★★★★★
Aloe Blacc is an artist with recognizable work, but not necessarily the most recognizable name. Anybody who has caught a glimpse of American television over the last five months has surely seen an advertisement for Beats by Dre featuring Kevin Garnett or Colin Kaepernick transforming a world of jeering fans and hecklers into a comforting chorus of "Go ahead and tell everybody / I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man." The song is a hit, but it didn't necessarily make Aloe Blacc a household name...
- www.popmatters.com
2014-05-08
★★★★★
Listening to soul man Aloe Blacc's incredibly forceful, warm voice is like sitting on a radiator. His vocals - which at times evoke Sam Cooke and Otis Reading - are the real star of this diverse, accomplished album. The eclectic sound isn't surprising considering that Blacc's CV includes the West Coast underground rap scene and a stint with a French jazz group. In 2003 he launched himself as a solo artist and had a UK hit in 2010 with the trumpet-heavy "I Need a Dollar"...
- www.independent.co.uk
2014-04-29
★★★★★
Photo: Prior to the release of Lift Your Spirit retro soul man Aloe Blacc featured on the cheesy EDM country hybrid hit 'Wake Me Up' with Swedish producer Avicii, which went on achieve No.1 status in 22 countries. Lift Your Spirit is his third solo effort, but the first to be released on a major label, and it seems Aloe Blacc is longing to be a household name. With two No...
- www.gigwise.com
2014-04-07
★★★★★
Photo:
Prior to the release of Lift Your Spirit retro soul man Aloe Blacc featured on the cheesy EDM country hybrid hit 'Wake Me Up' with Swedish producer Avicii, which went on achieve No.1 status in 22 countries. Lift Your Spirit is his third solo effort, but the first to be released on a major label, and it seems Aloe Blacc is longing to be a household name. With two No...
- gigwise.com
2014-06-03
★★★★★
Aloe Blacc's major-label debut does what it promises: it lifts your spirit. The retro-pop singer - he of Wake Me Up, the song he voiced and co-wrote with Swedish DJ Avicii, as well as big 2011 hit I Need a Dollar - honours 70s soul here, the 12 tracks busy with hooks; moments of blues layered with acoustic folk...
- www.theguardian.com
2014-04-06
★★★★★
Cynics, -beware ... Aloe Blacc Buy it from Buy the CDDownload as MP3Aloe BlaccLift Your SpiritPolydor Group2014 Tell us what you think: Rate and review this album ...
- www.theguardian.com
2014-04-04
★★★★★
It seems hard to imagine that this is the same man who recorded 2006 debut album Shine Through. A rough and ready meshing of rap, R&B;, Latin and anything else - from Tropicália to disco - it was an ambitious if messy album that pushed musical boundaries. If its follow up, 2010's retro-soul Good Things, and accompanying mega-hit I Need A Dollar, were geared towards the pop market, their slick take on classic R&B; also gained from more assured vocals and satisfyingly quirky production.
- recordcollectormag.com
2014-03-27
★★★★★
Southern California indie-hop and soul sensation Aloe Blacc follows up his piano-pounding multi-million-selling hit "I Need a Dollar" with a major label debut filled with the sound of his smoky baritone voice, front and center. While the album's first single, "The Man," is nothing too unique to write home about, the stirring acoustic number "Wake Me Up," the handsomely nervous "Ticking Bomb" and the sarcastic "Red Velvet Seat" offer brilliant, better options of Blacc's observational lyricism...
- filtermagazine.com
2014-03-14
★★★★★
Southern California soulman Aloe Blacc, who sang lead on Avicii's 2013 smash "Wake Me Up," will probably be enjoying some nice royalty checks for years to come - but while every college student in the hemisphere surely recognizes his voice, not nearly as many fans know his name. Blacc's major-label debut tries to change that with a set of hooky soul-pop tunes layered with folk-tinged acoustic elements...
- www.rollingstone.com
2014-03-11