DIY Magazine's Scores

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For 3,422 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 55% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 41% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.9 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 74
Highest review score: 100 Superbloom
Lowest review score: 20 Let It Reign
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,498 out of 3422
  2. Mixed: 911 out of 3422
  3. Negative: 13 out of 3422
3422 music reviews
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    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cala
    It’s difficult to shake the feeling that the likes of the upbeat ‘Brass Locket’ or the barely-there ‘Hunting Dog’ that this is territory Regan has already long since claimed, and that as good as he is at it, the law of diminishing returns is bound to kick in eventually. Instead, what we need more of is the likes of ‘Glaciers’, all implied menace and thick atmospherics.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Aokohio
    It means that AOKOHIO never quite feels as cohesive as Wolf apparently intended it to be, so it’s a good job that the album’s emotional themes do such a good job of providing a throughline and backbone instead.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    How Do You Love?
    Unfortunately, none of the later tracks hit with the same urgency as the first few. The album is a fun listen, still, and one that encapsulates that Polaroid summer we’re all after.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Any Human Friend
    Not so much Marika 3.0 as the Marika who was always there, but tougher, stronger and more triumphant than ever.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    High Expectations
    There’s no faux-earnestness here. Whether Mabel is singing about messy break ups, mental health or empowering herself to move on, High Expectations is effortlessly cool.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    ANIMA
    Sans-visual accompaniment the album can feel meandering and unfocused. Fortunately, the experimental production and dark atmosphere are compelling in their own right, and ‘Anima’ is ultimately a trip down the rabbit hole worth taking.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Clarity
    With a buoyant and self-aware use of slang that will have you opening up Urban Dictionary, paired with the one-track-per-week release schedule and the songs to back it up, Kim proves herself to be a true millennial pop princess in waiting.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Let's Rock
    It’s as close an approximation of before as they could possibly get - the result of 12 tracks being plopped out of a Black Keys song generator - but, five years down the line, you hope that people will demand more than that.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    I, I
    A decade on from the pained remoteness of For Emma, Forever Ago, i,i holds the same intimacy and urgency, elevated by years of groundbreaking experimentation.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    First Taste
    An album that finds the prodigious artist enjoying himself yet again.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Guy Walks into a Bar...
    ‘Bad Things (That Make You Feel Good)’ sounds like a sped-up take on wholesome pop king Bleachers, while opener ‘Should Be Dancing’ features a half-arsed attempt at pal Alex Turner’s croon. ... A little more humour on Mini Mansions’ third, and they might’ve been able to pull it off.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Falling
    Dude York are doing absolutely nothing new on Falling, but when they do it this well, the throwback is a welcome one.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Duck
    There are a couple of fleeting moments (the chorus of ‘Wait’ is a hooky, soaring thing) that remind you of the unabashed earworms that the Kaisers can produce at their best but, for the most part, Duck is actually a bit of a turkey.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Fever Dream
    Channelling zeitgeisty pop is by no means always a bad thing; but when omitting the earwormy choruses it needs - and removing your own personality in the process, it’s only ever going to fall a bit limp.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Emotional Education
    Emotional Education is a thoughtful, carefully-constructed synthpop odyssey, based at its core around the vocal harmonisation by Lily Somerville and Megan Marwick and lent some tasteful gloss by production work from The xx collaborator Rodaidh McDonald as well as duo MyRiot.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    King's Mouth: Music and Songs
    The musical accompaniment to the installation works perfectly as a concept album, where heady instrumentals and psychedelic pop nuggets are intertwined with swelling strings and a nursery rhyme story narrated by The Clash’s Mick Jones.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    A People's History of Gauche
    A People’s History of Gauche captures both the rotten societal traits and inspiring persistence that is often associated with people on the ground.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Don't You Think You've Had Enough?
    While their new guise has them in a more experimental mood - injecting doses of nostalgia all over the shop - it also doesn’t quite possess the same level of clout as before.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Egoli
    It’s rough around the edges, but that’s part of its charm - a testament to the energy and ideas thrown about in such a short space of time, and the vibrancy of collaboration.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Until the Tide Creeps In
    Until The Tide Creeps In is a record totally out of step with any modern music scene, and all the more timeless and special for it.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    III
    [The off-trend songs like Alaska, Sawzall and Hawaiian Mazes] feel freer, more exciting and more innovative. But III isn’t that. Instead, for the most part, it feels like Banks-by-numbers.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Stonechild
    Stonechild is an exercise in top-level songwriting, stately and intelligent.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Fongola
    Endlessly creative and euphoric, the MacGyvers of music have created a record that’s not only politically charged, but brimming with the joys of life and creativity.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    By Night
    The result sees Plague Vendor’s ferocious punk swirl around explosions of synth and thunderous electronic drums, a combination that ultimately propels their ever-present homage to classic sounds into the present day.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Exiled
    A record that barely takes its foot off the gas pedal. This onslaught would make even the most hardcore listener flinch. Bring earplugs.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Small Mercies
    Small Mercies is not a complete success, but Pixx’s creative voice remains unique.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    An Obelisk
    If you’re partial to a bit of blue-collar punk, this is likely to be right up your street.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    False Alarm
    Two Door Cinema Club have learnt how to harness their mainstream power while taking creative risks. They pay off almost every time.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Help Us Stranger
    The beauty of The Raconteurs is in the timeless joy of hearing two world-class songwriters, cut from two very different sides of a similar cloth, come together to make something if not greater, then at least as good as the sum of their considerable parts. And in that sense, Help Us Stranger succeeds, and then some.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Late Night Feelings
    A record that pushes each of its contributors to stamp their own mark, uniting them under the banner of heartbreak but leaving room for each vocalist to twist the blueprint to their own shape.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A Bath Full of Ecstasy
    Their more collaborative process has brought an album that, while rarely deviating from that Hot Chip sound, feels lighter and freer. Like a band finally feeling confident in their own skin, inviting us to find escape from whatever troubles us in their music.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Keepsake
    She writes and wears her heart on her sleeve, half-singing, half-sighing through her songs with wide-eyed candour, shining through such swoon-worthy dream- pop. At some point, you’ll wonder if it was Hatchie’s heartache and pain that was written about, or your own.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Club Nites
    Far from the fools of their name, Dumb are onto something pretty magnetic.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Satis Factory
    Tackling interesting ideas and putting rock through an avant garde filter, Mattiel Brown’s powerful vocals once again impress too on what ultimately feels like a significant step forward.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Doom Days
    A record which thrives on evoking feeling and catharsis, while remaining committed to their personal influences, on Doom Days they’ve managed to deftly build a conceptual world not all too different to the one we’re facing right now, and that feels like a triumph in itself.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Book Of Traps and Lessons
    On The Book of Traps and Lessons Kate Tempest continues to impress as one of the UK’s most vital voices.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    And Now for the Whatchamacallit
    With jubilant tie-dye riffs and squiggly guitar lines around every corner, And Now For The Whatchamacallit is every bit the celebratory psych-rock album it strives to be.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Run Around the Sun
    Much like their previous releases, Run Around the Sun is a collection of delightful, sunshine-soaked fuzz-pop.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    This Mess Is a Place
    A thread of hope and resilience runs through, via bright, surfy punk and power pop.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    U.F.O.F.
    It feels darker an offering than some of their earlier work, more textured and full of otherworldly sound effects that often only become obvious on multiple listens.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Levitation
    It has a tendency to be superfluous--a stray tabla rhythm is never too far away--but ultimately it’s a fun record that’s clearly born of love and dedication. That’s something to be commended.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Dots
    The Dots is an outright success. It combines forward-thinking sound design with complex songwriting, and an astute taste for pop hooks with rich, intelligent lyrical content. It’s a joy to experience.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Here Comes the Cowboy
    The result is an album that’s pleasant but kind of passes you by, and for a singer that was always so charismatic, being just ordinary feels like a bit of a bummer.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Useless Coordinates
    This opening statement from a band emerging as one of Britain’s most inspired and uncompromising, could just be a strong starting step in a vivid and unconventional journey.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Young Enough
    Circling around Eva’s sharp, twangy vocals, the band’s second album is a gargantuan step forward, and one packed full of iron-clad mantras.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Yu
    Everything feels less claustrophobic than on ‘Control’ as synths soar, rather than constrict. Beats bounce and guitars are led by the groove. Throughout ‘YU’, we see a grander side of her.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    End of Suffering
    A bold, brave effort that’ll continue to see them rise through the rock ranks.
    • 95 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Eternal Forward Motion
    Eternal Forward Motion pushes onward with a clear mission and unrivalled force, and much like their two previous albums, it places Employed To Serve firmly at the forefront of innovation in British hardcore.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    In Plain Sight
    In Plain Sight is an overwhelmingly dour listen.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Diviner
    Diviner is an intensely intimate album that leaves Hayden with nowhere to hide. Thankfully, stepping fully into the spotlight and laying himself bare, he’s resplendent.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Amyl and the Sniffers
    A great advert for Australia’s most incendiary live band.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Reward
    The result is a deeply personal album, at once beautiful and mournful, and rarely straightforward.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Nothing Great About Britain
    Nothing Great About Britain permeates everything about this fantastic first record from the soon-to-be-star that is Tyron Frampton.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Enderness
    While ‘I Love You Like A Brother’ was littered with memorable choruses that would be lodged in your brain after one listen, it takes a good while of digging into ‘The Best Of Luck Club’ to find something that sticks.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    I Am Easy to Find
    There’s plenty here to push The National’s sound forwards and stave off stagnation.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Best of Luck Club
    Despite an overall likeability and affable sheen--it’s a little flatter than that.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Father of the Bride
    Father Of The Bride is a joyous, fearless listen that builds on Vampire Weekend’s steeped history while simultaneously paying less attention to it than ever.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Peter Doherty & the Puta Madres
    Much here sounds as though it could have been unearthed from the treasure trove of old demos the singer sporadically unloaded circa 2004; great for the die-hards, fairly inconsequential for everyone else.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Grim Town
    Overall, and perhaps importantly, it mostly sounds like something to sing along to, rather than the soundtrack to your next existential crisis.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Oh My God
    One of his strongest bodies of work to date. It’s a richly textured piece of work which sees him expertly display his ability to make listeners find intimacy in vast soundscapes.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Seeing Other People
    On their sixth LP, unpredictable Californians Foxygen are less up for a bop than an attempt at settling some scores.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Designer
    Despite what the album’s plain, monochromatic cover art might suggest, this is a warm, textured collection of songs that breathes life at every corner. A real triumph.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Violet Street
    Local Natives deliver a tale of affection deeply rooted in the realism of love, not just in romance but in life.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Fishing for Fishies
    Closer ‘Cyboogie’, the cheesy, sci-fi-inspired lead single from the LP, is by far the most tepid of the set, as if marking the roll of the end-credits and a collective sigh of relief. With that being said, do not doubt that King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard still know how to kick ass.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Big Wows
    The band’s strongest assets - three fantastic vocalists in Rebecca Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer, and a focus on tight bass-and-drum grooves - are ever present, but there’s enough sugar in ‘Big Wows’ to make even the sweetest tooth ache.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Raw Honey
    The music is genuinely rich, and creates a strong nostalgia for a musical era gone by.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Jade Bird
    Across twelve polished tracks, Jade switches from piano ballad to stomping singalong and back again, full of bold choruses and raw, ricocheting vocals.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Not Waving, But Drowning
    It doesn’t quite match the intensity and impact of his debut.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Social Cues
    ‘Social Cues’ is a study in US radio - or so it seems, each song a suitable soundtrack to faceless car journeys along nondescript roads: think Imagine Dragons in leather jackets and ripped jeans, if you will.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Cuz I Love You
    Power and self-confidence run through the record. ... It also manages to veer away from feeling gimmicky, Lizzo’s vibrant personality and humour shining through a set of tracks that switches through elements of funk, pop and R&B with ease.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    No Geography
    Both what you’d want and expect from a Chemical Brothers album, as well as a whole lot more on top, it pushes the duo firmly back to relevance.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Odd One Out
    It’s a charming and defiant debut, and one that encapsulates the GIRLI mindset, heartbreaks and all.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Dogrel
    Fontaines DC have crafted a clear, unedited picture of who they are and what they’re made of. It’s a joy to witness.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    What's It Like Over There?
    It’s both over-produced and underwhelming.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Brutalism
    On the one hand, Brutalism feels less bloated than any of its predecessors, and a number of sharp production touches ensure that some of its tracks are excellent. ... On the other hand, the album is missing some of The Drums’ lo-fi charm.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Seduction of Kansas
    The Seduction of Kansas is another evocative and considered album, the band reiterating their ability to present topics with tremendous clarity and depth. Which, given the complexity of their themes, is exactly what most of us are crying out for.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Morbid Stuff
    They may be using Morbid Stuff to face their demons head on, but there’s a sense of reckless abandon to the whole thing that makes it entirely freeing.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Titanic Rising
    Titanic Rising presents an immensely elegant journey to a different place and time; in equal parts beautifully delicate and powerful.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Love Keeps Kicking
    Whether trying to find solace in community while battling your deepest demons, or after an uninhibited jig to some of the catchiest indie-pop around, Martha still have your back.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dog Whistle
    Despite this fervent distancing of themselves from party politics, Dog Whistle is a brutal, impassioned flag-in-the-ground for the disillusioned in New York and beyond.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
    When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is a supremely exciting, innovative first move from a pop voice that feels utterly fresh and modern.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Silver Tongues
    While the maelstrom of noise doesn’t let up at any point (with guitar feedback providing a segue between each song on the album), it is only a veil for the strong songwriting that lurks beneath. An emphatic debut.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    No Words Left
    With plenty of sweet to balance the sour, this is a record that will resonate with anybody rebuilding themselves in the aftermath of self-doubt, and easily confirms itself as her most honest work yet.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Inside the Rose
    Getting to the end is a slog. Sometimes, maybe you can just be a bit too clever for your own good.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Panorama
    Hearing Jordan laying bare these experiences that sound more his own than ever over La Dispute’s most impacting collection of songs yet is something that will invigorate the die-hards once more and maybe (just maybe) finally impress the naysayers.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Doko Mien
    ISM have stepped away from the traditional Ibibio folk tales that formed the lyrics for much of their debut album, instead relying more on English lyrics and universal themes. Only ‘She Work Very Hard’ displays the kind of storytelling that made those songs so intriguing, and it’s here where the boundaries between tradition and future are most blurred.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Cows on Hourglass Pond
    Frequently unintelligible, and downright bizarre lyrics only serve to add to the personality of his genre-bending music. Ultimately, Cows On Hourglass Pond is a new kind of psych-folk that Avey Tare can proudly call his own.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    American Football (LP3)
    It’s the sound of a band breaking the reunion mould, making firm strides forward and leaving their legacy in the dust.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It's Real
    It’s Real is at its best when the trio let loose and steam ahead with out-and-out rock and roll; the breathless ‘Cosmic Cave’ and assured strut of ‘Good Times’ suggest that catching Ex Hex on the road this year will be every bit as essential as last time out.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Miss Universe
    It all sounds a little inconceivable on paper, but is tied together and brought to life by a singer-songwriter who evades pigeonholing--on purpose or accidentally, it doesn’t really matter--and provides a debut that’s all her own.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    On the Line
    Jenny Lewis has never sounded this confident in her own skin.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Birthday
    Students of jazz, but with a love of avant-garde art punk and West African music, Pom Poko bring something chaotic to the table. ... But this is their bread and butter; the kaleidoscopic realm in which they thrive.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Gratitude
    In turning around a painful and difficult period in his life, Ben Leftwich has managed to paint a picture of redemption and growth that’s graceful and honest without drifting into self indulgence.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    When I Get Home
    A beautiful stream of consciousness, Home is the sound of an artist, donning a cloak of creative freedom. It’s a look that suits her.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Groove Denied
    Groove Denied captures the finer points of Stephen Malkmus’ craftsmanship in wildly esoteric and robotic form.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Punk
    With PUNK, CHAI have defied all expectations, decreeing that everybody to them is cute--and they don’t need to be.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Lux Prima
    Everything across Lux Prima feels completely right; familiar yet new, revealing more of two beloved figures without losing what made them great all these years.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sasami
    As a body of work, it sounds eerie and complex while still remaining delicate and cohesive and it’s a bold and well-rounded debut.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Beware of the Dogs
    Regardless of tone or subject, she fills every lyric with a divine authenticity and matter-of-factness. Her vocals are delicate but always immediate, sitting somewhere between Angel Olsen’s dulcet croon and the twinkle of Sufjan Stevens. In short, Stella Donnelly has got the world in her palm, and the brain to do exactly what she wants with it.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ulfilas' Alphabet
    Sundara Karma might have set their sights high by naming their record for a man whose ambition spread to creating a whole system of writing, but Ulfilas’ Alphabet matches every lofty idea the band set themselves and then some.
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