Exclaim's Scores

  • Music
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:
5096 music reviews
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Although Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are brilliant Motown/Stax revivalists, their stalwart '60s soul/funk, at times, hits the inevitable yawn note.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Focusing on tracks from their 2012 album Slaughterhouse, Segall's band keep things relatively tight in structure and loose in delivery, giving listeners a keepsake version of a gritty, sweaty, earsplitting rock show.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Wistful and introverted themes abut against a handful of more fraught moments, where the memories turn from monochromatic to colourful clusters, like autumnal avalanches of melody.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A hip-hop blues record is an interesting concept and in Koala's nimble hands, a unique listening experience.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    DS2
    The majority of these beats hit to hurt, and though the emotional Future that listeners have come to know through past cuts "Throw Away" and "My Savages" has been dialled back, the honesty and vulnerability come through when it counts.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Animated Violence Mild is a powerful collection of music made in response to a phenomenon that is too pervasive to ignore in the world today, and one well worth the listen.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    They may no longer be cutting edge (who is these days?), but Autechre's intricately psychedelic pieces are still chock-full of detail, intrigue, wit, intensity and poise.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    That's not to say Young Blood is bad, but mediocrity shouldn't attract attention so fast.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Simply put, Bushcraft is the best Converge worship since the Power and the Glory dropped Call Me Armageddon in 2004.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It's difficult to see another album topping Bakersfield as this year's best pure country release.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It's a smothering, enveloping textural experience, alternately threatening to cocoon or drown the listener.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    A Series of Shocks shoots for a different kind of looping hypnotism but lands slightly short.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Story So Far haven't reached for anything radically new on their self-titled album, but they've created a powerful listen that stays memorable and engaging throughout.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Written, performed, and produced solely by the artist, Barnes' debut is a percussive gem saturated with guttural synths. It's a distinct piece of electro-pop that deserves close listening.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Unlike those of many of their contemporaries, this album isn't offering much faux hard-won wisdom, and there's no late-night barstool proselytizing to speak of. Instead, Start Here channels the naïve wonder, genuine openness, and hopeful abandon of post-adolescence.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    McGuire's reputation doesn't need any further solidification at this point, but Beyond Belief is another worthy instalment in his hugely respectable catalogue.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The great flaw of this album is that it isn't a concert, and the listener is not right there with the band; it feels disconcerting to be listening to an album of alternately rollicking and mournful populist sing-alongs while alone in one's living room.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Rawlings' and Welch's music always feels like a return visit, and Poor David's Almanack in particular seems perfectly suited to tack up on your wall and consult at home.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It takes a few spins for the subtle charms of Life Is Fine to fully kick in, but it rewards patience. It may not quite match the sustained brilliance of seminal '80s albums Gossip and Under the Sun, but this is another fine effort.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Its production quality is equal to Two/Three, but it contains few surprises for older fans. As such, it isn't much of a progression, but it does feel greatly satisfying, and not only for the comfort of finally completing the trilogy.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Although there's some room for improvement, Victory Lap is still a solid effort with the promise of better to come.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    From start to finish, the album is a mix of complete swamp-rock songs, only to be broken up by confusing, short bursts of instrumentation.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bay Dream is a great example of a band living up to the potential hinted at by their early work, and while day-one fans might be turned off by the album's cleaned-up production, it would be ungracious to begrudge a young band their newfound opportunities. Culture Abuse make the most of them here, with an album that should find its way into many a summer playlist.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    On Infinite Moment, the Field proves that he's such a master of his craft that he can generate the same excitement from briefly moving outside the box as he can revelling back inside it.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    There's still room to grow, but their adventurous spirit on display across the record will hopefully make for some compelling material moving forward.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Un Autre Blanc leaves everything out there and sees him go out on top.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Serving as an exercise in humility, Black Friday is a testament to the value of tenderness in a world steeped in trepidation. For new listeners, the album should function as a cohesive introduction to a band on the rise — and a great point of entry to an already impressive discography.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Powers is a surprisingly sturdy comeback album that sounds exactly how you remember the Futureheads, and that, at least for nostalgia's sake at least, isn't a bad thing at all.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    While the sound splashed across Wrecked is quite gripping (exceptionally gritty electronic that heavily works the industrial angle), the lack of distinction within, and contrast between, tracks makes it tough to get behind.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Aloha is a pleasant-enough sounding slice of raspy-sounding soul with enough genuine emotion to spare.