"The music has a warmth and naturalism that puts his songs in their best light, and the grand irony is 'The Vivian Line' captures the sound of Sexsmith, the neighborhood's resident genius songwriter, in a more effective way than [2020's home-recorded] 'Hermitage'. There's a playful quality in several of the tunes that's witty without trivializing his characters, whether they're converting an old barn into a home or realizing how lucky in love they've been, and when he's feeling a bit sad, as in "Flower Boxes" and "When Our Love Was New," it feels real and honest, never forced ... On 'The Vivian Line', he hits the sweet spot between challenging himself and not fixing what isn't broke. It's a gem".