AllMusic's Scores

  • Music
Select another publication »
For 18,283 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: 15,332 out of 18283
  2. Mixed: 2,925 out of 18283
  3. Negative: 26 out of 18283
18283 music reviews
view
per page
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    - (Subtract)
    Sheeran is naturally a laid-back performer, the pair fit almost a little bit too neatly: where certain hooks and melodic refrains would've been pushed into the spotlight on previous Sheeran albums, they're lying in the background here. That tender touch when combined with a preponderance of ballads turns - (subtract) into a curiously recessive album: its emotions are raw, yet its execution is reserved.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Venus In Overdrive
    By letting all of his sides surface here, Springfield winds up with a satisfying album, as it gets to his sober nature without abandoning his fizzy gifts.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Potato Hole
    Potato Hole isn't a slab of greasy Stax soul, either. It is what it is, a new Booker T. Jones album, and hopefully it won't take another 20 years to get to the next one.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    You Are The One I Pick
    There's something quietly but persistently unique about the duo's work that suggests its own realm, quirky and wry but not simply a showcase for lyrical wit, gently swinging and twangy without losing a sense of calm hush.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Banks
    On these songs Banks fashions more of an identity for himself as a solo artist outside of anything he's done before, and arguably works even harder here to separate himself from his established project. Some of Banks' songs feel unpredictable even after a few listens.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Oh Inhuman Spectacle
    They may lack the immediacy of some of their more envelope-pushing contemporaries, but as sonic world-builders they excel, and certainly possess the acumen to expand those horizons on future outings.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Fifty Shades of Grey [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
    The soundtrack to Fifty Shades of Grey winds up as something conventional: high-thread count seduction with nary a hint of menace, suitable for any romantic evening you choose.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    SOL
    The relatively sparse ambient instrumentals, frequently unpredictable as they twist and turn, are almost as fascinating. Even the relatively tranquil sections seem slightly turbulent.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hope
    The piano ballad "I Still Make Her Cry" stands as the lone truly intimate moment of the record which, despite its enthusiastic choruses, harbors reflective, self-doubting lyrics.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    I Love You Go Easy
    The result is considerably removed from the country-informed folk that dominated (but never completely encapsulated) her earlier work; it's both her subtlest and jazziest effort to date, certainly sonically but also in its songwriting, which tends more than ever toward long, fluid melodic lines and loose, open-ended structures.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Lost Loves
    A Minus the Bear record is fairly consistent, but given the quality of this band's output and the uniqueness of their sound, it comes as no surprise that not only are their cast-offs pretty solid, but that make for an oddly good album when strung together.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Straight Hits!
    Pearson's point has been made: he's upended the high expectations his 2011 album set, no longer seeming like a soul-baring troubadour. Whether that was worth a seven year wait, only fans can decide.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Replica Sun Machine
    If anything, though, what Replica Sun Machine calls to mind is a previous attempt to meld aesthetics from about ten years back, the Beta Band's "Hot Shots II"--it's not a question of exact similarity by any means, but there's a similarly easygoing feel in the arrangements and the beats, something that invites drift and a steady crunch in equal measure.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Evolution of Man
    Still, as the Kasabian-sized choruses stick in the head like the most delicious, stately fluff, The Evolution of Man winds up the dancefloor confessional done right, fist pumping and throwing fits as if it had karma to burn.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Harakiri
    All in all, this makes for an album that, despite containing plenty of drama and angst, feels self-restrained by itself, making the whole thing seem conflicted instead of confrontational.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sex Change
    [It] ends up being some of Trans Am's most satisfying work yet.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A New Morning
    Song for song, it's better and more consistent than Head Music... thanks partially to Stephen Street's focused, flattering production, but also due to a sharp set of songs.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Contraband
    With Contraband, Velvet Revolver has pulled off something tidy, fashioning music that manages both hedonism and maturity.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sex with an X
    Sex with an X is proof that Kelly and McKee were right to get back together, and while they don't pick up exactly where they left off, it's close enough to make their fans, both old and new, ecstatic.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Take the Crown
    Take the Crown features Robbie doing what Robbie does best--writing and performing effortless pop music--but not at his best.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    No Man's Land
    He tells these stories (many of them dark and tragic) with empathy, tenderness, and a desire to illuminate curiosity about his subjects, making No Man's Land a welcome addition to Turner's catalog.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Jeff Bridges
    The problem with Jeff Bridges is, it sounds like he's trying hard to be cool, and that's all down to T-Bone Burnett, who dampens everything natural about this music with the artificially authentic.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Meyrin Fields
    Meyrin Fields may be under 12 minutes long, but it's still a musical goodie bag that sounds like it was as much fun to make as it is to hear.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    5 Seconds of Summer
    Ultimately, 5 Seconds of Summer have crafted an album of songs that stick in your head like neon bubblegum on a hot summer sidewalk.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Storm & Grace
    This is a stronger, more mature, and more effective work than one might have expected.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale
    It's all perfectly pleasant and a convincing testament to what Clapton learned from Cale, although its silvery monochromatic shuffles suggest J.J. was a little more one-dimensional than he actually was.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Megaplex
    While Megaplex has its moments, the pleasures are fleeting and listeners aren't left with much meat to stick to their bones.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1: No Past. No Future. No Sun
    Corgan delivers something unexpected: music that's rich but settled, music that plays to his strengths, music where he seems happy in his own skin.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mission Bell
    There is a lot to admire here and maybe that's the main problem....he often favors rambling, low-key country numbers that get you to quietly consider the bittersweet nature of our existence rather than lose yourself in the song.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Daughter of Cloud
    Despite a few tracks that should have stayed unreleased, Daughter of Cloud succeeds by showing the most extreme versions of several different sides of Of Montreal, from their most intense and suffocating to their most uncommonly tender.
Page: