''Blue Roses'' is the debut studio album by Laura Groves under the pseudonym Blue Roses, released on 27 April 2009 through

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...

. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Critical reception

''Blue Roses'' received a score of 73 out of 100 on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. Rob Webb of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' found it to be "a dizzyingly beautiful set of delicate folk songs that sound like they've been sprinkled with pixie dust and reincarnated from some perfect bygone age". ''

MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

''s Michael Cragg described it as "a startling debut, a record that oozes warmth and charm whilst revealing itself slowly and patiently. It's the kind of album that you’ll want to recommend and that suits a word-of-mouth popularity". Grayson Haver Currin of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' felt that the album "makes it clear that Groves is inordinately talented and working with big portions of audacity and acumen. It's the sort of debut that puts Groves in the company of recent giants, both with its dramatic compositional flair and in its mix of homemade humility and major accomplishment". Reviewing the album for ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', John Bergstrom called it "alternately impressive, surprising, aloof, and exhausting" and "when it succeeds it sounds like the work of someone who could leave a lasting mark". Michael Hann of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote that "the 10 songs here tend towards the emotionally overwrought" and "those with a low tolerance for navel-gazing are advised to steer clear, but there's plenty to cherish here". James Christopher Monger of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

complimented its "earnest yet elusive wordplay, serpentine melodies, and minimal arrangements lithely follow the trail blazed by the current crop of postmillennial retro fairy tale crooners like

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. After recording and self-releasing two EPs in 2002, Newsom signed to the independent label Drag City (record label), Drag City. Her debut album, ''The Milk-Eyed ...

Tiny Vipers Tiny Vipers (born 1983) is the musical project of Jessica Louise "Jesy" Fortino, a Seattle-based American musician known for her minimalist, atmospheric music. Her style, combining elements of folk, ambient, and experimental music, is characteri ...

, and Laura Barrett" but noted that "the pace is sluggish at best, resulting in a collection of songs best listened to in threes".

Track listing

Charts

References

{{reflist 2009 debut albums Albums produced by Laura Groves Laura Groves albums XL Recordings albums