Counterweight

I can't even articulate how much I love this singer! Her voice is so beautiful, and every song on this album displays its range and beauty. The songs comprise both pop styling and folk, showing off her versatility."Rise", for me, is That Song - the one that says everything you couldn't find the words for, at a time when major upheaval in my life has me scared and depressed. Just listening to this song helps to heal those wounds. As for "I Lift My Lamp" - what does it say about us that it takes a British singer to school us on the meaning of those famous words that appear on the Statue of Liberty? Thea nails it.

One of the best albums that I’ve purchased in the last few years. Thea is an excellent songwriter and a worthy member of today’s folk-rock movement. FYI the 2 lp vinyl set is 45 rpm!, but it doesn’t say that anywhere on the packaging.

Love it, more pop than her other CDs... but I love Thea Gilmore. She is an amazing songwriter with a great​ voice

I have been a loyal fan and follower of Thea Gilmore for many years. I have most of her work, which is a considerable.volume. I'm sure that she is understandably proud of this new album.

I first encountered Thea Gilmore through a Neil Gaiman reference and lost track of her music for some years til recently. Now this album is truly an unvarnished gem filled with some social commentary and deeply felt, universal songs. If you feel deeply in love, some songs should deeply resonate.

Not my favorite album of hers, but a good solid effort.

Another gem for my collection of the best singer songwriter in this genre. Five stars does not do this artist justice imho.

To describe an artist as a 'musical genius' or an album as a 'masterpiece' is probably an exaggeration, an overreaction or simply misguided in most instances. Thea Gilmore and The Counterweight are clearly exceptions to such categorizations. To say Thea has a way with words is a gross understatement. She is one of the most articulate, intelligent and deeply passionate poet/songwriters of her generation. Really, of any generation. On a promotional sticker on one of Townes Van Zandt's albums Steve Earle declared, “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” I would make that same statement about Thea Gilmore, and I have plenty of cowboy boots to choose from! Buy this CD, pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back and enjoy a remarkable collection of timeless and thought-provoking songs. Then go out and buy her many other recordings and go see her perform live!

I've been following Thea's output for 16 years or so but I've often found her quite inconsistent across the length of a full album, with a couple of exceptions. The Counterweight isn't one of those exceptions; it's okay but it'll never be my Thea go-to album. I first heard the material live as she (somewhat oddly, I thought) chose to tour a couple of weeks before the album release and was in two minds both then and since. If longevity and timelessness are the counterweights to immediacy and simplicity, then this resulting collection is somewhat imbalanced towards the latter. Yes, it's all quickly memorable but at the expense of being too obvious at times. Production wise, it sounds like someone's followed a 'Radio 2 2017 Playlist' blueprint: synths, drum loops, multi-tracked strings, quiet verse, loud verse, quiet bit, big chorus, kitchen sink and my pet hate, the occasional auto-tuned vocal (the end of "Rise" in particular sticks out like a sore thumb). Each time I've listened to The Counterweight, I return to pondering the same thing: I wonder what would have happened to the same batch of songs in the hands of a more impartial producer drawing from a less obvious instrumental palate.

I have got most of Thea's albums from the last 20 years or so and rate her highly. I got this album a month ago, and have held back from making a quick review, to see if my opinions would change with repeated plays and familiarisation. Thea's singing is fine, strong, clear and true, and her observational lyrics are as sharp as ever, such as on Reconcile, where she has a pop at a range of issues, from the price for a cup of coffee, while her tunes are for free, and Instagram accounts. No fault with Thea's sharp observations, cutting through the crap to get through to key issues she wants to highlight, still angry and critical of the world about her.The problem I have is the move away from her normal guitar lead songs to piano which is OK, but then veering into 80's synthesisers and over embellished strings, which for me seriously detract from some of the songs, tarnishing them. On early listenings I was very disappointed, after a month some of the songs with synths have grown on me but others still jar. In conclusion, the switch to a new style of arrangements for me personally have generally not worked that well. A great shame, the content and thoughts behind the songs are as genuine as ever, her singing is great, but the synths and strings arrangements for me are often off putting, and really spoilt the listening experience and reduced my enjoyment.All credit for trying something new and different in style, but for me it does not really work, and I was frustrated that strong songs were obscured by the new production values, a great shame. So for me this is unfortunately not one of her best albums.

I’m not sure whether I 100% like this record or not.The main reason I’d give this ‘only’ 4 stars is that it’s musically too diverse for me.The lack of sonic finesse is, however, amply compensated by Thea Gilmore’s lyrics.Reading them on paper, they seem quite ordinary but when sung, they often sound gorgeous.I saw Thea Gilmore (with full band) only once, a couple of months ago, in a very intimate setting.It was truly brilliant.She ended her gig with The War, her heartfelt tribute to Jo Cox, only accompanied by Nigel Stonier’s piano and a cello. Awesome.On record, it’s perhaps too ‘orchestrated’, too slick (like other tracks), but I’ll have to admit that I cannot keep my eyes dry when listening to this marvellous song - worth the price of the album alone.Thea Gilmore is an independent artist with her heart in the right place.I think she’s one of those we should support by buying her records (I’ve got a handful of them).She made more than 15 albums, yet, I have a feeling that the best is still to come.‘Avalanche’ and ‘Ghosts & Graffiti’, to name a couple, are more often in my CD player than this one.I like this album, though, but with some reservations.Thea Gilmore's older stuff feels more intimate but we all move on, don't we?

I have been a big fan of Thea's seemingly forever and have listened in awe as she has matured as a writer and a vocalist. Her sharp politically aware lyrics never cease to surprise. Every time someone in the commentariat says nobody writes protest songs any more I think to myself 'you're not paying attention'. Sadly anodyne MOR pap seems to be pretty much subsuming the market since the turn of the century and artists of Thea's calibre seemingly take too much effort to categorise for accountant-driven music gatekeepers. A good bit of her appeal is that virtually no two albums are the same but on The Counterweight the dissonance of lyrics of penetrating social and political observation sprinkled in sweet orchestral production like shards of glass in an Eton Mess is, for me at least, a good part of its appeal. Please, please whatever you do don't stop being Thea.

Another good album from one (of the few) British singer/songwriters that I admire. Like Aimee Mann, for me , Thea is a "Marmite" artist. I would not say that any of her songs are bad, but the good ones are very good indeed and can stir deep emotions. This album contains a few of those.