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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    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Eternal Atake
    His puns about denial v. the Nile river, or his boasts about being like Mother Goose, land with laughable thuds (though perhaps that's this fun-loving MC's intent?). But Uzi nimbly switches from relatedly lovelorn speak-singing on "Bust Me" to rugged, speedy punch line powerhouse on the very next track, "Prices." That transition is merely one of the energetic and unpredictable performative tricks Uzi pulls off on this stadium sized LP.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    songs and instrumentals
    On instrumentals, Lenker settles down from songs' busier thoughts, indulging in the stoicism within to achieve moments of serenity, if only briefly. Deep breaths, everyone.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Suddenly
    For more than 20 years, Snaith has displayed a rare versatility and ability to keep things fresh. Suddenly is no different.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Second Hand Heart
    Thirty years later, it's another landmark, his best record in years. Maybe decades.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A U R O R A
    There can be beauty in decay, growth from devastation, and A U R O R A helps open your eyes to that perspective.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Boygenius [EP]
    Lyrically, all three mine traditionally sombre territory in their solo work, tying into broader cultural conversations regarding gender and mental health, and the words of boygenius maintain the same power and urgency.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Modern Vampires of the City
    While cathartic moments of release abound, for the most part, Rostam Batmanglij and co-producer Ariel Reichstadt opt for understated beauty.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mayday
    Between its instrumental interplay and Gendron's singing and structural vision, it's a deep and gorgeous classic that moves her into the pantheon of our greatest living songwriters.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Throne
    Throne's power is in its delivery, as Leigh's brazen siren call cleverly commingles with a deft pedal steel wizardry. The music is uniquely alluring. Its woozy, uncanny nature enhances its charm, making Throne some of the artist's best work thus far.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Your Need
    Being more open to collaborations, and trusting the process of a co-producer, the quality of production is more on the synthetic side, but the record still has a sense of nostalgia that permeates her techno-pop melodies, because of the heavy synths.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Godfather
    Though the production lags at times, Wiley's performance overall is still a fitting conclusion to his groundbreaking journey in music.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress
    This is a beautiful, concise blast that conveys this band's musical essence.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sexistential
    While there's arguably nothing here that will dethrone your favourite all-time Robyn tracks ("Call Your Girlfriend" forever wins the March Madness bracket, doesn't it?), a great many stand proudly amongst them — and for most fans, this is very much enough right now.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Dream River
    Dream River is required reading, without a doubt.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Age/Sex/Location
    Overall, hardcore R&B fans will appreciate age/sex/location most, but this is an album made for cuffing season and should probably be listened to by lovesick single people still figuring it out.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Double Infinity
    There's a contentedness here; a playfulness; a willingness to be silly. Instead of shying away from the shadows of life, the band embrace the dark with the light, relishing in it all. It's such a sharp contrast to their earlier work, this sense of acceptance with a knowing smile.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Hunter
    Calvi remains in firm control on Hunter, but she lets loose more than enough moments of bliss to satisfy.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Dude Incredible
    The trio are playing together better than ever, even capturing some of the power of economy that their earliest music commanded with grit and grace and thunder and lightning.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hold the Girl
    Despite some bumps, Hold the Girl is full of passion and reflection, uninterested in holding back and unafraid to revel in the power of vulnerability and self-love.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Infinite Worlds
    Challenging the perception of shared space and visibility, Tamko has released the perfect record for women of colour who, unbeknownst to some, have been secretly shredding harder then white men for years, and are finally ready to be heard.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Good Souls Better Angels
    There's so much more to Good Souls than that aforementioned fiery fare. She and her band make "Bad News Blues" more than live up to its title, both in tone and lyrics. ... Many of those tracks suit the despair, rage and hope of the moment, while also speaking to enough big truths to be timeless.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    More Than Any Other Day
    Ought have conjured one of the most refreshing and inspiring rock records of the year.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Any Shape You Take
    From‌ ‌the‌ ‌desert-blues‌ ‌guitar‌ ‌that‌ ‌knits‌ ‌itself‌ ‌across‌ ‌the‌ ‌muscular‌ ‌coda‌ ‌of‌ ‌"Real‌ ‌Pain,"‌ ‌the‌ ‌way‌ ‌De‌ ‌Souza's‌ ‌voice‌ ‌condenses‌ ‌to‌ ‌a‌ ‌vein‌ ‌of‌ ‌skyward‌ ‌fluorescence‌ ‌on‌ ‌"Bad‌ ‌Dream"‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latticework‌ ‌rhythm‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌sparkling‌ ‌"Hold‌ ‌U," ‌Any‌ ‌Shape‌ ‌You‌ ‌Take‌‌ ‌is‌ ‌endlessly‌ ‌energized,‌ ‌each‌ ‌corroded‌ ‌riff‌ ‌and‌ ‌synth‌ ‌streak‌ ‌glowing‌ ‌with‌ ‌purpose.‌
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    One Day
    What One Day achieves then, unshackled by this lingering desire for overarching grand narratives, is the purest distillation of that "lightning in a bottle" frenzy, capturing the collective's creative spark at its most urgent — that is: less bells, all whistles.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Instant Holograms On Metal Film
    As direct as it is complex, Instant Holograms is an album of pure sonic pleasure.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Song for Alpha
    It's a cerebral style that takes a certain willingness to go along with, but if you do you'll come away with an enhanced notion of what contemporary techno has to offer.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Collective
    Gordon has managed to create an album that pushes her legacy as an experimental force even further, another piece in a discography that refuses to be categorized. Rather than drift off quietly into the sunset, she might just be making the most interesting music of her career.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Freedom's Goblin
    Freedom's Goblin cuts open Segall's brain and lets it all ooze out. Serve yourself up a spoonful of all that melodic goo, and enjoy.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Ghosts
    Ghosts is the thinking electronic music fan's subtler and more paranoid alternative to Amon Tobin's brick-smashing A/V opus, ISAM.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Pilgrimage
    The Pilgrimage is a triumph.
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