Positive Songs for Negative People
by Frank Turner
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
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  1. Alternative Press
    Aug 3, 2015
    90
    Re-examining a broken heart is tough business, but Turner and producer Butch Walker do the work on this dozen-song effort. [Sep 2015, p.97]
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  2. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Aug 17, 2015
    85
    All told, Positive Songs for Negative People is Frank Turner's most complete album since Love, Ire & Song, and perhaps his best as well.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Aug 7, 2015
    83
    Playing live together save vocals and minor overdubs. The result pushes Turner and his band back into more energetic territory after the careful, pristine sound of his previous effort.
  5. Clash Music
    Sep 8, 2015
    80
    The folk troubadour's sixth studio release has been presented as his "defining statement" and it's true, the Wessex boy has delivered something truly wonderful.
  6. Punknews.org (Staff)
    Aug 11, 2015
    80
    Expectations may not exactly be lived up to the way you had hoped. You just may, however, find that your expectations were wrong in the first place. That’s right, Positive Songs for Negative People is more than worth your time.
  7. The Telegraph (UK)
    Aug 3, 2015
    80
    At times his roar-throated tone gets repetitive, but Denver singer/songwriter Esmé Patterson adds subtle vocal contrast on the haunting Silent Key.
  8. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jul 30, 2015
    80
    Every album is a chapter in Frank’s on-going aural autobiography, and Positive Songs is his Getting Over It dispatch.
  9. Q Magazine
    Jul 30, 2015
    80
    Confrontational yet communal. It's what his fans adore the most and, more than any of his previous five studio albums, Positive Songs For Negative People has it in spades. [Sep 2015, p.115]
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  10. Consequence
    Aug 5, 2015
    75
    The album’s best songs are those that more readily acknowledge life’s small tragedies.
  11. AllMusic
    Aug 17, 2015
    70
    It's an invigorating, infectious set that reaffirms Turner's faith in music's power to motivate and heal.
  12. Sputnikmusic
    Aug 11, 2015
    70
    Positive Songs for Negative People lives up to its name and is an enjoyably straight forward record. Unfortunately, the album’s biggest strength also holds it back from ranking among his finest, as the overarching optimism makes the record feel slightly thin and superficial compared to his previous offerings.
  13. Paste Magazine
    Aug 4, 2015
    68
    Turner leaves behind considerable wreckage with Positive Songs--in ways both cathartic and clumsy. And as usual, he goes down swinging.
  14. The Observer (UK)
    Aug 10, 2015
    60
    On record that passion turns out to be a double-edged sword: his emotive delivery gives spirit to his quieter material, but when he’s at his most strident, on his more anthemic numbers, it can start to feel as if he’s using his voice to beat the listener into submission, as with Get Better here.
  15. The Guardian
    Aug 6, 2015
    60
    For all its flaws, Positive Songs for Negative People feels like the work of someone who knows exactly what he’s doing.
  16. Mojo
    Jul 30, 2015
    60
    What Turner lacks in lyrical bravura he makes up with arena sized melodic hooks. [Sep 2015, p.95]
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  17. Rolling Stone
    Aug 7, 2015
    50
    Maybe subtlety's not his thing, but Turner's got a goofy kind of grandeur.
  18. Uncut
    Jul 30, 2015
    50
    Turner delivers his self-empowerment anthems with the crunch and earnestness of Billy Bragg or The Levellers. All this bombast gets a little wearying after a while, though. [Sep 2015, p.83]
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  19. The Independent (UK)
    Jul 31, 2015
    40
    Rarely has such optimism sounded quite bereft of inspiration. Frankly, negative people have a right to more inventive positivism than this.
  20. DIY Magazine
    Jul 31, 2015
    40
    Perhaps it’s even a more accessible album for smoothing off the edges and toning down the vitriol, but it’s also largely forgettable in a way that Frank Turner’s best could never be accused of.
  21. Drowned In Sound
    Aug 4, 2015
    30
    At his best Turner can be immensely charming and gloriously witty. Sadly, these facts only makes the dreary, alarmingly soulless retreads that populate most of Positive Songs for Negative People all the more depressing.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Brainstorm123
    Nov 15, 2015
    10
    Scratch Sigh no More, this is the best thing I've heard in my entire life. There is not one single song on this record that is bad, orScratch Sigh no More, this is the best thing I've heard in my entire life. There is not one single song on this record that is bad, or underwhelming.

    The standouts:
    5: GET BETTER. A song full of raw emotion and heart with some heavy instrumentation and powerful lyrics.
    4: OUT OF BREATH: Extremely loud and full of great piano, drum and guitar playing. Lyrics are ace.
    3: SILENT KEY: Very emotional with the best riff I've ever heard. The lyrics are true and amazing.
    2: THE NEXT STORM: Oozing with happiness and energy, it will lift you up on any bad day.
    1: GLORIOUS YOU: My favourite song of all time, its positivity and beauty are unparalleled, and its lyrics and instrumentation further prove that. One I will remember for the rest of my life. This album doesn't deserve the **** it's getting, and I think that this has truly cemented Frank as my favourite artist of all time.    … Full Review »
  2. BKM
    Aug 17, 2015
    8
    Frank Turner's latest studio album finds the folk punk rocker doing what he does best: writing and singing hook laden rock songs that wearFrank Turner's latest studio album finds the folk punk rocker doing what he does best: writing and singing hook laden rock songs that wear their heart on their sleeve. There are a couple of awkward moments such as the extended tennis metaphor of "Love Forty Down" and the shamelessly goofy "Mittens," but even those songs lodge themselves in your head and win you over with their unabashed sincerity. England Keep My Bones was more anguished and Tape Deck Heart was more volatile, but Positive Songs still delivers its own heartfelt punch.… Full Review »
  3. Winchesterman
    Aug 13, 2015
    5
    Frank Turner appears to be suffering from an attack from the law of diminishing returns. Live he's known as an engaging, compelling act, oneFrank Turner appears to be suffering from an attack from the law of diminishing returns. Live he's known as an engaging, compelling act, one that wins over even the harsher of his critics a lot of the time. But on record, he's more patchy, and his last album Tape Deck Heart failed to match the heights of 2011's England Keep My Bones. His latest release, Positive Songs for Negative People is a curious affair. For a start, it doesn't feel particularly positive to anyone who is for the most part, positive about their lot, and if you're a glass half empty kind of soul, well, it doesn't feel particularly uplifting either. The choice to record the album live with a band is a brave one and understandable, knowing the tight unit The Sleeping Souls are. But it doesn't quite work out, with the feeling that the production is over-polished and sonically with a bit too much treble, which makes it hard to listen to.

    As for the songwriting, it seems that Frank has overthought some of the tracks on this record. Whilst Glorious You, The Next Storm and Get Better are all worthy of a release and definitely the stronger tracks, Silent Key, it's reference point being the Challenger disaster in 1986 feels and sounds like a misstep. However many times I hear it, even though it hooks into me, it still strikes me as being one of the poorest songs he's released and I wonder how Christa McAuliffe's family feel about it. Add in Mittens, Josephine, and the curious Tennis referenced Love Forty Down, and you'll find quite a lot of filler, more so than most of his albums. It's like the songwriting ran out of steam somewhere along the line.

    Finally, Song For Josh, a heartfelt tribute to his friend Josh Burdette, who committed suicide, is an incredibly personal reflection on the feeling you let someone down by not being there for them. This may be true, but positive it isn't, it's very hard listening for anyone who has gone through the same experience.

    As a long standing fan of the man, his music and his live performances, Positive Songs for Negative People falls some way short of my higher hopes and expectations.    … Full Review »
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