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Bjorke, Matt (January 28, 2013). "Album Review: The Lone Bellow - The Lone Bellow". Roughstock. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Shriver, Jerry (January 14, 2013). "Listen Up: Teena Marie, The Lone Bellow, A$AP Rocky". USA Today. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Metacritic (April 4, 2013). "Critic Reviews for The Lone Bellow". CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gleason, Holly (January 29, 2013). "The Lone Bellow: The Lone Bellow". Paste. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Leftridge, Steve (April 4, 2013). "The Lone Bellow: The Lone Bellow". PopMatters. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  9. ↑ Daly, Sean (January 21, 2013). "Review: The Lone Bellow's self-titled album is a grooving roots-rock debut". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Billboard. "The Lone Bellow - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.