Alice Costelloe Move On With the Year
Alice Costelloe's Move On With the Year approaches family scars with a fragile, attentive touch, trading theatrical fury for hushed revelation and careful pop craft. Across four professional reviews, critics point to the record's minimalist indie pop production, intimate lyrics and instrumental experimentation - flute, mellotron and sparse organ - as the frame for songs that turn memory and addiction into quietly potent songwriting.
The critical consensus, reflected in an 80/100 score from four reviews, praises standout tracks such as “Move On With The Year”, “Damned If You Do” and “If I Could Reach You”. Reviewers consistently highlight the album's melancholic melodies and vulnerability: Dork and DIY note how “Damned If You Do” and “How Can I?” capture small, shrewd realizations, while PopMatters names “If I Could Reach You” an irresistible earworm. Critics credit producer Mike Lindsay's subtle, tinkering approach for allowing intimate vocals and lyrical introspection to breathe, situating the record in a British art-pop lineage that recalls Lesley Duncan and Kate Bush without imitation.
While praise centers on the record's emotional restraint and instrumental textures, some reviews imply a limited palette - a measured, rather than maximal, debut that rewards repeated listens. The consensus suggests Move On With the Year is a substantive solo debut that balances nostalgia, healing and emotional distance, making it a quietly affecting addition to Costelloe's catalog and worth seeking out for those curious about the best songs on the record.
For a deeper look at what critics say about Move On With the Year, read the full reviews below.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
If I Could Reach You
1 mention
"is by far the catchiest track onthe album, an earworm"— PopMatters
Of Course I Know
1 mention
"is the zenith of Move on With the Year"— PopMatters
How Can I?
1 mention
"There’s a quiet devastation in ‘How Can I?’ as she battles with the fact that this image has been spoiled"— Dork
is by far the catchiest track onthe album, an earworm
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Anywhere Else
How Can I
Move On With The Year
Every Time
Too Late Now
Damned If You Do
Of Course I Know
Feet On The Sand
If I Could Reach You
Is There Something (Goodbye)
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Alice Costelloe’s Move On With The Year walks through childhood wounds with a tenderness that refuses fury, finding its clearest moments in “Damned If You Do” and “How Can I?”. The record refuses theatrical rage and instead lingers on ache and small, shrewd realizations, which is why “Feet On The Sand” and “Every Time” land as quietly powerful tracks. Costelloe’s flute and understated guitar choices let the songs breathe, so when she sings those closing affirmations on “How Can I?” they land like small victories. This is an album about looking back without bitterness, and the best songs on Move On With The Year are those that turn private damage into calmly observed, aching truth.
Key Points
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The best song, “Damned If You Do”, is strongest because its flute-laced arrangement and reflective lyrics crystallize the album’s sorrow.
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The album’s core strengths are its vulnerability, lucid songwriting about family addiction, and restrained musical choices that foreground emotion.
Themes
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Critic's Take
Alice Costelloe’s Move On With The Year feels like a careful solo statement, its best songs resting in fragile art pop arrangements where mellotrons and flute let intimate melodies breathe. The review repeatedly singles out the album’s gentle, sensitive lyrics and how they slot the record between Lesley Duncan and Kate Bush, so listeners asking about the best tracks on Move On With The Year will find the standout moments in songs built around those delicate melodies. The production by Mike Lindsay is credited with a tinkering, subtle approach that makes tracks like “Move On With The Year” and “Every Time” particularly affecting. Overall the reviewer frames the album as a substantive solo debut worth hearing for its warmth and restraint.
Key Points
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The title track best encapsulates the album’s fragile art-pop and is why it stands out.
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The album’s core strengths are its delicate melodies, subtle production and intimate, relatable lyrics.
Themes
Critic's Take
Alice Costelloe's Move On With the Year feels like a careful, measured step forward: the record marries sonic familiarity with lyrical introspection in a way that makes tracks such as “Move On With The Year” and “Too Late Now” stand out as the best songs on Move On With the Year. McVinnie's ear for textured, minimal indie pop - with self-taught flute and organ peeking through - gives these songs weight without overwriting their dainty charm. The best tracks on the album balance husky vocals and past wounds into memorable, quietly powerful moments that repay repeated listens. Overall, the album's strongest songs reveal Costelloe's growth both musically and personally, which is why listeners asking about the best tracks on Move On With the Year will be drawn to those inward, melodic highlights.
Key Points
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The title track is best because it encapsulates the album's marriage of sonic familiarity and lyrical introspection.
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The album's core strengths are husky vocals, minimalist indie-pop arrangements, and candid, family-focused lyricism.
Themes
Critic's Take
Alice Costelloe's Move On With the Year is, in this reviewer's view, a gallant and moving exploration of family trauma, with standouts like “Anywhere Else” and “If I Could Reach You” cutting the deepest. Walters writes with a measured, literary authority, noting how “Anywhere Else” drifts into a dreamlike sorrow and how “If I Could Reach You” becomes the album's irresistible earworm. He praises the production and Costelloe's blithe vocals as guiding the record away from mawkishness and toward graceful pop catharsis. The result is a sophisticated indie-pop record whose best songs anchor both its emotional bluntness and its melodic grace.
Key Points
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The best song, "If I Could Reach You", is the catchiest earworm and balances dancing with crying, making it the album's emotional hook.
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The album's core strengths are its refined, warm analogue production and Costelloe's poised vocals that render heavy themes with grace.