Hartford Courant's Scores

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For 517 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 62% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 36% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 Sound Of Silver
Lowest review score: 20 Carry On
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 398 out of 517
  2. Mixed: 107 out of 517
  3. Negative: 12 out of 517
517 music reviews
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    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A Piece Of What You Need
    His melodies are subtle, but don't confuse his restraint with detachment--these songs sound deeply felt.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Real Animal
    On 'Sensitive Boys,' one of several standout ballads, he articulates the album's thematic truism: Done right, rock 'n' roll is a reason for living.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Love
    The album holds some pleasant surprises.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Like Red On A Rose
    Jackson ties everything together with his own understated strengths, a sincere manner and grounded perspective that anchor tunes even as they brim with thoughtful passions.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2
    They've recaptured the brash cheek of their best work on Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, which the trio has elected to release before the "delayed indefinitely" Part One.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Brighter Than Creation's Dark
    If Isbell’s departure was the cloud, Brighter Than Creation's Dark is the silver lining.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Grinderman
    Cave comes on strong and rejuvenated.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Love On The Inside
    The Atlanta pair's third album, Love on the Inside, adheres to the musical method on which the act has feasted to date, and adds occasional fresh wrinkles to its buoyant, pop-laced country.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    American Gangster
    Jay-Z sounds much more engaged on American Gangster, a collection of taut, focused songs heavy on musical references to the '70s
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Watershed
    If anything, the group's latest is another musical masterpiece from a band known for putting out musical masterpieces.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Untitled #23
    The collection presents Big Music on a manageable scale, and even if the songs reference fire, water and sky, the long-running Aussie quartet forgoes the kind of sonic grandiosity such subject matter tends to invite.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Favourite Worst Nightmare
    A second album as outstanding as this one is no nightmare; it's a dream come true.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
    The uneven Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle finds Callahan's knack for twangy crispness, pastoral imagery, and stone-faced singing very much intact, though he adopts a distinct growl to utter the title of 'My Friends.'
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Do You Like Rock Music?
    Opener 'All in It,' a slow-building swell of voices and guitars, sets the tone for album that's unashamed of its epic accessibility.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Vampire Weekend
    It’s ecstatic music, surely; and intense, too, even as it’s joyful.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Writer's Block
    A delightful album designed to sink in over repeated listens.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Townes
    The soul of Van Zandt is evident on all of these songs--even in the distorted voice effect on 'Lungs'--but Earle best captures his spirit on 'Colorado Girl,' a high lonesome song with rich acoustic guitar chords and wistful vocals.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    These Days
    For all the impressive ambition inherent in its size and scope, its working parts boil down to a testament to the fun of making music.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    At My Age
    At a mere 33 minutes, "At My Age" leaves listeners wanting more, but then, that seems to be part of Lowe's seduction technique.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Smoke Ring for My Halo
    It's a record with a folky, sometimes psychedelic edge, but it's never self-indulgent or less than focused. In fact, Smoke Ring for My Halo is persuasive evidence that Vile has come fully into his own as a songwriter and musician.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Written In Chalk
    The husband and wife team's fourth album with both of their names on it, Written in Chalk, makes the most of its rangy sonic palette with subtly soul-searing, rough-edged tunes that are equal parts savvy and haunting.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Love Travels At Illegal Speeds
    Lots of singers set their dating woes to hard guitars and hummable melodies - Coxon just does it better than most.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Fever Ray
    Fluency aside, with the first in what is hopefully a long line of releases, Fever Ray knocks down more walls than it puts up.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lie Down In The Light
    These 12 songs are beautiful in their bucolic simplicity, and elegant, too, in their tidy melodies and warm flickers of emotion.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Fantasy Black Channel
    The prog-rock elements that begin the disc and surface throughout help to make the familiar sound fresh.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Post-War
    His best so far.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Back To Black
    Even if her vulgarity is her main selling point, she's more than just a novelty act.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hold On Now, Youngster
    However much Los Campesinos! need a good editor--both for its music and lyrics--a red pen would only ruin the fun.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Microcastle
    It's a very consistent record, with lots of wide-open spaces and quivering quietness, and just about every sound seems to fit perfectly exactly where it sits.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    You Are Not Alone
    Produced by Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy, Staples' latest is a joyous celebration of life and faith on traditional gospel songs and tunes by Tweedy, Allen Toussaint, John Fogerty, Randy Newman and Staples' father, Roebuck "Pops" Staples.
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