American Songwriter's Scores

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For 1,819 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 50% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 45% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.7 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 74
Highest review score: 100 Rockstar
Lowest review score: 20 Dancing Backward in High Heels
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,462 out of 1819
  2. Mixed: 353 out of 1819
  3. Negative: 4 out of 1819
1819 music reviews
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    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Blak and Blu
    As is, our appetite has only been whetted and not satiated.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Enderness
    Even if there isn’t much meat here and the concepts are obtuse at best, the oddly titled Enderness (the beginning “T” is conspicuously, and intentionally, missing), taps into an enticing, low-key vibe that’s just as satisfying and far more personal.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    American Utopia
    At a conservative 35 minutes, there’s little fluff. Still, some songs feel longer than they are and the sheer abundance of words is sporadically exaggerated and tiresome.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Beat Poetry for Survivalists
    Beat Poetry Survivalists is a bold first step, and if some of the songs don’t quite hit the mark, it’s only because the two are intent on taking their partnership to certain extremes. And because risk sometimes leads to recklessness, a few missteps are not only inevitable but also forgivable.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    No Ghost
    Even the most rock 'n' roll track, "Bobcat Goldwraith," starts with and then later, after much cacophony, unravels to reveal the same building blocks underneath. The plinking and plunking riffs of No Ghost prove inescapable. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, mostly because what follows those riffs is done so well.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ma
    If you’re already a fan of Banhart’s recent work, this slots firmly into that leisurely, often lovely vibe. He has shifted away from the quirky “freak folk” of his early years into something just as odd, even subversive, around its edges, but far more relaxed and enjoyable.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Meet Me at the Edge of the World
    Bergquist is in wonderfully relaxed voice and the open production by Joe Henry allows her vocals--a mix of Sheryl Crow, Rickie Lee Jones and even Billie Holiday at times--plenty of room to explore the bucolic shadows and light of the material.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Lulu
    It takes some commitment, and maybe a little homework, to get the most out of the album.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Valley Wind
    It's a pleasant, moody, laconic bordering on snoozy, stripped down affair that never breaks a sweat or escalates into a gallop.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Silent Treatment
    Your enjoyment is decidedly dependent on how you appreciate her sweeping, multi-octave singing and tunes that reflect the give and take of relationships in ways that make soap operas seem subtle.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Down to the River
    The outfit gets points for releasing an album comprising new compositions (minus Petty’s tune), which helps establish them as more than another ABB cover act, albeit one with undeniably valid credentials.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real [2017]
    Ultimately, Lukas is carrying on Willie’s tradition, pushing the outlaw boundaries his famous father established in the ’70s and proving that the musical apple truly does not fall far from the tree.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Be the Void
    For the most part, it works. But "Warrior Man," a jumbled idea that could've been a great song, is the sort of cautionary tale that keeps this album from matching Shame, Shame's standards.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    10 Songs
    Travis is to be commended for keeping the faith and coming up with another batch of quality songs that, if not their best stuff, isn’t far from it. But like the album’s unimaginative title, there’s little that pushes any of the band’s established boundaries into new and fresh sonic areas.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Both Sides of the Sky
    Now, 47 years after his passing, music Hendrix never authorized is available, warts and all, in a package that, for all of its captivating moments, still exudes the faint yet noxious whiff of wringing every last dollar from his dedicated fan base.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Signs
    Some songs suffer from being underwritten and overplayed. Still, there are enough impressive moments to ensure that, at least on stage, they will detonate with the passion and soul the Tedeschi Trucks band generates at every show.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Minnesota
    Jennings' songwriting is at its best in Minnesota when reflecting this troubling sense of uncertainty and contradiction.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Uno!
    It feels like the band is playing it a tad safe here.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dream Attic
    If Dream Attic is any indication, recording studios may soon be as irrelevant to Richard Thompson's career as big record companies are.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    iTunes Session
    Even at only eight tunes clocking in under a half hour, this is a sincere, heartfelt and often riveting performance that might bring those who had lost the Adams map back into the fold.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Colors
    At times this slick party vibe sounds like Hall & Oates at their least soulful, which is to say the music has an inevitability to it that initially feels fresh, but starts to wear thin when it’s clear the entire album is cut from the same glitzy cloth.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Modern Creation
    While the songs aren’t the most complex ever written, even among The Whigs’ catalog, they are perfect for cruising with the windows down.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Zoom In [EP]
    Okay, Ringo hasn’t made his masterpiece, but then again, a guilty pleasure can be worth savoring in itself. As most of his Starr-struck admirers generally conclude, it can be rewarding to zoom in albeit momentarily, rather than opting to completely tune out.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac
    With nearly 80 minutes of music that will make you hear these 17 tunes in new ways, and in most cases drive you back to the originals to stare and compare, this is one of the few covers sets that pushes boundaries but still remains respectful to a classic band and its bulging catalog of timeless music.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Undress
    Musically, the occasional horns, a fuller production, and a more structured overall approach makes this eighth release the tightest, most focused Felice Brothers album yet.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    No Fools, No Fun
    Ultimately you wish they would have put more effort into what seems to be a really relaxed, yet not lackadaisical release.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Make My Head Sing...
    What she’s come up with isn’t always completely successful, but it keeps you wanting more.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    I'm a Stranger Here
    There seems to be a slightly less edgy approach to these ten tracks, some of which could have used a dose of the hyper-caffeinated style TDM3 whip up in front of an audience.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Gravity Stairs
    Some tracks, like “Teenage Summer” (the first single and video) and the tuneful “Oh Hi” highlight choruses that immediately entice like the group’s biggest hit, “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” did nearly four decades ago. But generally, Finn and sons spoon out pleasant, low-key, pensive material that’ll take a few spins to connect with.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Music For Listening To Music To
    These songs may take a few spins to connect and early fans of La Sera may need to open up to accept the revised style. But most will appreciate Wisenbaker’s higher profile input and Goodman’s ability to remain distinctive in the La Sera guise while maintaining the music’s chameleonic qualities and urging it forward in her still dreamy fashion.
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