AllMusic's Scores

  • Music
Select another publication »
For 18,293 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 63% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 32% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.5 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 74
Highest review score: 100 The Marshall Mathers LP
Lowest review score: 20 Graffiti
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15,342 out of 18293
  2. Mixed: 2,925 out of 18293
  3. Negative: 26 out of 18293
18293 music reviews
view
per page
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hunting My Dress
    The California-bred Hoop does indeed have plenty of additional idiosyncratic ideas to offer, not just lyrically but musically, on her second album, Hunting My Dress.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    White Water, White Bloom
    The resulting tunes are lush, but few are truly dense, and White Water's biggest asset is its ability to wield such a large sound without replacing the woodsy, cozy feel of Church's solo performances.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Night Music
    It's striking stuff--definitely not easy listening, but well worth the effort, even if it feels like a slightly lopsided affair, with the final four tracks overshadowed by one terrifically effective and truly inventive epic.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    July Flame
    There are no wasted notes anywhere on July Flame, neither in Martine's production nor Veirs' tightly written (but still expressionistically poetic) compositions.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sex Therapy
    It’s evident that hits--more specifically, appealing to younger listeners-- is the goal....Sex Therapy, however, enlists Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, the Game, Kid Cudi, and Nicki “Stick shift the ding-a-ling” Minaj--not to mention Estelle and Jazmine Sullivan, both of whom contribute excellent background vocals on their respective appearances.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Acolyte
    No question about it, though, Delphic are at their best when they're in the studio with Pearson. His production wizardry is a joy to behold on Acolyte.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Unexpected
    Unexpected simply feels like a leap more than a step.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    We Are Young Money
    Don’t bother unless you can stand a healthy helping of sleaze, because this flashy party is for adult fan club members, the ones who don’t mind Wayne the show-off or Wayne the trashy smart-aleck.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Behave Yourself [EP]
    Streamlined, confident, and cohesive, Behave Yourself finds Cold War Kids getting their groove back.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Be Set Free
    Be Set Free isn't a game-changing album so much as it confirms that Langhorne Slim's talent can work within a wider framework than he's used in the past and still honor his gifts, and it's an impressive, pleasurable work.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Realism
    By far his most listenable and fully realized work since 1999’s mammoth 69 Love Songs, Realism feels slight because it is. It’s hard to hear someone so adept with a poison pen preen instead of brood, but it’s also rewarding.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Campfire Songs [Reissue]
    While Campfire Songs isn’t nearly as dense or kinetic as Animal Collective’s later work would be, it shows off their penchant for layered harmony and experimental song structures, which makes for a fine piece of atmospheric headphone listening.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    One Life Stand
    Though this emotional nakedness is an unusual move after Made in the Dark pushed Hot Chip to a new level of attention and acclaim, it also shows they’re in it for the long haul.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Cocky And Confident
    The bedroom numbers like “Make U Feel Alright” with Kango Slim work just as well, balancing polish and pimp attitude with skill, and while the social commentary found on Reality Check is missed, there’s the overall feeling that Juvy isn’t ready or willing to deal with heavy topics at this point.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Courage Of Others
    Sadly, this time out, the band have put aside the wonderfully corny synthesizers they used on the last record in favor of a 100-percent organic approach that fits their bearded poets of the mountain image.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Need You Now
    On their sophomore effort, they stick very close to the formula of their debut: a slew of mid- and uptempo love songs, a sad ballad, and a couple of rocked-up good-time tunes--all self-written with some help from some of Nashville’s most respected writers.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Blood Of Man
    Blood of Man sounds like that album's [2004's "Use Your Voice"] companion piece, merging the same traces of folk, roots rock, and small-town storytelling with a simple increase in volume.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    No Hope, No Future
    No Hope, No Future doesn’t always play to the band’s proven strengths, but it shows that Good Shoes are a thoroughly independent, even contrary band that's unafraid of change, even when it’s difficult.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Heligoland
    Horace Andy and Hope Sandoval front some impressive productions, and Damon Albarn's "Saturday Come Slow" is one of his best post-Blur features (including Gorillaz), but overall Heligoland lacks the majesty and might of classic Massive Attack.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    %
    It’s hardly a consistent listen, and sometimes the journey seems directionless, but the battle between spastic outbursts and atmospheric slosh keeps the listening experience as thrilling as it is challenging.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sweet Heart Rodeo
    What any of this has to do with rodeos (although they come up in the lyrics) is anybody's guess; Dawn Landes is no cowgirl, but rather a quirky indie singer/songwriter with a light touch.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Causers of This
    Causers of This sounds like a dance-pop mixtape plunged underwater -- it's all smeary synthesizers, chopped-up dance beats, and washes of reverb.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Eyelid Movies
    Eyelid Movies is a nostalgia trip at heart, but it isn’t a lifeless pastiche by any means. The amount of care the duo gives to the arrangements, the subtle and successful blending of influences, and above all, the high quality of the songs and performances, mean that the record is a success on its own terms.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Another Round
    Truth in advertising, Another Round varies little from Jaheim’s earlier efforts, but for the returning listener, that’s the selling point.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Constant
    With its driving guitars and massive choruses, The Constant is yet another highly catchy album from Story of the Year that will easily live up to their fans' expectations while making converts out of those unfamiliar with them.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Golden Archipelago
    The Golden Archipelago, a toothy, epic examination of island life, both physical and metaphysical, is enigmatic to say the least.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Paper Dolls
    Even if Paper Dolls isn’t as ambitious or immediately satisfying as Structure and Cosmetics, it offers plenty of small pleasures for Brunettes fans, who still walk the line between cheery and melancholy in their own unique way.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Have One On Me
    At its best, these songs have the feel of an intimate live performance; at their worst, they’re lovely, but exhausting. Have One on Me is quite a technical achievement, but since Newsom has proven she can do just about anything, next time she shouldn’t try to do everything.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    American Gong
    The result is a frustrating listening experience that makes you wish that the change in their sound didn't prove to be so fleeting. That being said, if you've stood beside the band for this long, there's nothing here to make you sorry that you did.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Meat Of Life
    The Meat of Life might sound like "another Clem Snide album," but considering that it wasn't so long ago that it looked like this band was over and done, getting another serving of what these musicians do so well is more than welcome even if it doesn't break much new ground.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Return Of The Wu & Friends
    As fringe collections go, it is worthwhile, especially for fans of Mathematics. Just don’t be surprised when the faithful turn against the set: they already have too many “pretty good” comps to choose from.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Plastic Beach
    Ironically, these individual pieces don’t add up to an overall masterpiece, possibly because the narrative is convoluted and strained, getting in the way of the pure musical flow, but also because it’s hard not to shake the feeling that this is a transitional effort, pointing toward a day when Damon Albarn will feel no need to front a band, not even in a cartoon guise.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Permalight
    The production, songs, and vocals are all perfectly in tune with each other, and the band has crafted a pretty impressive return to form. Permalight is still a far way from the bedroom origins of the group, but it’s also far from being a Coldplay knock-off, and anyone who’s been a fan from the start can certainly appreciate that.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Genuine Negro Jig
    Genuine Negro Jig is perfectly recorded, balanced between the best sound this century can deliver and the rustic, throwback feel of an old-time string band in action at a picnic, dance or rent party in the '30s. That’s the accomplishment here.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Creatures In The Garden Of Lady Walton
    There are moments of impossible beauty (“Owl of Love”), dense, but structured dissonance (“Adages of Cleansing”), and of course, whimsical, classically minded, indie folk (“On the Edge”), that when consumed all together, feel like a perfectly executed mash-up of Aaron Copland, Dead Can Dance, Bill Frisell, and Shirley Collins.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Optimist
    The Optimist won’t make anyone forget Fantastic Playroom, but it does work as a nice complement and shows that the group may have some staying power.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Easton Corbin
    Producer Carson Chamberlain's new penny polish and Corbin's traditional twang balance each other out nicely. Corbin's debut is jam-packed with the sounds of yesterday.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Brutalist Bricks
    In Leo’s case, it’s somehow comforting that every few years he’ll be along to inspire and cajole his fans with his dedication and passion. The Brutalist Bricks will let no one down in that regard.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
    Call it Sigur Rós meets Supertramp in the end, perhaps most especially on the penultimate number, "Light Up the Night," with its keyboard-led opening moving into a slow sweet-sounding swagger of an arrangement thanks again to a big beat and guitar chug, but the signs of that kind of sonic grandness, if not full on grandiosity, abound.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Tapestry Of Webs
    Though it's a little perverse for the band to bury its explosive moments, it proves that there's more to Past Lives than rehashing the Blood Brothers' legacy. They're still finding their footing on Tapestry of Webs, but they're going interesting places.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    In The Dark
    The Whigs absorbed every rock trend of the '90s, consciously taking in the cool stuff while the mainstream tunes seeped in, and here they turn In the Dark into something that's a guilty pleasure for anyone raised on grunge.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Alphabet Of Hurricanes
    For the most part, though, the songs are spilled out softly in McRae's high, honey-coated voice, and are centered around humble-but-plaintive acoustic guitar and piano patterns. This proves to be just the right mode for a guy whose worldview is rather less than cheery.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Lights
    Goulding is able to take the best parts of all of her contemporaries' styles and make them her own, coating everything in the breathy flutter of her voice.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Be Brave
    With songs like “All You Can Hide Inside” revealing a flair for rough-around-the-edges ballads, Be Brave shows that the Strange Boys are growing--not in a self-consciously “mature” way, but enough to make them more than just purveyors of raffish garage rock.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Tourist History
    While Two Door Cinema Club don't yet have the flawless style or emotional weight of some of their influences, Tourist History just gets catchier and more stylized as it goes on, offering a promising foundation for the band to embellish with even more personality next time.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    European
    By and large, European strikes a nice balance between genuine and theatrical, shambling and shiny.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Law Of Large Numbers
    Law of Large Numbers won’t sneak up and hit you over the head, but it will sneak up on you.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    You & Me
    You & Me makes sure his six-string gifts remain in the forefront of the listener's mind. And while the reigning mood of the album is one of warm, Southern California breezes and sun-splashed sojourns to the Pacific Ocean, other influences pop up along the way, particularly a fondness for British folk-rock.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Rat A Tat Tat
    Few songs from either record match the bombast of his work with Broken Social Scene, perhaps, but Collett’s albums are better viewed as part of a whole, and Rat A Tat Tat strengthens the country-fried side of his solo personality.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Still Standing
    Some fans will be irritated that it took Monica three-and-a-half years to follow up a ten-song album with a set of equally brief length, but Still Standing benefits from quality control and a handful of particularly strong ballads.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Back To Light
    It's a vital record that charts a completely different direction, one that's less innovative and more mainstream than Future Chaos, but succeeds nonetheless because of its match of Simenon with ace techno producer Gui Boratto,.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Mechanize
    Mechanize isn't quite in a class with Demanufacture or Obsolete, which are widely regarded as two of Fear Factory's most essential releases. But it's still an album that longtime followers will welcome.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hologram Jams
    If you can take Hologram Jams lightly and come to terms with the fact that Jaguar Love’s post-punk and rock pretenses are fully behind them, then it’s a fun outing. Ridiculous lyrics, bristling energy, ‘80s synths, and booty beats are the core of the record.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    I Will Be
    The record isn’t a complete knockout, but it’s a nice consolidation of the Dum Dum Girls sound to date and a fine starting point in what could be a nice string of noise pop records.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Desert Of Shallow Effects
    Shallow Effects is almost shockingly coherent. Instead of a big, sprawling mess, the arrangements — which incorporate everything from glockenspiel to Mellotron — offer complex but controlled layers of sound that never seem too thick or unwieldy.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Home Acres
    Home Acres never breaks any new barriers and it's less cerebral than earlier outings, but it’s a good, consistent listen that showcases the band in their comfort zone.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Land Of Make Believe
    Sour backpackers and over-scrutinizing fans that hold the Kidz in high regard may be disappointed by all the light-heartedness, but trim the fat and the party people will be rewarded with a vibrant, clever celebration.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Down The Way
    Down the Way may be a bit long by 2010’s standards--there are 13 tracks here, none of which is particularly short--but the songs are solid throughout.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Wu-Massacre
    This is not an indispensable part of the Wu legacy, but it's a consistent, duly rugged, and satisfying one nonetheless.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Love To Live
    There are occasional missteps, of course, with Becky Stark’s spoken interlude in “Cradle”--a spot-on vintage ballad that dissolves into pure camp--being the worst offender. But the vocals rarely disappoint, and vocals are Love to Live’s bread and butter, anyway.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Return To Form
    With this album, Major Stars show their talent as songwriters, creating a collection of songs that manages to rope you in with a solid rock foundation before attempting to blow your mind with fuzzed-out fretboard acrobatics, making the title a statement of purpose rather than empty posturing.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Open Road
    John Hiatt's muse hasn't stopped keeping him on task, and the work he's doing remains satisfying, and anyone who can crank out an album as good as The Open Road every 18 months or so would be well advised to keep up the good work.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    In The Court Of The Wrestling Let's
    They do a first-rate job blending humor, emotion, and energy on In the Court; it’s a tricky routine to master but they’ve done it impressively right out of the gate.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Manifesto
    Still, despite a handful of throwaway cuts, Manifesto has more than enough heat to prove that Deck's mike skills still stand up up to any of his Wu brethren.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Rise Up
    At 15-songs long the album can stand tall after the required trimming, making Rise Up a giant leap in the right direction after the lukewarm "Till Death Do Us Part."
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    La La Land
    Last time around, the bandmembers referred to that aspect of their sound as "post-classic rock," though in interviews for La La Land, they declared it "barbecue rock" instead. Whatever you call it, that predilection for juicy hooks is a major part of what keeps this mercurial bunch solidly grounded.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Fire Away
    Now a septet, Ozomatli are tighter than ever. Berg manages to keep the grit and dirt in the band’s live sound while adding just enough studio ambience to make the album jump hard.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Love & Desperation
    Only John Petkovic can say how effective Love and Desperation is as therapy, but as chest-thumping and bong-rattling rock, Sweet Apple's debut is a rousing success.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Suite #420
    Devin’s redundancy is the reason fans keep coming back. They won’t be disappointed by Suite #420, which features the usual set of chilled-out weed anthems, sex jokes, and old-school R&B beats, along with those great oddball numbers the Dude uses to break each album up.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Emotion & Commotion
    Beck has chosen to forgo his signature frenzied fretboard blitzkriegs and weave long, laconic phrases, his guitar rich, thick, and warm, sounding familiar yet different: he's never sustained this level of grace for a full record, and his soulful playing cuts through the clean sheen of the production, always commanding attention even when he's not demanding it.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Avi Buffalo
    It's when they stomp their feet on that middle ground that their eponymous debut kicks up the most sand, and with a little more nuance, their future endeavors could leave some pretty hefty footprints.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Fever
    This isn't a pathbreaking album by a band with any chance at reshaping their genre in their image; it's a solid disc by a group that knows its own strengths.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Trans-Continental Hustle
    There's plenty good here, that's undeniable, but the album lacks the spark to push it forward and place it at the top.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Bleeding Through
    Lean, deafening, and effective in its brutality, Bleeding Through may not have brought anything new to the table, but at least it brought everything else.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The eXXecution
    Juxx seems to have benefited from Sean Price's mentoring as he works a perfectly cadenced flow and manages to maintain a high energy level throughout the LP. Still, the most exciting moments on The Exxecution come when Juxx's Duck Down elders stop by.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Our Inventions
    There are no real standouts, no (relatively) big hooks as heard on Scary World Theory's "Lowdown"; instead, there is a steady stream of hushed electronic pop songs that is as easy to enjoy as it is to ignore.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sweet Sister [EP]
    Produced by the band itself, these songs help bridge the gap between Annuals’ two full-length albums, taking their wild eclecticism from "Be He Me" but keeping the melodies that anchored "Such Fun."
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Fossils And Other Phantoms
    Naming your band after one of the most famous rock & roll songs of the '50s takes a lot of chutzpah, but this trio pulls it off with a soulful, minimalist sound that's all their own.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift
    A comparable but slightly superior outing to E-40’s nightlife-oriented Revenue Retrievin’: Night Shift, which was released on the same date, Revenue Retrievin’: Day Shift finds the Bay veteran sticking more closely to his comfort zone and making songs about what he knows: the streets.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Your Future Our Clutter
    Too insider to cross over or consider one of their classics, but an otherwise solid Fall effort offering everything fans require.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Omni
    All the pieces that make Minus the Bear an entertaining listen are still here, but rather than experimenting with more progressive arrangements, the goal is to carefully control the mood of the album, creating a soundscape that's more restrained than anything they've ever done, but just as affecting.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sea Of Cowards
    White and company make almost no concessions to their audience, and fewer songs stand out here than they did on Horehound. And yet, this is a more satisfying album overall. Fortunately, Sea of Cowards' mysteries are more intriguing than frustrating.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    High Violet
    scular, miserable, mighty, and meandering, High Violet aims for the seats, but only hits about half of them.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Black Sands
    For a style of electronica (chillout/downtempo) that's grown decidedly dusty over the past decade--even though Bonobo is clearly striving to move well beyond such staid genre divisions, and in many ways succeeding, that's probably still the best place to slot him if you gotta--Black Sands is a welcome infusion of life and warmth.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Total Life Forever
    Where some see restraint, others may very well see refinement, and those who appreciated Antidotes' more spacy passages will find that Foals' reinvention of their sound is a calculated risk that definitely pays off.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Here's To Taking It Easy
    The only downfall is that Here's to Taking It Easy is so easy to take that at only nine songs, it flies by in no time at all.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Li(f)e
    Taking on both the BS and sobering-side-of-life lessons while straddling genres would be difficult for any musician, but Sage did it and came up with a B-plus effort. More tangible proof that he’s a gifted artist.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Higher Than The Eiffel
    Higher Than the Eiffel is most reminiscent of the work that Freestylers and Lo-Fidelity Allstars were doing eight to ten years ago. Both of them aged into their classic full-length statement with surprising grace, and made intriguing music long after most punters had deserted them.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Stone Temple Pilots
    As it stands, Stone Temple Pilots is a good solid record and an inadvertent testament to the fact that these guys need each other.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Maniac Meat
    As opposed to the sometimes overwhelming whimsy of Black Moth Super Rainbow, admittedly conveyed more on record than on-stage, Maniac Meat is a glowering fuzzed-up sprawl.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Teargarden By Kaleidyscope: Vol. 1 [EP]
    None of these songs have the concise punch of a single, but that's surely intentional: they're not designed as hooky statements of intent, they're dreamy teasers for what promises to be Corgan's most varied set of music since the days of Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness, whose title is quite deliberately echoed in the very name of Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Thistled Spring
    Broderick was once as integral to Horse Feathers’ sound as Ringle himself, but Thistled Spring doesn’t stumble in his absence, and the retooled lineup pairs well with Ringle’s warming disposition.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Streetlights
    In the end, Kurupt turns in strong performances on much of Streetlights, delivering furious free association freak-outs and ultimately some of his nastiest verses in years.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Relayted
    With a slower pace and dreamier, echo-laden feeling than the original, guitars sounding somewhere between Morricone and the Cocteau Twins, it's an inspired nod back to a still underrated team of artists that works equally well on its own.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Chaos
    As The Chaos teeters between slick professionalism and rampant expression, it still sounds like the Futureheads are having more fun here than they have in quite some time.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    If I Had A Hi-Fi
    Nada Surf show they can play well with others on If I Had a Hi-Fi, though they'd do well to apply the lessons learned here to some new tunes for their next album.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Bride Screamed Murder
    Withstanding some strange experimentation - including a steamy a cappella version of the Canadian folksong "Peggy Gordon" and a sludged-out, seven-and-a-half-minute cover of the Who's "My Generation" - The Bride Screamed Murder is surprisingly accessible.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Skeletons
    While the music may seem more scaled back, the lyrics feel rawer and more emotional, even without the use of the screaming vocal dynamic.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    White Crosses
    White Crosses is a big-sounding album with a blue-collar soul, but though the guitars may aim for the rafters alongside lofty, singalong choruses, the songwriting ultimately comes off safer and more commonplace than anything they've done yet.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Destroyer Of The Void
    Technically impressive, immaculately arranged and performed, Destroyer of the Void removes the kitchen sink from the equation early in the record, which helps pave the way for Destroyer of the Void, the album, to unfold, and while there’s nothing here to match the instant gratification of songs like “God + Suicide” and the lovely title track from 2008’s Furr, there’s enough meat on these bones to suggest that the band hasn’t lost its knack for crafting spiritually charged, enigmatic woodcuts of 21st century Americana.
Page: