Hopeless Romantic
by Michelle Branch
  • Record Label: Verve
  • Release Date: Apr 7, 2017
User Score
6.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 19
  3. Negative: 5 out of 19
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Mikepepsi
    May 21, 2017
    7
    At first listen, Hopeless Romantic is clearly a different direction for Michelle Branch away from the guitar pop that made her the competitor to Vanessa Carlton on piano at her apex. But as Romantic Comedies that heavily infused their narratives with Branch's work have changed into darker, more real stories - so has Branch's music.

    She's still game at remembering a good melody, and    At first listen, Hopeless Romantic is clearly a different direction for Michelle Branch away from the guitar pop that made her the competitor to Vanessa Carlton on piano at her apex. But as Romantic Comedies that heavily infused their narratives with Branch's work have changed into darker, more real stories - so has Branch's music.

    She's still game at remembering a good melody, and under the Black Keys infused production catchy pop melodies are stripped down from the full-scale, kitchen-sink pop she used to be known for.

    Songs like 'Fault Line' are crying for a retro LA music video to ship it into mainstream consciousness. And after repeated listens 'Fault' and other cuts like 'Hopeless Romantic' and 'Knock Yourself Out' find themselves providing unexpectedly strong returns with staying power - with the latter being the strongest nod to Hotel Paper out of the set.

    Branch fans might be disappointed with such a shift in direction after multiple years, something Vanessa Carlton had to work strategically to pull off, but this could well be Branch's most cohesive and elegant work with it's mainstream teeth cut off in a streaming age.

    The real challenge for Branch will be forming an audience outwith the pop mainstream of teenage girls who grew up with her sounds, expecting reliably early 2000s approaches to melodies. The promise is there in a generation where the likes of Feist are staking claim to temporary greatness, Branch and Carlton remain poised to be stories of enduring legitimacy.    … Expand
  2. Music_Observer
    May 16, 2017
    7
    The lack of power and drive in the sound couldn’t quite keep up with the goals of each song, but Branch has one of the best melodic intuitions of any pop rock artist, and she was still able to give spark to the texture with her sung lines when given the space. My Score: 126/180 (Good) = 7/10

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Q Magazine
    Apr 12, 2017
    60
    Lyrics veer from the pessimism of relationship failure to the optimism of new love, underpinned by the worldliness of a woman moving forwards after so many steps backwards. [Jun 2017, p.105]
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Apr 7, 2017
    75
    Branch’s commitment sells the project as a whole. And for all that’s different, Branch’s longtime lyrical preoccupation, the intense dissection of love lost and found, remains intact.
    Read full review
  3. AllMusic
    Apr 6, 2017
    80
    Hopeless Romantic has an appealingly cool veneer in addition to a sturdy structure of songs. It comes on so smoothly, it's easy to overlook how the songs quickly sink into the subconscious.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »