Exclaim's Scores

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For 5,096 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 57% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 38% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 75
Highest review score: 100 Vol.II
Lowest review score: 10 California Son
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,315 out of 5096
  2. Mixed: 753 out of 5096
  3. Negative: 28 out of 5096
5096 music reviews
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    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Good Advice
    Producer Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) brings the same balance to the soundscapes Bulat maintains with her lyrics, positioning the space-age synths and backup harmonies in ways that invoke both gospel and girl group traditions without overshadowing the album's strongest suit: Bulat's vibrant vocals.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Heartworms
    Although the core songwriting is never quite as captivating and merciful as it was on previous albums, Heartworms nonetheless has an adventurous outer shell, and the Shins seem to revel in the newfound space inside of it.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    TFCF
    Despite the band's downsizing, TFCF demonstrates that Andrew has always been the beating heart of Liars. This time, the unexpected was hearing him bare his without any uncertainty.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Natalie Merchant
    Merchant has offered us a challenging, often starkly beautiful, collection.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Love Me
    Love Me is a gorgeous album, through and through.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Static
    So far, Cults have relied on that brand of fresh, unbridled energy that fuels new groups like them, making Static a fine example of an album running perfectly off of kinetics.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Grace/Confusion
    Grace/Confusion could have been a great 20-minute EP. Instead, it's a listless 40 minutes that works best as background music.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    12
    12 is arguably the most well-rounded album they've made since 1999's underrated Between the Bridges.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Oxnard
    Perhaps its biggest fault is being a good album that's just not as strong as the other two in .Paak's "Golden State" series.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Take It Like a Man
    Take It Like A Man is a disjointed affair with a slippery identity.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Providence
    Providence finds Fake reinvigorated, having worked through writer's block to find inspiration in a virtual analog synth from the mid '90s, the Korg Prophecy. He mined all the gold he could from that Korg to make Providence.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Lightning Bolt
    There's enough flat-out enjoyable tunes on Lightning Bolt to set aside the past, at least temporarily.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Orcas
    Orcas provides much to engage fans of both Irisarri and Pioulard, as well as lovers of languid, abstracted pop song craft.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sunshine
    This is a violent force of targeted creativity.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Welcome Oblivion
    The ace in the hole should be Maandig, so foreign is a female voice in the macho world of NIN's industrial muscle. But her vocals are too often drowned out, often intentionally, by the music.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shulamith
    With Shulamith, Poliça have managed to create one of the most confident and assertive albums of the year.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sing to the Moon
    It's a solid album from Mvula, but "beguiling potential" only begins to describe the musical authority this debut merely alludes to.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Cool Uncle
    Eclectic, soulful and refreshing, Cool Uncle is a must-hear.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Competition
    The Competition may be Lower Dens' most accessible album, but its best moments come when the band slow down and strips back their sound.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Last Goodbye
    With all these varied components coming together to form a cohesive unit — a family, if you will — ODESZA cleverly offer a reminder that they're making world-changing stuff, and we're lucky to be alive at the same time they're making music.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Harmonics
    While the majority of Harmonics was written solely by Goddard himself, he allows his songwriting to be elastic, bending and shaping around these guest vocalists, resulting in one of the most personality-filled albums of the year.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Render Another Ugly Method
    The shifting, irregular momentum on Render Another Ugly Method is bold and rewarding, with many surprises.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Songs in the Dark
    he Wainwright Sisters' voices blend together perfectly, and the melodies here are calming--almost too much so. A close listen to the lyrics, though, reveals the darker side of bedtime stories.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hirudin
    For all its focus on breakups, love very much appears on the record. "How Did You Know?" uses light and layered synths to create air on the album and explore the feeling of hope found in a new love."
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bed & Bugs
    Bed & Bugs finds one of America's mightiest, smartest rock bands playing at peak power, challenging themselves and conveying the ragged glory of camaraderie.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    We Will Not Harm You
    Afrobeat, techno, Latin rhythms, jazz and electronica fly by thick and fast on We Will Not Harm You in a dizzying display that's both comfortingly familiar and wildly futuristic.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mythologies
    Experienced as a whole, Mythologies is a satisfyingly rich tapestry woven by a band who've found their strengths and honed them accordingly.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    B-Room
    The lesson should be that there are some great songs buried beneath all the studio trickery, and focusing on that would serve Dr. Dog much better next time out.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Staring at the X
    Staring At the X is definitely cut from the same cloth as its predecessor, but even more so. Everything has been ramped up, making for an even more satisfying record.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Wake UP!
    The album pops with memories of a time we might not have been in, and English's words make you feel alive. It's the perfect soundtrack to the next few months that may feel like an eternity under COVID-19.
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