Room 29
by Jarvis Cocker
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Record Collector
    Mar 15, 2017
    100
    Deceptively simple, Cocker’s economical narratives sit atop Gonzalez’s evocative ivories, drawing you in with their intimacy, like an old rummy spilling the beans.
  2. Under The Radar
    Mar 21, 2017
    85
    This is an elaborate, highly-thematic work for both artists; simply put, a fascinating excursion for Cocker's followers, and a must-listen for any devotees of Hollywood's Golden Age.
  3. The Telegraph (UK)
    Apr 19, 2017
    80
    A chamber piece that spills blood all over the hotel carpet, Room 29 is an understated triumph.
  5. The 405
    Mar 24, 2017
    80
    The result is a thrilling trip into a time and a place where nothing is really quite as it seems and the glamorous mask is slipping away.
  6. The Observer (UK)
    Mar 20, 2017
    80
    Cocker and Gonzales aren’t so mesmerised by Chateau lore (John Belushi overdosing, etc) as they are by the semi-famous marinating in glamorous desperation, the old-school Hollywood lifers ordering “ice cream as main course”.
  7. Uncut
    Mar 15, 2017
    80
    An album filled with similarly delicious moments. [Apr 2017, p.22]
    All this publication's reviews
  8. AllMusic
    Mar 15, 2017
    80
    Perhaps the individual songs seem ephemeral when isolated on their own, but that's because Room 29 is constructed as a tone poem, a collection of songs, poetry, and incidental music that's designed to be a hyper-reality--an intersection of the glamorous past of Hollywood and our arch modern sensibility, and it succeeds gloriously at that.
  9. Pitchfork
    Mar 27, 2017
    72
    A few tracks are infectious enough to merit standalone listens.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Stringer360
    Mar 17, 2017
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ABOUT ALBUM)
    Well I'm a lover of music, particularly if the music is acoustic. In the first of room 29 you receive some spoken word, which leads into the song, I would love to say its seamless however in honesty its really not. Its forced and breaks the song up into weird and strange segments.
    Listening to the rest of the album was interesting, as the movement between spoken word and sung lyrics got better, and the story telling was powerful.
    Overall it's not what I was expecting, to be honest it isn't really my taste in music, however as it wells a powerful story I would recommend people to give it a shot. (Yes I have even surprised myself saying that). My rating is a fair 6 points based on what I listened too.    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »