Dolls of Highland

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
Paste	8/10[4]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[5]
PopMatters	8/10[6]
Record Collector	[7]
The Skinny	[8]

Dolls of Highland received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 79, which indicates "generally positive reviews", based on 7 reviews.[1] AllMusic critic Mark Donelson gave the album a positive review, stating: "Taken together, Craft delivers a fun and loose breakup album replete with colorful characters, memorable tunes, and an even more memorable vocal delivery--a noteworthy debut."[2] The Guardian's Dave Simpson described the record as a "brilliant, rollicking debut," which "hurls together Craft’s Dylan-meets-Brett Anderson holler with rollicking ragtime stomp, reminiscent of vintage Cockney Rebel or early Suede."[3] Tiffany Daniels of Paste described Craft as "an unlikely hero of rock music", stating that he’s "created a noteworthy, potentially groundbreaking debut album in Dolls of Highland."[4]

Stuart Berman of Pitchfork praised the album, stating: "Craft’s outsized personality is matched by less flashy, more fundamental skills: vivid, immersive storytelling and sharply focused, fat-free songs that have the lived-in feel of 40-year-old FM-radio favorites."[5] PopMatters' Chris Ingalis described the record as "the sound of a young man returning home to chronicle his small town roots with the use of his ample talents" and "an exhilarating ride from start to finish."[6] David Harvey of Record Collector magazine compared the album to the works of Bowie, Dylan and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player-era Elton John, writing: "There are touches of My Morning Jacket in the vocals too, but in chief it is the already-mentioned artists who dominate Dolls Of Highland and if you’ve been missing them a lot, then this is an album not to be missed, filled with yearning and melody."[7] Uncut magazine described the album as "a head-turning mix, a sort of pop-art take on Southern gothic, and highly infectious."[9]

Nevertheless, Duncan Harman of The Skinny gave the album a mixed review, stating: "Craft’s nutcracker vocals and lyrical self-exposure never quite as endearing as they threaten to be."[8]

All songs are written by Kyle Craft.

1. "Eye of a Hurricane" — 4:31
2. "Balmorhea" — 3:01
3. "Berlin" — 4:17
4. "Lady of the Ark" — 5:06
5. "Gloom Girl" — 4:49
6. "Trinidad Beach (Before I Ride)" — 2:10
7. "Future Midcity Massacre" — 3:07
8. "Black Mary" — 3:36
9. "Pentecost" — 4:01
10. "Dolls of Highland" — 1:27
11. "Jane Beat the Reaper" — 4:23
12. "Three Candles" — 4:02

Album personnel as adapted from album liner notes:[10]

• Kyle Craft – performer
• Opi Gridwald – trumpet (5)
• Jacob Disedare – drums (7); backing vocals (10)
• John Martin – backing vocals (10)
• Laura Thompson – backing vocals (10)
• Melissa Disedare – backing vocals (10)
• Stevey Hensley – upright bass (12)
• Benjamin Weikel (The Helio Sequence) – mixing
• Brandon Summers (The Helio Sequence) – mixing
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Andrew Toups – photography
• Sasha Barr – art direction

• Dolls of Highland at Discogs (list of releases)