 Goldenheart received widespread acclaim from critics , some of whom hailed Richard as one of the best new acts in pop and R & B. At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications , the album received an average score of 81 , based on nine reviews . Alex Macpherson of The Guardian gave it five stars and called it " dazzling and imperious " because of how Richard 's " array of sonic weapons matches her epic , elemental vision . Jason <unk> from Spin praised her eclectic music and versatile singing , which he credited for " springing finely placed surprises on listeners lulled into reverie , navigating tricky spots just effortlessly enough to mask her mastery " . Writing for NPR , Ann Powers found it altogether contemplative , joyful , and mythological . Jonathan Bogart of The Atlantic wrote that , with her Tolkien @-@ inspired lyrics , Richard " remains true to the oldest and most important standards of R & B , which , more than any other musical genre , charts the uncountable intricacies of the human heart . " Grantland critic Steven Hyden felt that the album blurs R & B conventions like Frank Ocean 's Channel Orange ( 2012 ) and Janelle Monáe 's The ArchAndroid ( 2010 ) , while Laurie Tuffrey from The Quietus said Richard distinguishes herself from her R & B contemporaries with her exceptional creativity . 
