AllMusic's Scores

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For 18,280 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: 15,329 out of 18280
  2. Mixed: 2,925 out of 18280
  3. Negative: 26 out of 18280
18280 music reviews
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    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Jawbone [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
    The songs "The Ballad of Jimmy McCade" and "Bottle" hail back to "English Rose," while "Jawbone" simmers to funky wah-wah rhythms and swaths of psychedelic guitars. These grab the attention--the other three short selections are essentially incidental music, even "Jawbone Training" with its hyperactive hi-hats--but the album's centerpiece is its opener, "Jimmy/Blackout," a 21-minute suite that builds from atmospheric electronics to a shimmering sung denouement from Weller.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Forget
    Dark and luminous at the same time, Forget allows Xiu Xiu to redefine pop in a way that's true to their volatile--but always gripping--nature.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    World Eater
    World Eater's focused chaos is some of his finest work yet.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    I'm Only Dreaming
    I'm Only Dreaming's brightest highlight is "A Song for the Birds," a bright guitar pop song featuring DuPree-Bemis' husband, Say Anything's Max Bemis, that feels like a sequel to their previous collaboration, Perma. Moments like this suggest that this incarnation of Eisley sound best when they're creating new traditions instead of holding onto old ones too tightly.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    New Gen
    At 17 tracks, it covers a lot of ground and not every track is a winner, but there's a decent number of promising artists here.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams
    A hard sell that pays off with a lasting impression.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Reassemblage
    The album is intriguing and accessible, yet just strange enough to stand out among all the other experimental electronic artists mining the early new age era for inspiration.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Wild Cat
    Wild Cat is a wild ride from one of the best hard rock bands treading the boards today, and it's a fine introduction to their high-octane style and certain to please loyal fans.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Cinderland
    The album feels intimate and delicate without sounding rustic. The album always maintains an undercurrent of fear or despondency, but it never gets too overbearing, and stays intriguing throughout.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Grinding Wheel
    Grinding Wheel never feels like anything less than vital. Overkill, or to be more specific, founding vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bassist D.D. Verni, have been at this racket for nearly four decades now, and the fact they're continuing to dial up the intensity instead of resting on their considerable laurels is impressive, to say the least.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Watercolor
    Too often, however, he gets mired in sexual pursuits, as well as excessive drug talk. The album's vinyl edition is 18 tracks long, including bonus songs and instrumentals, but even the 13-track standard CD version is exhausting, at 52 minutes.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Black and White Rainbows
    Overall, Black and White Rainbows is an interesting piece of the Bush discography, hinting at a late-era trajectory shift and a reinvigorated spirit for Rossdale and company. While he nurses fresh wounds that have stripped his world of color, at the very least he can still see beauty and hope through the gloom.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Providence
    It's a daring album, and in its best moments, the listener gets a sense of how fulfilling and soul-cleansing its production must have been.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Yours Conditionally
    The revamping of style and substance on Yours Conditionally is also something special, helping it to become the best record they've made so far.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Divide
    Throughout the record, Sheeran seems assured in his smooth schtick, and that cheesy confidence, combined with the hints of new style, help make Divide his easiest album to enjoy.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Condition
    Mostly though, the record is pure, creepy uneasy listening, a well-thought-out and executed deconstruction of their sound.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Navigator
    Certainly, this album feels richer than previous Hurray for the Riff Raff records, which all benefitted from the stripped-down aesthetic that often signifies authenticity in Americana, but this broadening of Segarra's scope hardly constitutes pandering.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Semper Femina
    Having entered the limelight early, the 27-year-old singer/songwriter has now settled into a comfortable groove to on this finely honed career highlight.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    50 Song Memoir
    50 Song Memoir is a rare example of Stephin Merritt offering a look into his offstage life, but just as importantly it's a reminder of why he's a truly great songwriter, and this ranks with his finest work.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Heartworms
    Though it takes a few listens to get to the heart of Heartworms, fans who have stuck with Mercer for this long will find it time well spent.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Digging a Tunnel
    The tempo would benefit from being quickened at times, as one track blurs into another, and given the range of styles and instrumentation you would hope for a more multicolored experience. But Digging a Tunnel remains a fascinating collage that suggests Wästberg has the imagination and ability to build on these worthy foundations in the future.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Up and Coming
    Up and Coming clocks in at under 50 minutes. Its compositional and improvisational economy is countered by the quartet's disciplined ability to colorfully and authoritatively illustrate an abundance of creative ideas without even hinting at compromise.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Everybody Works
    Everybody Works displays huge breadth, which is often disguised by a relaxed pace and its effortless segues between styles.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Order of Time
    Where the slightly showier Pushin' Against a Stone covered a wider variety of styles, The Order of Time tends to flow more smoothly and gives the feeling that you've stumbled on a 45-minute section of ongoing music that has no beginning and no end.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Piano Song
    Piano Song is an excellent and accessible introduction that surrenders nothing in terms of creativity. For fans, this authoritative statement is a revelatory chapter from one of the most fascinating musicians since 1980s.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Universe and Me
    Sprout either can't or won't produce songs at the same pace as Robert Pollard, but what he does bring us is consistently pleasurable, and The Universe and Me is a lovely reminder of how many good things he brought to GbV--and how much he still has to offer on his own.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Max Richter: Three Worlds – Music from Woolf Works
    Although the work as a whole is not a film score, it has the flavor of one, and it opens up intriguing possibilities for the expansion of that language to other settings. Certainly recommended for anyone who has noticed and liked the music for Arrival.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    DJ-Kicks
    Punctuated by DJ Khalab (and Baba Sissoko)'s rolling and disorienting "Kumu," this is Dear's funnest and oddest mix yet.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Gentlewoman, Ruby Man
    Part of the problem lies in the wispiness of both White and Morrissey. Neither vocalist is a strong presence, so their voices wind up not as the focal point on the record but as an element in the tapestry.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Dumb Blood
    It's not Crass, the Clash, or the Pistols, but it's certainly of its generation.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Highway Queen
    As impressionistic as the smeary sounds can be, it's an album that rests on its sturdy songs and Lane's powerful performance, two elements that keep Highway Queen as engaging on repeated listens as it is on its first.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Future
    Here, production is the star, adding excitement and variety to Future's reliable, trap-star flow. 808 Mafia's Southside is at the top of the pack, with a hand in at least half of the album's tracks.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Big Machine
    Carthy deftly wields her rogue ambitions, making for an inspired creative partnership.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Garden of Ashes
    Joined on several tracks by lush-voiced shapeshifters the Smoke Fairies, Garwood is in his bailiwick throughout the set, drifting through spacious landscapes with his rumbling poeticism and dark-toned riffs.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Last Place
    It makes for a diverse album within the tight framework that Lytle operates in, and even if it could have been a solo album just as easily, it works as a Grandaddy album too. If not quite as compelling overall as their best work like Sophtware Slump, it's a worthy successor to the very good Just Like the Fambly Cat and a welcome return for the "band."
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Volcano
    Fans of the first album may be disappointed by the changes, especially since the band takes most of the psych out of its pop. Those who stick around will find that Volcano is a pretty good modern pop record.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sensorimotor
    With Sensorimotor, Lusine takes another evolutionary step forward, seeming strangely natural in his skin of manipulation.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Voids
    There's a bit more pure pop intention to be found on Voids, but it retains the left-field charm that made them one of the more captivating acts to watch amidst the alt-to-indie rock shift that dominated the late '90s and early 2000s.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    HNDRXX
    Released just a week after his self-titled fifth effort, Future's HNDRXX provided an introspective and confessional complement to the more extroverted Future.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Don't Get Lost
    As they head further down this cerebral path, it would behoove Newcombe and his gang to work a bit harder on their core offerings before they paint on all the fun stuff.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Golden Eagle
    Like a yodeling Lana Del Rey, the affected vocal presentation is bound to annoy some, but for others her delivery, along with the album's brooding tone and poetic essence, will make fast fans.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Iceberg
    Oddisee's all-round strengths as producer, mixer, and lyricist make for a more cohesive record, allowing for his personality and message to shine that much brighter.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Uyai
    Uyai is a fine, boundary-pushing follow-up to an arresting debut.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Moh Lhean
    Moh Lhean sounds a little more mature, but only relatively speaking. The project remains a creative burst of sounds, grooves, and stylized observation that's uniquely refreshing to those open to its quirky complexity.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Tourist
    While the holistic craftsmanship of Ounsworth's musicality is impressive, ultimately it's his anguished, romantic vocal croon that sticks with you on The Tourist, ever dichotomously imbued with both a deep sense of loneliness and a pop-centric sense of self-determination.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sleeping Through the War
    The Nashville-based quartet's fourth studio long-player, and second for New West Records, Sleeping Through the War is All Them Witches' most fully realized set to date, a sprawling yet remarkably focused effort that takes their exploratory, often spliced-together work ethic in a more stridently song-oriented direction.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Infinite Worlds
    It's a very promising debut that definitely positions Vagabon as one to watch in the future.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Book of Changes
    Arguably his most coherent album to date, while off-kilter touches add a layer of artfulness, the songs themselves are engaging, even riveting by nature, and made more so by Blakeslee's performances.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Oh, Evolution
    The record's hazy harmonies and sauntering pace provide a cozy sanctuary for daydreams that may not lead to happy outcomes but feel good while they last.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Invocation and Ritual Dance of My Demon Twin
    This is undeniably a Julie's Haircut record, which is as surprising and genre-defying as you'd expect.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tears in the Club
    Overall, Tears in the Club may aim for the melancholy, but it's also pretty enough to please those in search of a lush, soothing escape.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Preservation
    All in all, Preservation is a fine record that finds this young artist really hitting her stride.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shine on Rainy Day
    Shine on Rainy Day is personal and soulful, with little of contemporary country's gloss and a stripped-down, earthy poeticism that some have likened to Kris Kristofferson's early albums
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Bad Testament
    Scott H. Biram remains one of the rawest and realest honky tonk men wandering our lost highways in the 21st century, and The Bad Testament finds him howling just like the hellhound on his trail.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    In Between
    In Between is usually quiet, but it's never cautious; this is very much the work of one of America's best and most venerable independent bands, and it confirms the Feelies are still a genuine creative force as they approach their 40th anniversary.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Drunk
    Additional guests Kendrick, Pharrell, and Wiz Khalifa add to the star power, but the main attraction is Bruner's singular combination of tremulous yet fluid bass and aching falsetto.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Freedom Highway
    At the outset, it seems austere, but by its conclusion it's a robust celebration of all the weird, wonderful parts of America.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Breaker
    Little Big Town cherish the gentler moments, and this ease with sensitivity turns The Breaker into something of a quiet triumph: it's intended as a balm, and it succeeds.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Blackfield V
    The album's tempo could have been more varied, but that's a small complaint; there's plenty to enjoy here.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Plata o Plomo
    Fans of either rapper will enjoy hearing them together for an entire album. The effect doesn't wear out and Plata o Plomo ends up being a worthwhile addition to both discographies.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood
    At over two hours long, it's easily one of Mark Kozelek's most ambitious undertakings yet--or one of the most self-indulgent, depending on the listener's perspective.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Pangs
    Peculiar and ultimately charming, Pangs is another high caliber entry in Roberts' dependably creative catalog.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    New Spirit
    New Spirit's shifts from experimental to pop and back again aren't always smooth, but they prove once again that PVT's unpredictability is reliably fascinating.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Burning the Threshold
    The overall tone of Burning the Threshold is moody and reflective, and Chasny's embrace of more easily digestible song forms makes for one of the most engaging Six Organs releases in years.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Man vs. Sofa
    Every single moment of Man vs. Sofa is suspenseful and exciting.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Why Love Now
    It's easily the meatiest the band has sounded to date, but it doesn't deviate from the punishing, aural miasma that Pissed Jeans have been stewing in since their 2006 debut.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Crystal Fairy
    It's impressive stuff, and that it feels like the work of a much more seasoned crew of bandmates suggests that they had as much fun making it as the listener will have devouring it.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Flying Microtonal Banana
    As the album concludes, it's clear that the experiment was a success and that the microtuned instruments fit in perfectly with their oddball aesthetic.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sick Scenes
    It all makes for an unbalanced listening experience, one that only the most dedicated Los Campesinos! fans will likely want to undertake. For anyone else, Sick Scenes might be a little too over-produced and undercooked, despite the moments when some of the band's old thrills poke through the fresh coat of paint.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Graveyard Whistling
    The Old 97's still sound engaged, energetic, and as committed as ever 23 years after they released their debut, and Graveyard Whistling is evidence they're not short on fresh ideas either.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dirty Projectors
    The broken-hearted Longstreth sounds like a changed man in many respects, but he's no less talented and visionary than he was before, and Dirty Projectors demonstrates that musically and lyrically, love and its absence have taught him a thing or two.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Chalice Hymnal
    Not only is Chalice Hymnal well worth the wait, it makes it even harder to choose which album is the pinnacle of Grails' ever-fascinating discography.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Colliding by Design
    What could have been a nostalgia grab is instead the triumph of a band that chose to deliver on the initial promise of their seminal debut, not only to their faithful fans, but, more importantly, to themselves.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Windy City
    Windy City leaves no doubt that she has the talent and the intelligence to make it work, and this album is a richly satisfying experience.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Circle/Triangle
    It all makes for a perfectly imperfect debut from an artist who already knows how to immerse listeners into his world, completely and immediately.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    An Act of Love
    When the tracks are beatless, they sound like the musical equivalent of distant waves rushing deep in the night. What Long does isn't exactly complicated, at least on the surface, but it's still highly immersive and quite gorgeous.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Soul Sick
    She pleads, yelps, and croons, alternating between agitation and desperation, and that raw emotion is the true hook on Soul Sick.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Courtneys II
    They may not have broken the mold, but delivering a rock-solid album that plays well from front to back is no easy feat, and this second volume is a winner.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Field of Love
    Ornate but polished throughout, Field of Love ultimately delivers pop music for those who are bored with pop music.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Chief
    The grim truths and fantastical tales are almost equally vivid.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Elegy
    Produced by Manfred Eicher, Elegy fits ECM's aesthetic to a T. More than that, however, it reveals Bleckmann's creative authority as he searches the limits of both sound and silence for an expression that utters its own name. The album is a gentle wonder; it bodes well for an enduring relationship between artist and label.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Enter the Kingdom
    It's clear Matthew Milia has the talent to do any number of things, but thankfully he's happy to continue making music, and Enter the Kingdom is yet another reminder that Frontier Ruckus are one of the best things to come out of Michigan since Faygo Redpop.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Savage Times
    Savage Times is indeed raw, desperate, and chock-full of new ideas and sounds, making this a creative breakout for El Khatib.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Alice
    Alice is a major step forward for Meatbodies and one of the better garage punk/heavy metal/psychedelic rock albums anyone is likely to hear in 2017.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Prisoner
    It's not a record that wallows in hurt, it's an album that functions as balm for bad times.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    No Home of the Mind
    Melancholy but not overbearingly so, No Home of the Mind is thoroughly entrancing, and another triumph for Bing & Ruth.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Please Be Mine
    On the whole a solid set of songs, the album's influences play out consistently across a wistfully romantic atmosphere that should appeal to both lovers and the lonelyhearted.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Incessant
    Like love, The Incessant is not for the faint of heart, but it's a gripping and deeply personal piece of art and another solid release from this gritty, all-or-nothing trio.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Notes of Blue
    Committed fans and casual admirers will find Notes of Blue worth a listen, but ultimately this is the work of an artist who has done better with similar ingredients in the past.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hard Love
    Showalter and producer Nicolas Vernhes find a nice balance between the rawness of the production and the meatiness of its execution, and allow the classic rock underpinnings that were so prevalent on Heal to continue to rise to the forefront.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Life Will See You Now
    A lot of the album feels inspired by the Ghostwriting project, and while he's definitely injected himself into the songs, it feels oddly detached and writerly, as if he's taking pains to create a buffer zone of distance between his real feelings and the listener.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Undying Color
    Undying Color seems like a strange experiment at first, but it ends up being one of the most enjoyable releases in the Mind Over Mirrors catalog.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    No Future
    Turbulent yet strangely comforting, No Future is one of Moiré's best works yet.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Terrible Human Beings
    The mild growth and light sophistication they show in spots doesn't make the record any less of a rollicking good time. Just like they have since their early days, the Orwells bring the songs, the suds, and the knuckleheaded energy to the party.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Saturday Night
    The album gathers songs of a more personal nature than were fitting for his band's fierier post-punk disposition, with a few actually predating Ought. Not that Saturday Night is a sullen acoustic-guitar record; rather, Darcy is more reflective here, sometimes channeling early solo Lou Reed and sometimes wandering into more experimental meditations.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Hot Coffey in the D: Burnin' at Morey Baker's Showplace Lounge
    This is a burner from start to finish, enjoyable for anyone with a pulse.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Close Your Eyes
    She's created a cool, sensual sound for Close Your Eyes, spinning off of her signature subdued adult alternative pop but adding in significant elements of electronica, particularly an echo of trip-hop past.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Heavy Meta
    This is tough, smart, impassioned rock & roll with a sense of purpose and lots of swagger, performed with the confidence of a veteran and the scrap of a newcomer. It's heady stuff well worth your attention.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Zombies on Broadway
    Its gleaming surface feels shinier than previous McMahon productions, but rather than seeming like an attempt to chase trends, these inflections and accents feel like a culmination of craft. McMahon has long understood how to craft a song, and Zombies on Broadway proves he has the studio skills to match.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins
    Along with having one of the best titles of recent memory, Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins confirms that more than 25 years after making his solo debut, Chuck Prophet remains one of America's strongest songwriters and recording artists, and he's in great form here.
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