Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts Talkin To The Trees
Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts's Talkin To The Trees finds the veteran songwriter returning to folk roots with a homespun, sometimes prickly collection that reviewers call both comforting and confrontational. Across eight professional reviews critics note a record split between intimate acoustic vignettes and blunt protest songs, and the critical consensus—69.75/100 across 8 reviews—positions the album as a worthy late-period statement rather than a full-scale reinvention.
Reviewers consistently point to standout tracks as proof of the album's strengths. “Bottle of Love” emerges repeatedly for its spacey tenderness and warm ensemble phrasing, while “Family Life” is widely described as the album's emotional center, an open-hearted acoustic keynote. Other frequently praised cuts include “Dark Mirage”, “First Fire of Winter” and “big change”, the latter and “Let’s Roll Again” supplying the record's snarling political bite. Critics agree that the best songs on Talkin To The Trees balance domestic intimacy and protest, with moments of nostalgia, environmental and political commentary, and recurrent motifs from Young's past.
Not all reviews are unreservedly positive. Several critics observe that unfinished ideas and sketchlike fragments sit beside fully realised songs, producing a patchwork effect that will please devoted fans more than convert new ones. Still, professional reviews repeatedly praise the album's honesty, acoustic clarity and the weird comfort of hearing Young reflect on family, age and legacy. For readers asking whether Talkin To The Trees is good or worth listening to, the critic consensus suggests several essential tracks and a record whose modest pleasures reward repeated listens.
Below follow the full reviews and track-level notes that expand on these recurrent themes and the album's place in Young's late-career catalog.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Bottle of Love
8 mentions
"More varied instrumental textures immediately follow with the glowing acoustic piano and vibes throughout “Bottle of Love.”"— Glide Magazine
Let’s Roll Again
2 mentions
"All four display an admirable humility in remaining unobtrusive when the arrangement calls for it, as on “Let’s Roll Again.”"— Glide Magazine
Dark Mirage
6 mentions
"The boozy shuffle that is “Dark Mirage” is a more honest expression of inter-personal conflict"— Glide Magazine
More varied instrumental textures immediately follow with the glowing acoustic piano and vibes throughout “Bottle of Love.”
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Family Life
Dark Mirage
First Fire of Winter
Silver Eagle
Lets Roll Again
big change
Talkin to the Trees
Movin Ahead
Bottle of Love
Thankful
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 9 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
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Key Points
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Critic's Take
Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts sounds like a man taking stock rather than surrendering, and Talkin to the Trees finds its best moments in quiet, homespun songs and odd political snarls. Rob Sheffield leans on warm portraits like “Silver Eagle” and “Bottle of Love”, praising the Woody Guthrie campfire feel of the former and the Brian Wilson nod of the latter, while noting that “Big Change” and “Let’s Roll Again” keep the record prickly. The review points listeners searching for the best tracks on Talkin to the Trees toward those tender, melodically memorable cuts, even as the album deliberately rocks the boat elsewhere.
Key Points
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The best song is "Silver Eagle" for its endearing, Woody Guthrie-like campfire warmth.
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The album’s core strengths are its homespun folk moments, live-band ferocity, and candid personal politics.
Critic's Take
Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts trudges along on Talkin To The Trees, where the best songs - notably “Family Life” and “Bottle of Love” - reveal both the comforting tics and the tedium of a familiar artist. Brown’s prose finds Young charmingly bumbling on “Family Life” yet accuseingly awkward when domestic lines cross into needless provocation, and she savours the spacey tenderness of “Bottle of Love” as the album’s late highlight. She notes that protest songs like “big change” and “Lets Roll Again” retain righteous anger but lack the craft of his great work, leaving the record as one that will please the faithful more than convert the unconvinced.
Key Points
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The best song is a late highlight, "Bottle of Love", for its spacey jazz textures and warm vocal croon.
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The album’s core strengths are familiar, comforting performances and bursts of righteous protest, though often lyrically and musically recycled.
Themes
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Critic's Take
There are unmistakable peaks on Talkin To The Trees, and Paul Whitelaw lands on two in particular as its beating heart. Neil Young unleashes snarling protest on “big change” and “Lets Roll Again”, a one-two knockout of sarcasm-drenched, entirely sincere bile that targets Trump and Elon Musk with blunt, gloriously direct lines. He balances that fury with warm-eyed vignettes like “Family Life” and the plaintive “Dark Mirage” so the best songs on Talkin To The Trees feel like both reckoning and refuge. The result is not a late-period masterpiece, but it is the weirdly comforting sound of an oddball genius offering hope as the world burns.
Key Points
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The best song(s) are the snarling protesters “big change” and “Lets Roll Again” for their direct, furious political thrust.
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The album balances blunt protest with warm family-focused moments, making its core strength emotional contrast and late-period perspective.
Themes
Critic's Take
Neil Young's Talkin To The Trees finds its best songs in the album's plainspoken moments, notably “Family Life” and “Big Change”, where acoustic clarity and blunt lyrics cohere. The reviewer's ear favors the folksy immediacy of “Family Life” and the muscular riffing of “Big Change”, both serving as exemplars of the record's no-frills musicianship. Production clarity on tracks like “Silver Eagle” and the warm ensemble phrasing on “Let’s Roll Again” further argue these are among the best tracks on Talkin To The Trees. The title track “Talkin to the Trees” and closer “Thankful” show Young's reflective voice, rounding out what the reviewer hears as a self-effacing, compelling set.
Key Points
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The best song is the opener “Family Life” for its folksy immediacy and instrumental clarity.
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The album's core strengths are plainspoken arrangements, clear production, and unpretentious musicianship.
Themes
Critic's Take
There is real energy on Talkin To The Trees, and the best songs here - notably “Dark Mirage” and “First Fire of Winter” - crackle with life in ways that Young’s recent records often did not. Janne Oinonen’s voice finds warmth and suppleness throughout, and tracks like “Bottle of Love” and the title track reward the album’s reflective, unhurried mood. The record is not a full-scale comeback, but its commitment to simplicity and inward-looking songwriting yields several of the best tracks on Talkin To The Trees that feel genuinely fresh. Overall, the album balances intermittent half-finished sketches with touching, fully realised moments, making the best songs stand out all the more.
Key Points
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The best song is "Dark Mirage" because its funky garage-blues energy and Young’s guttural guitar give it standout vitality.
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The album’s core strengths are simplicity, reflective acoustic moments, and a handful of fully realised, emotionally resonant tracks.
Themes
Critic's Take
In Mojo's terse, observant voice, Neil Young's Talkin To The Trees is driven by homely, immediate songs where the best tracks are plainly Family Life and “Lets Roll Again”. The reviewer leans into Young's cornball enthusiasm, calling Talkin To The Trees anchored in homespun folk while praising “Family Life” as the keynote song that celebrates his offspring. Political bite propels “Lets Roll Again” and echoes in “Silver Eagle”, so the best songs on Talkin To The Trees marry intimate reflection with topical urgency. The overall tone is appreciative but restrained, noting these are simple pleasures rather than grand reinventions.
Key Points
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Family Life is the best song because it is called the album's "keynote song" and personalizes Young's family.
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The album's core strengths are its homespun folk intimacy and topical, protest-tinged songs blending personal reflection with political bite.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his warm, conversational register Michael Bonner singles out the best songs on Talkin To The Trees as quietly personal pieces and raucous punches alike. He frames “Family Life” and “Dark Mirage” as intimate reckonings - the former an open-hearted acoustic address, the latter a glowering ball of knotted noise tied to family fallout. Bonner praises the country-gorgeous “First Fire Of Winter” and the organ-led oddities of “Movin Ahead” and “Bottle Of Love” as distinctive highlights that show Young still following impulse and craft. The result is an album that trades big-protest expectations for intimate, often beautifully wrought songs.
Key Points
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The best song, "Family Life", is best because it delivers intimate emotional candour and a striking, personal lyric.
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The album’s core strengths are its blend of intimate family-focused songwriting, varied instrumentation, and willingness to mix raucous protest with tender country moments.