Paul Kelly Fever Longing Still
Paul Kelly's Fever Longing Still re-centers the songwriter in a band-first landscape, blending roomy, live-room energy with intimate, story-driven songs. Across professional reviews the record earns a 79/100 consensus score from two reviews, and critics praise how arrangements and narrative craft turn everyday longing into vivid small-scale dramas. The opening impressions answer the question of whether Fever Longing Still is good by pointing to a seasoned songwriter working confidently in familiar modes rather than chasing trend-driven reinvention.
Critics consistently highlight standout tracks that mark the album's emotional core: “Taught By Experts” emerges as a smart-pop high point, while “Double Business Bound” and “Going to the River with Dad” register as potent, lonely piano-led moments. Reviews note recurring themes of melancholy versus joy, nostalgia, family and memory, and desire - qualities that make songs like “Love Has Made a Fool of Me” and “Houndstooth Dress” feel both classic and lived-in. Professional reviews emphasize first-principles band arrangement, where the group’s jangle and bustle frame Kelly’s storytelling rather than overwhelm it.
While praise centers on craft and emotional clarity, critics offer a tempered appraisal: the record favors comfortable mastery over radical risk, which will satisfy longtime fans and those searching for the best songs on Fever Longing Still, but may read as a retrospective chapter rather than a reinvention. For readers asking what critics say about Fever Longing Still, the consensus suggests a worthwhile, heartfelt collection that reinforces Paul Kelly’s strengths as a chronicler of love, longing and memory, setting up deeper listening in the full reviews below.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Taught by Experts
2 mentions
"Taught by Experts sets chiming guitars to a Messengers-style momentum that playfully contradicts its lyrics of revenge with its sound of joy."— The Guardian
Going to the River with Dad
1 mention
"the warmth in the languid flow of Going to the River with Dad,"— The Guardian
Love Has Made a Fool of Me
1 mention
"They sneak up to night-bar soul in Love Has Made a Fool of Me;"— The Guardian
Taught by Experts sets chiming guitars to a Messengers-style momentum that playfully contradicts its lyrics of revenge with its sound of joy.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Houndstooth Dress
Love Has Made a Fool of Me
Taught by Experts
Hello Melancholy, Hello Joy
Northern Rivers
Double Business Bound
Let's Work It out in Bed
All Those Smiling Faces
Harpoon to the Heart
Back to the Future
Eight Hours Sleep
Going to the River with Dad
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In a return to band-first songwriting Paul Kelly delivers Fever Longing Still with the kind of roomy, old-school variety that makes the best tracks stand out: “Houndstooth Dress” and “Love Has Made a Fool of Me” crackle with immediate life, while “All Those Smiling Faces” and “Going to the River with Dad” carry the record’s most moving moments. The reviewer revels in the album’s familiar players and live-room energy, noting how the band jangles, bustles, sighs and cries in equal measure. It is an album of desire and memory, songs shaped by the four Ds - desire, devotion, disappointment, death - that make the best songs on Fever Longing Still feel both classic and lived-in.
Key Points
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Houndstooth Dress is best for its immediacy and first-take energy, showcasing the band’s live-room vitality.
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The album’s core strengths are its band-focused arrangements, thematic focus on desire and memory, and old-school variety executed with warmth.
Themes
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Critic's Take
Paul Kelly has always been a storyteller and on Fever Longing Still the best songs - particularly “Taught By Experts” and “Double Business Bound” - remind you why he still matters, with bright smart-pop craft and stark piano moments. Kelly slips between Springsteen-esque everyman vignettes and Costello-like relatability, and the record’s highlights marry that warmth with precise arrangements. Fans hunting for the best tracks on Fever Longing Still will find “Taught By Experts” a perfect smart pop song and “Double Business Bound” a potent, lonely piano moment. The album’s dozen songs consistently circle love found and lost, making the strongest tracks linger long after the record ends.
Key Points
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“Taught By Experts” is the standout for its perfect smart-pop craft and vocal showcase.
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The album’s core strength is Kelly’s consistent storytelling, blending everyman sketches with precise arrangements about love.