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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    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Q36
    Although its runtime of 16 tracks and 67 minute means that a portion of Q36 dips in energy, Rentals fans will no doubt count Sharp's latest outing as a ambitious, astute and listenable achievement.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Positions
    positions has hints of classical and R&B — staples of Grande's previous work. Songs like the title track and "love language" weave in orchestral strings, violins and catchy backbeats to elevate the listening experience, effortlessly meshes these contrasting genres to keep her pop sound distinctive.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Maya
    Maya simply blows any of Frusciante's previous electronic efforts out of the water. He has somehow pulled an IDM-infused jungle record out of his backside that could easily rival any of Squarepusher's.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Great Dismal
    It took three records and 10 years for the band to refine their sound within the recent shoegaze renaissance, but The Great Dismal is without a doubt one of the genre's modern classics.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
    MOPN would have landed much better if it abandoned the balancing act between the past and the present in exchange for wholehearted embrace of Lopatin's current realities. Lopatin has proven to us that he can deliver hits; it's time that he believes it himself.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Philadelphia
    What arose from those conjuring sessions is a smoky blend of well-tempered jazz, nearly-still new age, and exploratory adult contemporary vibes. The music is hushed, steady and patient. Synths flourish, horns intonate and a slippery bass swerves all over the place.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo
    Opting to re-record a largely unknown demo is a fitting way to bring closure to Mr. Bungle's catalogue. Further, the inclusion of previously unheard songs makes this feel like a proper new release, as opposed to an excuse to shove a nostalgic name back into the world.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Don't Shy Away
    Don't Shy Away is ultimately as gratifying as it is ambitious. Brian Eno was right: Loma are the real deal.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    This Place Sucks Ass [EP]
    It's the musical equivalent of a thrilling roller coaster ride through a hellish landscape, injecting a much-needed dose of fun in otherwise dark days.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    III
    III is fuzzy, fast-paced and ferocious in all of the ways we would expect from FUZZ. Ty Segall, Charles Moothart, and Chad Ubovich have carefully conjured cacophony once again, in what might be at once their most spontaneous and their most down-to-earth record to date.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Forgotten Days
    Gone are the crushing riffs and transitions, replaced with subdued progressions. It's a real blight on much of the record, unable to keep the listener enthralled or interested.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Karma & Desire
    Karma & Desire never comes close to being a dance record — it's much too opaque and fragile and weird for that. Instead, listeners are left with a longform thinkpiece that's expertly conceived, well executed and brilliantly sequenced.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Getting Into Knives
    Such a wide breath of influences can come across as convoluted in the hands of less-skilled musicians, but Darnielle has always had the right people around him to understand his vision, whether its voluble tracks like "Rat Queen" or the stripped-back shuffle of the title track.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Love Is the King
    The vibe is folk, rock, country and kind of homespun and laidback but, like early John Lennon records, there is sharpness to the starkness.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Letter to You
    On Letter to You, Springsteen is at his rawest and most reflective. ... Letter to You may well be Springsteen addressing his most significant bandmates and his audience with love, but it may as well be something he wrote and sent ahead to 2020.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    songs and instrumentals
    Lenker's work continues to reimagine love and loss, and albums like songs are her way of turning those complex emotions into something timeless.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shades
    Shades spotlights a band with diverse influences and the ability to cogently and cohesively re-contextualize them. Additionally, the album features one infectious melody after another, Raisa Khan emerging as one of the more intriguing voices of her generation.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    My Echo
    The album benefits from the presence of a diverse array of musicians and also showcases Veirs' talent as a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and Martine's skills in percussion as well as production. My Echo is not so much about emptiness as it is about how far one's sound can travel.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    SIGN
    For seasoned fans looking for their next fix of boundary-pushing explorations, this will likely seem a tad pedestrian, but SIGN is still an incredible piece of work, even if it's not bending the rules of music production into infinity.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dealing With Demons I
    Dealing with Demons I has its moments, but the music is ultimately plagued by the inescapable realization that DevilDriver are better as a band than as Dez Fafara and company.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Fear of Death
    It owes something to the great songwriters and studio tones of the 1970s, but it's also strikingly timeless and authentic rock music, helmed by an underground Renaissance man.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Nobody Lives Here Anymore
    From start to finish, Nobody Lives Here Anymore is a seamless expression of nostalgia, love and hope for brighter days to come.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Fake It Flowers
    She is loud and thoughtful. The melodies are flirty and messy. Fake It Flowers is an album made to play with guts and grit. At such a young age, Kristi knows herself extremely well, yet is mindful enough to give up only so much of herself to this strong collection of songs.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Someone New
    it's also about how those feelings of weariness and romantic ambivalence can so quickly knot up with ones of jealousy and longing. There is, of course, no resolution in sight by album's end. But it's in these in-between-spaces where Deland thrives. It's a gestational document, thrilling to witness.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Serpentine Prison
    For a solo debut, Serpentine Prison seems like a natural first step and a safe bet for both the artist's individual ambitions and the comfort of existing fans.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sundowner
    Sundowner's glow begins to fade in the album's latter half. The final two tracks, the instrumental "Velvet Highway" and "Provisions," are pleasant enough, but taper the album off on a muted note. It's a minimalist ending showing that less isn't always more.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sad Hunk
    Sad Hunk captures the band's lively chemistry, proving that five albums in, Jurvanen and company are still finding ways to make "something new for all of you with some old refrain."
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lament
    Stage Four was a momentous release that found ways to musically express its heart-wrenching story. Lament feels more like Touché Amoré's essential form.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Silver Ladders
    Low-end synth tones throughout the album provide a melancholy aura that at times is given additional weight from Halstead's dreamy, wistful notes. But together, it all paints an exquisite picture; dramatic worlds that in themselves can evoke vast seas of emotion. Like the sum of life moments, memories or feelings encapsulated in songs, every element with its own purpose.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    May You Be Held
    For those not moved by this more unhinged side of the band, MYBH may prove disappointing. ... Still, MYBH makes the case that the field recording that plays out album closer "Laughter and Silence" is now as integral a part of the Sumac sound as any other. If you're willing to consider a musical choice like that to be just as "heavy" as a lurching dirge or a colossal chug, then May You Be Held will prove a rewarding and expansive listen.
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