PASTE MAGAZINE
February 16, 2003
"Ed Hamell has lost none of his edge in the three years since he released Choochtown. His latest, Tough Love, has all the hallmarks that made Hamell on Trial a cult favorite — crime noir stories, punk-folk political statements and lilting ballads mixed in for good measure — all delivered with as much raw emotion as possible. Hamell's goal has always been to make a bold statement, and it's hard to top the way he opens the album on "Don't Kill" — speaking as the voice of God explaining the first commandment to a wayward planet. A good fit for Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe label."

BILLBOARD
September 13, 2003
"If he were on a major label, he would surely be hailed as "the next big thing." That said, consider Ed Hamell (aka Hamell on Trial) the next "little big man." A genuinely funny guy with a social conscience, a loud mouth and serious songwriting cred, his punk-folk acoustic blasts are like a punchline to the establishment's groin ... The trial is over, the verdict is in: Ed Hamell is the real deal."

NEW YORK POST
August 26, 2003
"Genius is a rare commodity - but here it is in the one-man folk-punk band called Hamell On Trial ... There isn't a bad song on the disc or one that doesn't make you think. Finally, here's an artist who doesn't underestimate his audience. 4 stars."

AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
August 26, 2003
"Tough Love," ... has five or six songs that you'll play over and over before making it through the entire album the first time. There are songs like "All That Was Said," a duet with his label boss Ani DiFranco, that will provide a soundtrack to those crazy dreams you have when you're half awake and half asleep. There are garage love songs, like "Everything and Nothing," where hip-shaking guitar lines only heighten the theme that love is a groove, man. A hook-heavy knock at Rolling Stone magazine and crass commercialism is followed by a tender ode to hate crime victim Matthew Shepard. This album is like a great conversationalist with a gift for melody ... This is a rock 'n' roll record, without all the corniness the tag implies. If Hamell were a young cute mop-top in a pair of designer-dirty jeans, he'd be the new White Strokes."

ROLLINGSTONE.COM
August 25, 2003
"Raucous indie-punk folkie Ed Hamell returns with a fresh brew of satire and sensitivity. Like a machete-wielding man wearing a clown's nose, Hamell takes a few well-chosen targets behind the woodshed for a hefty dose of smarty-pants derision ... All of the tumblers have clicked into place for Hamell on Tough Love. If talent, creativity and artistic integrity still count for anything, this is one of 2003's best albums."