''Blue Roses'' is the debut studio album by

Laura Groves Laura Groves, (born 1987) an English musician originally from Shipley, West Yorkshire, England. Her debut album, '' Blue Roses'', was released in 2009 on XL Recordings under the alias ''Blue Roses''. Groves now lives in London and is releasing ...

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 ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six album ...

. 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 a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

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 and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' 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 and launched by ...

''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 (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' 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, fi ...

'', 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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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 music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisc ...

Tiny Vipers Tiny Vipers (born 1983) is the stage name of Jesy Fortino, an American musician from Seattle, Washington. ''Life on Earth (Tiny Vipers album), Life on Earth'' was released on July 7, 2009 on Sub Pop. Luckyhorse Industries released a limited ed ...

, 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