Gwenno Utopia
Gwenno's Utopia arrives as a nocturnal, memory-soaked collection that balances club-born electronica with Celtic-tinged organic textures, and the record's critical consensus leans positive. Across four professional reviews, critics praise the album's standout moments such as “Dancing On Volcanoes”, “Utopia” and “Hireth”, noting how those tracks crystallise the record's tension between adult recollection and youthful restlessness. The album earned a 77.5/100 consensus score across 4 professional reviews, with reviewers consistently calling certain songs transportive and emotionally precise while flagging occasional reliance on retro signifiers.
Reviewers describe Utopia as alternately clubby and pastoral: “Dancing On Volcanoes” evokes smoky nightlife and intimate, yacht-rock piano touches, “Utopia” leans into motorik psych-pop and trip-hop depth, and “Hireth” closes with a rueful, consoling instrumental sense of healing. Critics repeatedly picked out “73” and “London 1757” for their rapturous strings and ethereal haze, and several reviews highlight language shifts, motherhood and nostalgia as recurring themes that give the songs emotional ballast.
While some reviewers note familiar retro architecture that tempers the record's risks, the critical consensus suggests Utopia is worth attention for its evocative lyricism and carefully arranged textures. For readers searching for a nuanced Gwenno review, the collection's best songs and its mix of electronic and Celtic instrumentation mark it as a thoughtful, often rewarding chapter in her catalogue, one that interrogates adulthood, imagination and the small consolations of memory.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Hireth
3 mentions
"‘Hireth’, originally written on harp, is the perfect lead-in."— The Quietus
Dancing On Volcanoes
4 mentions
"the sprightly bouncing "Dancing on Volcanoes" (driven by a skittish groove"— The Line of Best Fit
Utopia
4 mentions
"The dreamily yet propulsively drifting title track"— The Line of Best Fit
‘Hireth’, originally written on harp, is the perfect lead-in.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
London 1757
Dancing On Volcanoes
Utopia
Y Gath
War
73
The Devil
Ghost of You
St Ives New School
Hireth
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 6 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Gwenno's Utopia feels like a resplendent drift through memory, and the best tracks - notably “Dancing On Volcanoes” and “Hireth” - crystallise that mood. Tom Morgan writes with a measured admiration, noting a mirrorball piano rock vibe that makes “Dancing On Volcanoes” a yacht-rock mutation and crowns “Hireth” a magical closer. The serene “73” is singled out for its rapturous strings, and while the album sometimes leans on familiar retro architecture, there is clear heady magic throughout. This is a dreamlike, occasionally limited, but often beautiful record that rewards repeated listening.
Key Points
-
The best song is 'Hireth' because the reviewer calls it a "singular highlight" and a magical closer.
-
The album's core strengths are its dreamlike nostalgia, lush strings, and retro piano-rock atmosphere.
Critic's Take
Gwenno’s Utopia makes its case for the best songs on the record by leaning into nocturnal memory and club-born textures. The reviewer singles out “Utopia” for its dreamily yet propulsive motorik psych-pop, and “Dancing On Volcanoes” for packing the whiff of cigarette ends, spilt beer and wary hope that defines many of the record’s best tracks. Also highlighted are “73” and “The Devil” as arresting moments where lived reality and distorted imagination collide, which is ultimately why these are cited as the album’s strongest moments. This is an album where language and grown-up recollection combine to make its best tracks resonate long after the last bar.
Key Points
-
The title track’s propulsive dreaminess and vivid club imagery make it the album’s emotional center.
-
Utopia’s strengths are its language shift, late-night memory textures, and the tension between lived fact and imagined distortion.
Themes
mu
Critic's Take
In her warm, observant manner Lina Adams finds the best songs on Utopia to be rewarding and transportive - “Dancing On Volcanoes” crackles with playful night-out intimacy, while the title track “Utopia” brings an Air-esque trip-hop depth. Adams highlights the eerie comfort of “Y Gath” and the childlike wonder of “73” as moments where Gwenno’s lyricism and atmosphere shine. The opener “London 1757” is praised for its ethereal, psychedelic haze that beckons listeners in, and closing instrumental “Hireth” leaves the listener sitting with growth and resilience.
Key Points
-
The best song is the playful lead single “Dancing On Volcanoes” for its vivid night-out intimacy and immediacy.
-
The album’s core strengths are its nostalgic, atmospheric soundscapes and lyrical themes of self-exploration, youth and resilience.
Themes
Critic's Take
Gwenno's Utopia feels of-the-streets and of-the-heart, and Zoë White emphasises the album's earthy shift toward piano and strings. The review singles out “London 1757” as a perfect, bristling opener and names “Utopia” and “Y Gath” as standout moments, noting their mystery and spiky collaborations. White's voice is measured and descriptive, celebrating how catchy guitar pop like “Dancing on Volcanoes” sits alongside windswept desolation on “War”. Overall, the critic frames the best tracks on Utopia as those that balance urban recollection with richer, more organic arrangements.
Key Points
-
London 1757 is best for its kinetic opener energy and detailed, restless arrangement.
-
The album's core strengths are its move to English and organic instrumentation that frames urban memories.