Loud City Song

Critical reception

Loud City Song received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album has received an average score of 88, based on 30 reviews. Heather Phares of AllMusic stated, "Loud City Song is Holter's most polished work to date, and another example of how she upholds and redefines what it means to be an avant-garde singer/songwriter." Rob Hakimian of Beats Per Minute said, "Loud City Song is a true achievement from Julia Holter. Nary is there a hook on the album, but the richness and vividness that she brings to the songs musically and lyrically will hook you more effectively anyway." Alex Robertson of Sputnikmusic stated, "This album is the sound of an excellent singer, songwriter, arranger, and, I'd argue, thinker translating those strengths into some of the most stirring music you'll hear this year. Loud City Song may not be loud, but the echo it makes is unforgettable." Robin Smith of PopMatters stated, "It's an impressive record to listen to—the compositions are even more beautiful than Ekstasis, even though they're often more fragmented—but it's also a frightening depiction of what it feels like to have a whole population making you up in its head." Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork stated, "Though it draws upon the distant past, Julia Holter's made a timeless people-watching soundtrack: an acutely felt ode to the mysteries of a million passersby, all the stars of their own silent musicals."

Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound stated, "Loud City Song is a sightseeing trip with a person fully able to portray the objective beauty of the sights, as well as her own take on them." Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian stated, "Barbara Lewis's soul classic "Hello Stranger" gets a chillout makeover, which doesn't quite work; but any faults are obliterated by the album's closer, "City Appearing"." Laura Snapes of NME said, "This is wild music, a celestial cabaret that absorbs and unsettles." Q stated, "Her songs are challenging, expansive and cinematic, turning minimalist melodies on their heads and redefining the limits of pop." Philip Sherburne of Spin stated, "Like Gigi herself, it is a work of perpetual self-invention, an extended state of becoming. Have pity on the inquisitory birds, because it's impossible to look away." Alex Griffin of Tiny Mix Tapes said, "This sits up quietly but pointedly as a quiet rebuke to records that won't try to render the depth of the world in a layered and crafted way, those that prefer to just wink, shrug, or laze." Uncut stated, "Like any new city, this album may take some getting used to—there's beauty everywhere, but the streets are far from a neat grid. But as you walk them, Holter's genius as a sonic town planner reveals itself."

Track listing