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Viva Tu Image
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 5 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The first full-length solo studio release from Manu Chao in 17 years features guest appearances by Laeti and Willie Nelson.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Sep 23, 2024
    80
    That effortless mixing of European folk, South American soul, Caribbean groove, cumbia, and dub makes returning to Chao’s style a joy. While it has taken seventeen years to arrive, Viva Tu is classic Manu Chao, a bit more mellow with age, maturity, and an easy-flowing sense of musical comfort.
  2. Sep 25, 2024
    80
    With Viva Tu, Manu Chao continues a conversation between an artist and his audience in a beautiful yet fucked-up world. Regardless of the message and the somber tone of many songs in Viva Tu, there is also hope and joy. This music is meant to be lived with.
  3. Uncut
    Sep 23, 2024
    80
    There’s the customary minor-key acoustic lilt played out at a range of tempos somewhere between rumba and reggae, served with the occasional light garnish of bleeps. Far from being a problem, that’s almost certainly the way Chao’s fans like it. [Oct 2024, p.35]
  4. Mojo
    Sep 23, 2024
    80
    Shows he hasn’t lost the knack for marrying accessible melodies with vivid storytelling, wry humour and subversive lyrics. [Nov 2024, p.85]
  5. Sep 23, 2024
    70
    The album has a little more of a singer-songwriter quality than its predecessors, with some somber moments befitting a 61-year-old artist who’s been involved in music since the Eighties punk scene. Some of the most arresting moments have a mix of reflective wisdom and hopeful resilience.