★★★★★
What American Idol winner Phillip Phillips may lack in artistic mettle, he makes up for in impeccable timing, as his debut, The World from the Side of the Moon, arrives in the throes of the roots-rock revival that's seen acts like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers scoring big commercially. To that end, Phillips, an unapologetic Dave Matthews Band acolyte, has the good fortune to sound relevant in a way that few American Idol winners ever have, as The World from the Side of the Moon often plays...
- www.slantmagazine.com
2012-11-25
★★★★★
Perhaps no "American Idol" winner has been more transparent about his or her musical intentions than Phillip Phillips. Week after week, the grumpy-voiced reigning champion stayed so unwaveringly true to his vision that anyone who watched already knows exactly what "The World From the Side of the Moon" sounds like. It's essentially a magnet with two poles -- Dave Matthews (his true north) and Mumford & Sons -- and it's just a matter of how far each song swings the needle from side to side...
- www.bostonglobe.com
2012-11-20
★★★★★
Like his name, Phillip Phillips' music often seems redundant: When we've already got Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz, why do we need another earnestly raspy balladeer with ace acoustic-guitar skills? The American Idol winner is especially hard to take in covers, like his scary-in-the-wrong-way version of "Thriller" (from the Target deluxe edition)...
- www.rollingstone.com
2012-11-20
★★★★★
Something has either gone incredibly wrong or something has gone right for the first time in its history, because it's a rare occurrence that American Idol alumni let alone winners release albums worth putting on repeat. Phillip Phillips - yes that is his real name - had a bumpy road after Idol finished; he had to get surgery to remove kidney stones, but has bounced back by going on tour and releasing Babel 2.0. What I mean by 'Babel 2...
- absolutepunk.net
2012-11-17