Hello, Cruel World Album Reviews
No Depression
"The San Francisco-based singer-songwriter duo of Paul Knowles and Nicole Storto manages to find the proverbial silver lining of good music while also conveying an overall sense of global disillusionment."
Iowa City Press-Citizen
"Richly organic and soul deep, Hello Cruel World is an example of American music making of the first order. Highly recommended."
Crawdaddy
"The collection lives up to its ironic title with songs that illuminate the personal and national disasters that seem to be plaguing us at the dawn of a new century. By combining grim insight, sardonic humor, and a bit of uplifting music, Mars Arizona gives us something to smile at while the smoggy sun sets on what's left of the American West."
Honest Tune
"On their latest release, Hello Cruel World, the two offer commentary on today's modern landscape, firing poetic slings at a world gone mad."
East Bay Express
"Hello Cruel World finds the San Francisco band firmly ensconced in the rootsy alt.americana sound it began exploring on 2005's All Over the Road, marked by the duo's solid songwriting and understated arrangements."
-J. Poet
Performing Songwriter
"..[A] superb third outing ... [Hello Cruel World's] originals are ... an astute combination of down-home charm and rousing, rambunctious technique." -- Performing Songwriter, March/April 2008