★★★★★
Side One Dummy Certainly, no one will accuse Xavier Rudd of being uncomfortable in his own skin. The Australian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has incorporated the sounds and tones of native Aborigines into his folk rock throughout his career, becoming one of his homeland's most iconic musical voices. Spirit Bird opener "Lioness Eyes" begins with the sound of cackling apes and bellowing didgeridoo, and then moves through hypnotic, ceremonial incantations...
- www.relix.com
2012-08-13
★★★★★
If you like the guitar work of Jeff Beck and The Black Keys, you will enjoy Xavier Rudd, whose psychedelic, distorted fuzzbox blues rock is dark and heavy. But "Xav" shifts gears frequently, going from barnburners like Black Water and the title track to the world music rhythms of Guku, augmented by the Australian native's signature didgeridoo playing. Then he switches to sappy, '70s-style singer/songwriter stuff like Hope That You'll Stay and Home...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-09
★★★★★
Xavier Rudd is an Australian songwriter using traditional sounds mixed with modern elements, and while this might sound lame as fuck, think Sepultura and to a closer to home extent Tiki. The album, produced by Tool/Queens of the Stoneage Joe Barresi , has something akin to those bands. Drums brought to the forefront, with a psychedelic overtone to lighter moment stoner rock. It's like nothing you've heard before and def worth a listen.
- www.undertheradar.co.nz
2010-11-02
★★★★★
Release Date: April 20, 2010 Australian singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd has a voice that needs to be heard to be understood. Soaring, plaintive and deeply emotive, he sings every verse as if it were his last. There's a poignancy, intimacy and gravitas he achieves with each utterance and intonation that makes nearly every moment worth remembering. It's an achievement many artists can strive a whole career to achieve and never attain...
- absolutepunk.net
2010-05-21
★★★★★
It was poised to make metal boys scoff at its softness and Rudd-fanatics writhe in emo angst. It does neither. Xavier Rudd knew sound-revamping was risky, still I imagine a warm, confident grin from the Australian regarding Dark Shades of Blue.
Rudd has walked the narrow path away from the safety of the sound he's cultivated, off into darkness but never consumed by it. He remains Xavier Rudd, albeit wiser, worn from the demands of tour/record/surf...
- www.urb.com
2009-07-21
★★★★★
Here comes Rhymin' Rudd
When Paul Simon filtered reggae's vibe into 1973's "Was A Sunny Day," he swapped the genre's aphoristic politics for pure lilt. He also probably didn't count on generations of imitators. Australian surfer dude/multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd takes this approach and adds the politics back in. Sort of...
- www.pastemagazine.com
2009-06-17
★★★★★
Singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd is big in his native Australia, but has yet to fully be embraced elsewhere. This should change with his consistently brilliant new release, Food In the Belly. All the familiar elements are here: the amazing guitar playing, the didgeridoo flourishes, the funky rhythms of the stomp box, the soulful vocals, and the earnest lyrics. But everything clicks this time out, with the comparisons to Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, and Paul Simon finally making sense...
- www.globalrhythm.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
Xavier Rudd's White Moth is an aqueous mix of aboriginal Australia and in-the-pocket groove. By adding a permanent percussionist and organist, Rudd has taken the focus off his limiting one-man-band show and applied that extra energy to creating a catalog of perfect new songs. While White Moth retains the folk-rock beach vibe that's such a part of Rudd's Australian persona, the album is layered with plucking guitars, flowing didgeridoos and expertly crafted words...
- www.globalrhythm.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
F.GIFood In The Belly is Xavier Rudd's sixth album and first for Epitaph's ever-growing Anti label. Rudd imbues his songs with an array of sounds and textures like traditional and classical Indian slide guitar, organ, and didgeridoo drones (Rudd was born in Australia and raised in Canada). While it's easy to overlook Rudd's words since his voice is so agreeably soothing, it isn't difficult to give in to the thumping sweetness of tracks like "Energy Song" and the electric "Fortune Teller...
- www.slantmagazine.com
2009-06-08
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