The Charlatans UK We Are Love
The Charlatans UK's We Are Love arrives as a purposeful, piano-and-organ-led reckoning that braids loss with uplift, and the record earns a clear critical thumbs-up. Across four professional reviews the album garnered a 78/100 consensus score, with critics consistently pointing to the title track We Are Love, opener Kingdom Of Ours, and midtempo touchstones like Many A Day A Heartache and Now Everything as the collection's most affecting moments. That tally and the reviews suggest an affirmative answer to the question, is We Are Love good - yes, especially where it leans into nostalgic 90s grooves and keyboard-driven warmth.
Critics note recurring themes of grief, mourning, and renewal threaded through euphoric arrangements and hauntological touches. Beats Per Minute praises the record's ability to find joy inside loss, highlighting the revitalising pop hooks of We Are Love and the emotional peaks of Now Everything. AllMusic and PopMatters emphasize sepia-toned nostalgia and vivid keyboards on tracks such as Many A Day A Heartache and the album-closing ballad (variously cited as an emotional finale), crediting production contributions for lifting Burgess's everyman croon into warm, layered terrain. Clash singles out You Can't Push The River and Glad You Grabbed Me for cinematic sweep and psychedelic-tinged pop, framing the record as both a tribute to legacy and a step forward.
While some reviews flag mix choices that submerge organs at times, the prevailing critical consensus across these professional reviews is that We Are Love stands as a cohesive, reinvigorated entry in the band's catalog. For readers searching for the best songs on We Are Love, the title track, Kingdom Of Ours, Many A Day A Heartache, and Now Everything emerge repeatedly as standout tracks worthy of repeat plays. Scroll down for full reviews and track-by-track assessments.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
We Are Love
3 mentions
"the soaring, otherworldly title track"— Clash Music
You Can't Push The River
1 mention
"the sweeping, cinematic beauty of 'You Can’t Push the River'"— Clash Music
Now Everything
3 mentions
"the album-ending "Everything Now" -- have an emotional depth that feels earned"— AllMusic
the soaring, otherworldly title track
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Kingdom Of Ours
We Are Love
Many A Day A Heartache
For The Girls
You Can't Push The River
Deeper And Deeper
Appetite
Salt Water
Out On Our Own
Glad You Grabbed Me
Now Everything
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 6 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Grief and love braid through We Are Love with a pragmatic, often euphoric clarity; the title track We Are Love and the follow-up Many A Day A Heartache stand out as the record's revitalising moments, full of pop hooks and renewed purpose. The opener Kingdom Of Ours sets the tone - not maudlin but celebratory - even as the mix buries some organs that should sing louder. Out On Our Own evolves into a heady climax that rewards patience, while Glad You Grabbed Me and Now Everything supply the album's most heart-on-sleeve moments. Overall, We Are Love feels like a welcome return to form, an album that finds joy inside loss and gives the band fresh momentum.
Key Points
-
We Are Love’s title track is best for its pop hook and sense of reinvigoration.
-
The album’s core strength is finding joy and renewed purpose inside themes of grief and nostalgia.
Themes
Critic's Take
The Charlatans' We Are Love finds its best moments in songs like "For the Girls" and "Many a Day a Heartache," where sepia-toned nostalgia and midtempo grooves meet. Burgess croons with everyman simplicity, and the warm, layered production by Dev Hynes, Stephen Street, and Fred MacPherson lifts these tracks into near-greatness. The album's ballads, notably the album-ending "Everything Now," provide earned emotional depth, while the band elsewhere balances wistfulness with occasional whimsy. For listeners asking "best tracks on We Are Love" the soulful midtempo cuts and the standout ballads are where the album most rewards repeat plays.
Key Points
-
For The Girls is the best song because it blends nostalgia and era-spanning elements into a powerful, wistful highlight.
-
The album's core strengths are warm, layered production and Burgess's everyman croon delivering earned emotional depth.
Themes
mu
Re
Critic's Take
Emma Harrison finds the best tracks on We Are Love in the title track and the closing kaleidoscopic 'Now Everything', praising the soaring, otherworldly title track and the Beatles-esque sweep of 'Now Everything'. She highlights 'You Can’t Push the River' for its sweeping, cinematic beauty and singles out 'Glad You Grabbed Me' as psychedelic-tinged pop and a heartfelt tribute to love’s transformation. The review frames these best songs as evidence that The Charlatans embrace their legacy while moving it forward, making We Are Love an expansive, euphoric experience.
Key Points
-
The title track is best for its soaring, otherworldly production and thunderous drums.
-
The album's core strengths are its blend of euphoric expansiveness and respectful reinvention of the band's legacy.
Themes
Critic's Take
Patrick Gill finds the best songs on We Are Love in its opening and single moments, singling out "Kingdom of Ours" and the title track "We Are Love" for their emotional heft and deft guitarwork. He praises the album for rediscovering the grooves of the 1990s, with “Many a Day a Heartache” and “Deeper and Deeper” standing out for vivid keyboards and evocative lyricism. Gill writes in a measured, affectionate voice that frames these tracks as both tributes and forward steps, arguing they make this the Charlatans' most cohesive effort this century. For listeners asking which are the best tracks on We Are Love, he points to the single and opener as the record's clear highlights.
Key Points
-
The opener "Kingdom of Ours" is best for its emotional connection to past tragedy and spectral presence.
-
The album's core strengths are its 90s-rooted grooves, strong keyboard work, and a cohesive, reinvigorated band sound.