You could almost call this a folk record, but it's best not to insult anyone with the name Rocky. Instead, let's call it wonderfully soothing, late-night music that is simply beautiful.  Full text...

This is a solid album by solid artist who somehow has been flying under the radar for the past five years while splitting time as a solo artist and with acclaimed emo band Waxwing.  Full text...

On Makers, his third album and first for Barsuk Records, Rocky Votolato strikes the delicate balance right on the head with an album of whisky-soaked Americana.   Full text...

Be sure to keep the anti-depressants handy.  Full text...

Votolato has an excellent voice and the vocal delivery that can make girls swoon and make guys purchase his music in order to make their girls swoon.  Full text...

Musically it’s him and his acoustic guitar, backed up by various musicians including his brother Cody from The Blood Brothers, and sounding like Ryan Adams, Iron and Wine and even Simon and Garfunkel at times.  Full text...

Full of barebones honesty, songcraft and a fluid command of the ups and downs of acoustic minimalism, Makers is the sort of album that commands respect.  Full text...

If you like Iron and Wine, Elliot Smith, or Nick Drake you will enjoy this great album to start off your new year January 24, 2006.  Full text...

Votolato has a lot to offer as a musician, but his songwriting veers into stale territory too often over the course of 12 songs, neglecting to pull itself from its many holding patterns in time for salvation.   Full text...

Votolato is able to take a metaphor and weave it through an entire song rather than browbeating his audience with symbolism.  Full text...

With this Elliot Smith-like crafted mix of sad country and blues, Votolato carves out a space in between genuine talent and a broken heart, and it sounds like he'll be in there for a while.  Full text...

Formerly of promising Seattle angsters Waxwing, singer-songwriter Rocky Votolato is proof that you can take the boy out of the emo band, but you can't take the emo out of the boy.  Full text...

Unfortunately, bare-bones arrangements, train songs, and good intentions are no shortcut to supposed authenticity, and still less are they a guarantor of overall quality.  Full text...