9 - Damien Rice

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 28
  2. Negative: 2 out of 28
  2. There are not as many revelations as on Rice's acclaimed 2002 debut, "O," but it still can be sonically thrilling.
  3. 80
    Rice doesn't dismiss outright the folky troubadour charm that distinguished O, but here it's a springboard for jealousy, sex, misery. [Dec 2006, p.104]
  4. 80
  5. 80
    Even when he tips the sensitivity scales too much... Rice’s innate, anti-lite-FM intensity saves him.
  6. 9 may be quiet, but it is never easy listening. [Dec 2006, p.125]
  7. 80
  8. An album to which listening compares to watching The Break-up or The Last Kiss.
  9. Rice stands apart from the pack because of the genuine beauty and eccentricity of his tunes.
  10. He avoids being too folksy or slipping into an acoustic coma by layering percussion, electric guitars, and strings when needed. By the end, you’ll feel you’ve been through the same wringer.
  11. He rocks more often and more bombastically, but he still writes few song-songs of the kind that anyone with a guitar could stand on stage and interpret. This music needs Rice's rangy voice and desperate theatricality to work.
  12. While O floated along pretty much at one consistently delicate pace, 9 finds Rice exploring a wider range of musical expression. [#16, p.97]
  13. 9 is by no means a failure, or even bad, but it dulls in comparison to what Rice can really produce, which makes it disappointing overall.
  15. The tortured melancholy bit -- part of it, anyway -- takes a back seat on the follow-up to this Irish bard's well-loved 2003 debut.
  16. While not as panoramic or varied as its predecessor, 9 is marked by a similar mix of poised control and impulsive gestures backed by dramatically arranged, lyrical instrumentation. [Dec 2006, p.92]
  17. It's good enough to impress fans of David Gray and Coldplay.
  18. It is simply miserable, heavy, repetitive and cathartic. [18 Nov 2006]
  19. As it was on 2003's O, Damien Rice's songs are so naked emotionally that even listening is akin to eavesdropping on a bad breakup.
  20. Not quite as endearing as his raw and seductive 2002 debut.
  21. "9" picks up where the ubiquitous and two-million selling "O" left off. Hoarse howling to acoustic guitar strumming; folksy plucking to bleeding heart mutterings; Radiohead-a-like moments pull of portentous, look-at-me pauses and full band crescendos.
  22. He's terribly earnest. [4 Nov 2006, p.35]
  23. He quivers, moans and pleads in obsessive contemplation of the darling departed in a self-dramatising simulation of catharsis that wrings from his performances an ocean of emotion when a drop of understated restraint would prove more telling.
  24. "9"... has a confused feel: he simultaneously glosses up the production, tries too hard to seem edgy, then compares women to sandy shores and the morning sun like an adult-contemporary sap. [20 Nov 2006]
  25. Not all of 9 is obnoxious, though. Much of it is merely boring; the unmemorable tunes failing to elevate beyond everyday, coffee house, bland competency.
  26. The biggest problem might be Rice’s vocal technique. On O, he had a tendency to endearingly strain for notes he couldn’t reach. Now, it sounds like he’s purposefully written songs to allow him to overextend his thin voice.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 21
  2. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. Nov 22, 2011
    Not as impressive as his debut but still a very strong record in places. 9 Crimes is a fantastic opener but after that the highlights are sandwiched between some pretty dull stuff. The strange thing is there was lots of unreleased Rice material knocking around before 9 came out that never made it on here which I would consider far stronger. Lisa Hannigans absence for most of the record takes away from the album too. Despite all that there are some great moments as well. Full Review »
  2. CarlyH.
    Jan 11, 2009
  3. AdamP.
    Jan 1, 2009
    I heard of good music but this is a diffrent level. It arouses more feeling than poetry but tells the story better. Says it as it Is. Elephants was sensional Full Review »