DIY Magazine's Scores

  • Music
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:
3422 music reviews
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Biting and abrasive in the best kind of ways, ‘Nightmare Vacation’ finds an artist stepping up into the hype that’s been surrounding her for years, and delivering on it tenfold. It will chew you up and spit you out, and you’ll love every minute of it.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The record feels more like opening a time capsule than self-congratulation; as if that 2011 statement locked a door we’re only now allowed to peek back into. Also crucially, many of the songs here were never even released as singles. ... The breadth and depth of how much they did while still keeping it (relatively) simple is so evident.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cyr
    It’s refreshing to see that the band aren’t content to solely focus on nostalgia trips, and there are some great moments here - the dark driving force of ‘Wyttch’ stands out - but with such a hefty run time, it’s difficult to really tap into the heart of ‘Cyr’.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Miley's seventh era seems to be the one that suits her best, her huge vocals and penchant for penning irresistible melodies lending themselves with ease to big growling rock-leaning anthems.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Richly nuanced, effortlessly cool and at times beautifully bleak, ‘Home for Now’ feels like the sound of Babeheaven finding their feet in an atmosphere of uncertainty.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    ‘Night Network’, far from being the exercise in kicking and screaming that it might have been, is instead a study in elegance in the face of adversity. The Cribs are back.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Katy J Pearson’s debut manage to make the oldest sound of musical heartbreak somehow seem, if not fully modern, then at least fairly timeless.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The signs for the band’s third aren’t too rosy, and yet their latest does go some way to showing the defter touch they first struck out with.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Nothing here will quite fulfill the satisfaction of her original work, but as a fun, thoughtful way to ground oneself during quarantine, ‘Covers' is an audition that is guaranteed to see her through to the next round.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Imbued throughout with a fusion of Pa’s Gambian heritage, and life growing up in Coventry (“COV, #cityofviolence” introduces ‘Informa’), it’s a varied, confident and cinematic trip through where the performer finds himself.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Opener ‘Happen To Me’ has echoes of The Japanese House’s introspection, and the acoustic nature of ‘Same Effect’ and ‘A Little While’ bear more than a passing similarity to Billie Eilish’s quieter moments. Add to that the cosign of alt-pop foremothers Lily Allen (‘Plain’) and Grimes (‘Sheesh’) and BENEE’s on to a winner.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Their fourth studio album simultaneously searches for hope as it candidly condemns their surroundings. ‘Self Worth’ looks to find just that, violently expelling all that is wrong to settle on inner peace. That anger is palpable, from the jarring opening of ‘Stay There’ to the minimalist bass and accompanying cries of ‘Apathy’.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    On the whole Tiña have managed to create a debut record that quietly paves the way for modern psychedelic pop, and not a loud shirt in sight.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A beautiful and moving chart of a year in his life, Dan’s latest ‘Grand Plan’ has clearly paid off.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Like always, Little Mix shine best when they are deep in their millennial sass. Never shy about breaking a fourth wall in the name of female empowerment.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    If ‘DISCO’ might not be the most progressive or groundbreaking album of the year, it’s certainly up there as one of the most charming.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Dizzee remains in touch with the youthful verve of earlier efforts with ‘E3 AF’, a freshness that, for the most part, is carried throughout.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    On a record that outwardly calls for the end of us, there’s plenty to live for, even if it’s simply the subtle beauty of Nothing.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Familiar territory and no mistake, but his pining craft, all jazzy guitar shapes and heart-stung pleas, feels remarkably well-realised. Highlights abound.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    ‘Are You Fucking Your Ex’ has none of the melodrama its title suggests, the question holding about as much weight as ‘did I leave the bathroom light on?’, and ‘I Got Hurt’ sledgehammers the line “I got hurt… and it didn’t feel good”. For a songwriter who’s so loved for finding poetry in the quotidian, for saying so much with so little, it’s just a bit basic. Maybe if he’d allowed him - and us - to wallow a bit, he’d have had more of a point.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘Razzmatazz’ is fun, flamboyant, and entirely of its time. A record that truly lives up to its name.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Granted, three of the tracks from the rather aptly-named ‘This Place Sucks Ass’ may be taken from their 2019 ‘Morbid Stuff’ sessions, but their fiery spirit of fighting back is still very much relevant.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    This album is a little less concept-narrative driven than previous releases, but not to any ill-effect. Instead, Clipping have reached both their most distilled output - this is a once-in-a-generation band reaching their peak.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    ‘songs’ feels like unearthing an old puzzle a piece at a time. ‘instrumentals’, while texturally the same, focuses on pure ambience – the unspecific title is far more deserving. If anything, this feels more like a companion piece, a window into that cabin rather than its own separate record. If you wish you had been there, this is the best way to feel like you were.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Often Gorillaz records fall victim to feeling a little disjointed but with many moods and gargantuan guests here, Damon somehow manages to make ‘Strange Timez’ feel like a cohesive whole. Gorillaz can often be a hard band to define, and their records haven’t always fared well in the context they’re released in - in 2020 though, it all makes perfect sense.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Though ‘Mama’s Boy’ won’t exactly be changing the alt-pop game, it certainly might convince you to text your ex after one too many glasses of wine.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘Anime, Trauma and Divorce’ is as wry as documents of desperate times get. Life may have given Open Mike Eagle some fresh citrus fruit, but this resulting record is some sweet, sweet lemonade.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The diary-entry nature of Bea’s songwriting - over twelve tracks she dips into hair dye as empowerment (‘Dye It Red’), self-harm via blistering highlight ‘Charlie Brown’, and a not-particularly-well-hidden reference to her boyfriend in ‘Horen Sarrison’ - makes the fuzzy, bubblegum grunge of ‘Fake It Flowers’ a perfect brooding soundtrack.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    This collection allows his masterful lyrics and song-craft to shone through unfiltered.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    While the styles vary - opener ‘I’ve Been Starting To Love All The Things I Hate’ is emo-pop in its delivery, while closer ‘Whistle’ is lackadaisical - that Aluna’s singular vision is never in doubt.