"Vanderslice has an ear for sonic detail that rivals The Flaming Lips. The title track [Time Travel Is Lonely] is the most rocking song on the album, with a staccato Television-like guitar line propelling Vanderslice into a rousing power-pop chorus. Time Travel Is Lonely is an honest, soul-searching album that at times is deeply moving and coldly alienating. Both ways, Vanderslice has pulled off the concept with soaring, prismatic colors."  (Fast 'n' Bulbous)

"There's a strangely folkish quality to the 13 songs on Time Travel is Lonely. This isn't folk music, by any stretch -- rather, it's catchy indie pop of the highest order -- but the combination of the yearning, raw quality in Vanderslice's voice and the lyrical, storytelling quality of the songs makes it easy to see Vanderslice as a Dylan-esque troubadour, although his music bears little resemblance to the folkies. In fact, catchy songs like Keep the Dream Alive, with its multi-tracked vocals and keyboard flourishes, and Little Boy Lost, with its dissonant electronic feedback, are about as far away from folk (musically speaking) as my salary is from Bill Gates'. But this album should appeal to anyone who likes the raw, honest, storytelling vibe of folk music, songs like You Were My Fiji, Everything Changed, the title track, and especially My Old Flame cutting straight to the heart of the matter. And of course, indie pop fans will eat this up, as Vanderslice's tunes have more hooks than your average tackle box. Highly recommended."  (Ink19.com)

"To make a really good singer/storyteller record, you need to have some pleasing melodies and at least a couple of cool lyric lines to make your listeners nod in approval. To make a great singer/storyteller record, you need to be able to compress a novel's worth of story into four minutes, while still retaining enough space to use timing effectively. With his second solo release, John Vanderslice has made that sort of a great record. While the album achieves continuity through musical interludes between its tales, the wonders here lie entirely within the individual songs. Poetic, evocative and stirring, Vanderslice weaves short stories that paint detailed and glowing pictures in the space of a few lines. Time Travel is Lonely is an excellent, intelligent piece of work, placing him squarely among the best pop storytellers currently making music."  (Splendid E-zine)

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