No Ripcord's Scores

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For 2,825 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 43% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 54% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.8 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 70
Highest review score: 100 Strawberry Jam
Lowest review score: 0 Scream
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,983 out of 2825
  2. Mixed: 765 out of 2825
  3. Negative: 77 out of 2825
2825 music reviews
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    • 83 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    An Evening with Silk Sonic
    It’s not cynical and calculated enough to be a shameless cash-grab yet it’s not self-indulgent enough to be a vanity project. Perhaps it’s just a stopgap in the catalogues of two big-selling artists; an intended homage to the music that made Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. They’re making this music because they like it, because they want to, and because they can.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    TOY
    They're much fuzzier than Deerhunter, more jam-inclined than The Horrors, far lighter than Slowdive – and if it's true that they're introducing the kids to krautrock and psychedelia I'm all for it. Perhaps more of an homage than an invention, then, but still, an absorbing debut.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Memphis
    Magic Kids do pull off a winner with Summer, a sultry delight of abounding strings and tropical strums that, sadly, sounds out of place with the obvious eye winks scattered throughout. Memphis may borrow from such an imaginative time period, but their explorative range remains very limited.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Do It!
    Yet, while it's unlikely that the previously familiar will be suddenly converted by these endeavours, it wouldn't be strictly fair to say that there's not the occasional hint of a broadened palette on display here.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Lady from Shanghai
    It’s nowhere near as annoying, despite my physically manifest aversion to it, but it definitely is not trying to please you, or make you comfortable, or even happy in any way.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Long Slow Dance
    Long Slow Dance might be a strong garage pop album with some incredibly catchy songs, but it could definitely be grounded from its chick flick sensibilities.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Damage and Joy
    JAMC’s reclaim for glory is expectedly uneven: it’s as carelessly abrasive and reverb-heavy as it should be, but it’s also mounted with a heavy number of throwaways that document different periods of their celebrated past without a clear notion of how they should move forward.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Forcefield
    Forcefield chiefly sounds more relaxed and natural, fully letting go of the stilted verses and swift tempos they’ve been gradually forgoing ever since A Lesson in Crime made such an immediate splash.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Rock Island
    Palm do stand out from their contemporaries on Rock Island, especially since they equally embrace and rile against indie rock as a conservative movement. Their nonconformist aesthetic is imbued with an independent spirit, even if the sources they pull from prevents them from really taking off.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Hey Clockface
    For most of this album, Costello switches between percussive anxiety and odd ditties with ease.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Before A Million Universes
    The whole of it is too calculated, even if they occasionally hit the mark with an obvious attention to craft which, to be fair, certainly counts for something.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Thrashing thru the Passion
    Some good ol', serviceable rock ' roll always goes down easy, but with The Hold Steady, we know they're capable of so much more.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dark Days + Canapés
    He has created such a strong, affecting soundscape that for the most part of the record it is uncomfortable to listen to. Whether that is by design or not, Ejimiwe has administered a macabre marriage of sound and speak that are made for each other.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Boarding House Reach
    Boarding House Reach isn’t the easiest of listens, and at times sounds like an over-excited White has just pressed 'record' and let his absurdity run amok. However, its strong moments just about outnumber the less appealing ones, and White’s own creative juices are still being harvested in abundance.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Second Love
    If only she would’ve toned down the unnecessary sensual flourishes to cultivate more of what she does best: amiable, pleasant songs with outwardly simple, yet weighty underlying truths.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Personality
    Personality is not quite the dancefloor-igniting record that was expected, though nor is it a mere rehash of previous work – it is the sound of Rose exploring a variety of styles without successfully nailing any of them.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Moaning
    If Moaning could unshackle their melodic sound and avoid building their walls of sound so high on their second record, they will be another certified gem in the Sub Pop crown.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Full Circle
    The sound HÆLOS have refined is the perfect foil for truly spectacular things to happen, but with the exception of the album’s centerpiece, Oracle, Full Circle consistently gives the impression that the tools aren’t being used as efficiently as they could be.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Hirudin
    She's a vibrant presence on Anywayz and How Did You Know, pushing her operatic vocals over soaring, anthemic choruses. But that's not enough to save an album that, despite sounding so busy and hectic, fails to generate much excitement—even if Stelmanis' emotional downward spiral is compelling in the lyrical sense.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Hot Shit
    Neither hot nor shit; it's one of those albums you might buy on impulse and be neither disappointed nor overwhelmed by.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dame Fortune
    The hastiness and outlandishness of the swerving soundscapes are the album’s strengths and it’s weaknesses, simultaneously keeping a listener enticed and running them ragged. Such zeal keeps Krohn’s final destination on the horizon, just out of reach.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Antarctica
    Recorded by Steve Albini, the Shellac’ish touches of The Mine, the sturdy Wet Concrete, and the album’s finale, Terms of Visitation, provide plenty for listeners to enjoy. But, Antarctica, itself a seldom-visited location, is rife with ground that’s already been well-traveled.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    A Deeper Understanding
    His lack of nuance from a lyrical standpoint is startling, to the point where it confuses one into thinking that it’s profound since everything else is so carefully considered. It comes from a genuine place, sure, but his overly labored Reagan-era balladry rekindles a musical period that still sounds entirely dated.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Guider
    Listening to this album is in effect like listening to Paul McCartney's Wings-technically spot-on, catchy, but in the long run, utterly meaningless.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Memory Almost Full
    In the end, Memory Almost Full is a reliable, easy record for a man who’s been far too reliable for his own good.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Weezer (Red Album)
    Just download the good stuff or buy the album and don’t expect much from Rivers because he never really gave you more than a few minutes of cheap thrills in the first place, which is plenty to thank him for.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Blood
    It also formalizes some of the sensual spontaneity of Woman, as he puts forth a lavish, spotless output that also suffers from some seriously tasteless lyrical choices. On Blood, Rhye's fixation with style does get the best of him.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    After the Disco
    After The Disco deserves to be heard and delivers a truly pleasant listening experience, rousing even, when the hooks hit the spot. But--and perhaps this is what the duo insightfully intended when they gave the album its title--don’t expect a party.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Naomi
    Naomi is a decent album, not a good one.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Fragrant World
    Fragrant World is by no means a bad album - it may start slowly, and end rather mutedly, but there's a fairly satisfying core to it - it's only really a disappointment as Yeasayer themselves have already raised the bar incredibly high.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Chinese Democracy
    It is ridiculous. It is overblown, it's pompous, it's aggressive and it's absurdly ambitious. But, here's the rub: it's actually pretty damn good. It rocks, often pretty hard.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Totems Flare
    Totems functions as a decent well for drawing singles but, as an album, lacks the connective tissue to make it stand out within Clark’s impressive catalog.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Clinging To A Scheme
    A four-year wait is inexcusable, especially when more than half of the album exudes familiarity.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Bury Me in My Rings
    Even though I'm not praising the comeback album in a Grammy winning category, I think many are simply pleased with the fact that Blake Sennett put down the scuba gear and got back in the game where he belongs. Welcome back, buddy.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    On a Clear Day I Can See You Forever
    The result is an album that acts as an interesting diversion in Lindstrøm's catalog, and perhaps even a needed downshift, yet arguably doesn't live up to the epic achievements of his past records.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Waiting For The Sunrise
    Vandervelde possesses a strong voice and a definite place as a singer-songwriter, even if that place isn’t too far above the rest just yet.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Rat Farm
    Good but not as good as you might think it is on a song-to-song basis, enjoyable but somewhat less memorable.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Who Let The Dogs Out
    Sure, the duo's musical palette is a little limited, and Phoebe Lunny’s nasal snarl starts to become a little grating after a while, but the furious lyrics and frenetic guitars certainly make for a fun listen.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Blues Funeral
    The album is at its most successful when Lanegan allows these alien textures [electronics, atmospheric guitar] to take a more prominent role in his songs, providing a counterfoil to his gravelly rock vocals. Elsewhere the songs meander too much for the album to coalesce into a convincing statement.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone
    Chastity Belt lose some of their past work’s more tunefully intricate contours in favor of a more streamlined approach that weakens their innate potency. Though Shapiro bares herself with affecting honesty, it appears as if the band hasn’t found a way to translate her more melancholy bearing without resorting to pleasant-sounding tedium.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Bravest Man in the Universe
    The contemporary beats and intermitted uses of techno make this album youthful. For instance, Stupid has a stoic loop that runs through Womack's raspy cries and a sophisticated piano melody. It's a really beautiful blend of new and old.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    C'est La Vie
    Graceful optimism suits him well, though in exploring this new phase, he struggles to properly articulate how his past behavior ultimately shaped his present.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Future Politics
    What the lyrics lack (and they certainly aren’t bad by any stretch--simply not particularly strong), the vocals mask.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Redemption
    The entirety of Redemption sounds as morose as his parched rhymes, with an effective backdrop of bleak bass drones and minimal synth lines, but not as much when he attempts to slow down his delivery. Stick for his soul-bearing lessons, even if he treads on familiar and worn-down musical paths.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Garden of Delete
    Garden of Delete does manage to disturb despite its more frivolous moments.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    ...And Then We Saw Land
    And Then We Saw Land isn’t a bad album, it just doesn‘t grab you.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Moon Tides
    By the end of the album, the technical ability of Hindman and the lyricism of Versprille feel exhausted, gargled, and outsized by the very same influences that they try to honor in their thoroughly hackneyed attention to 80s Cocteau Twins-inspired rock.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Banks
    At times, the songs feel a tad underdeveloped, with sumptuous hooks shining bright over slipshod, kraut-inspired synths and metallic percussion lines... [Yet] Banks can still write a killer song like Summertime is Coming, which greatly overshadows most of the others.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Too Much Information
    Too Much Information sounds more like a collection of tracks from different moments in their career than a fully cohesive whole but perhaps this isn’t such a bad thing.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Light Asylum
    Light Asylum works best if approached as a work of fantastic campness; after all, this would explain the whip-cracking sound effects on IPC.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sing Into My Mouth
    The downside is that both members of Team Beamwell are retreading well-worn paths that lead to nostalgic, rather than newfound, destinations.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Glow & Behold
    Bloom’s vocal debut with Glow & Behold is solid without ever being magnificent, staying within its means and applying a decoration to a sound that is cleaner and melodically stronger than its predecessor.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Transatlanticism
    It's just comfortable and pleasant enough to convince yourself to stick around - never good enough to be satisfying, nor bad enough to be disappointing.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pyroclasts
    To an extent, it may sound like just another day at the office for Sunn O))). Nevertheless, this team-building exercise is still more compelling than whatever employee engagement activity your day job offers.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Louden Up Now
    They write some good tunes, and they have some appropriately strident abuse for lyrics. But there’s not enough for an album.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Power Up
    Even at their blandest, and truthfully their dumbest, AC/DC make a compelling case why they're so good at this rock n' roll business. As it turns out, the secret is to stick to the formula until their dying day.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Astro Coast
    While it provokes some unpredictable moments, it's heartbreaking to listen to such tuneful moments of inspiration buried beneath towering stacks of old debris, and not the vintage kind.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ghettoville
    Actress’s music always seemed like meticulously detailed sketches that came to life and immersed the listener, but while Ghettoville comes off as an interesting sketchbook of ideas, it rarely transcends that to become something greater.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    100 Percent Publishing
    Stuck in his salad days, the problem isn't so much what Wiley is doing, it's what everyone else has done in the interim.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    After the Party
    Ultimately, it’s disappointing to see how The Menzingers are continuing an unremarkable plan of action when they should be challenging themselves even further.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Surfing Strange
    It’s a familiar story to hear DIY bands frustratingly avoiding their past strengths once they secure some proper studio time; both records have a more “mature” sound than their lo-fi predecessors, but I find the songwriting largely forgettable.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pre Language
    Throughout, a spewing, pandering vitriol taints a band whose vivacity seems to be wearing thin.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Soul of All Natural Things
    Although the record’s themes are well-worn, her approach to sound remains pure.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The National Health
    It boasts some of the band's most emotionally charged material, but just like all their efforts, it requires bearing some stiff, docile guitar melodies to discover some of its finer points.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Magic Position
    Wolf sometimes succeeds in emulating Kate Bush’s knack for combining the utterly bizarre with godlike musicianship, but sometimes he falls short.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Highway Hypnosis
    When things work, Moolchan sounds confident taking on new influences and playing around with them until they fit within her playful vision. Mostly, though, Highway Hypnosis is frustrating in that it feels more like a collection of potentially good but unfinished ideas that lack the focus and imagination needed to make them work.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pure Luxury
    The album is the sort of ridiculous over-commitment to a style that is appealing and fun to hear, even if it's not great.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Knitting Needles And Bicycle Bells
    It sounds like good musicians doing a rush job, kind of like Blood on the Tracks without the spellbinding genius.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Jiaolong
    Barring a few notable tracks, this debut from Snaith under the Daphni name, fails to coalesce into anything resembling the creative designs of his previous records.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Bad Penny
    If only Jones would also add some color to his verbatim accounts to match his minimal pop songs, then we would have a real contender in our hands.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
    Most significant is how amazingly catchy the album is. Sure, it might be a bit vacuous lyrically, but Dent May sure can write hooks.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Nights in the Dark
    What Nights possesses in skillful precision and tight musicianship it lacks in songwriting polish, though it’s easy to dismiss when it hits you with its triumphant highs.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Album
    Don’t get me wrong, Album’s best songs (Lust for Life, Laura, and Hellhole Ratrace) are utterly essential, but take these out of the equation and there’s really very little to get excited about. Unless you count the band’s back-story, that is.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Infinite Arms
    Infinite Arms isn’t nearly as charming nor nearly as emotive as the band’s other work. It’s an image of a band that’s exhausted their aesthetics to a point of sterility, and it’s going to take a lot of soul-searching and reinvention to figure out where to go next.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Serfs Up!
    Serfs Up! feels effortless for the wrong reasons--though Fat White Family's sheen of coolness and atmospheric moods almost hides a lack of songcraft, it's best suited as background music.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    I Love You, It's Cool
    Only a couple of the tracks really resonate, even with repeated spins.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT
    She’s made some phenomenal music in her career and a handful of songs on The Tortured Poets Department are welcome additions to her canon. These are sadly outnumbered by bland filler and compromised by an overwhelming sense of stasis.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    In Our Bedroom After The War
    Bedroom is an album of dynamics and contrasts with its biggest asset its heart; chipped, cracked or broken, naivety is replaced by genuine emotion. Sometimes it’s boring and sometimes it’s endearing.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Beat The Devil's Tattoo
    It’s their most consistent outing since their debut, but it’s never much better than average. BRMC is a decent rock band, and if all we expect from them is fuzzed out garage jams they don’t disappoint.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Strapped
    Strapped's thirty-something minutes of southern California rock doesn't turn the page on anything new, but is still a worthy listen. The album holds true to the band's striped-down signature sound from their last two albums, with a sprinkling of a few stand out tracks.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Going, Going...
    The direction they took this time around is more scattershot than usual, amplified with generosity, but hopefully these new ideas will guide them to a more focused and inventive pursuit.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Pt. 2
    Pt.1 was such an exciting deviation for Foals that it would be disappoitning if it proved just a mere detour on their way to producing empty, arena-sized rock. Here, they not only return to their formula, but ramp it up to dangerous levels. It’s brash, loud, and, ultimately, tiresome.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Nabuma Rubberband
    Nabuma Rubberband is a solid album, but ideally you want a record that does more than remind you of the band’s existence.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Snowdonia
    For an album steeped so much in coming to terms with loss and grief, with finding redemption, and with starting anew, it captures Surfer Blood doing something they haven't done in years, and that's have fun making music.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    It Won't Always Be like This
    It Won't Always Be Like This is a competent first effort with superbly crafted and unpretentious songs—even if they still haven't quite found the sound that they’re looking for.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
    Although this may not be a masterpiece in the repertoire, I can't say that it lacks anything in particular, in fact, the opposite is true. It gives too much. There just became a point where I needed to avert my attention away from the heart-ache.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Angles
    The Strokes have managed to culture a great sense of the schizophrenic on Angles, mapping polar tones in tandem to produce a record that feels both confused and entirely deliberate.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Raymond v. Raymond
    As a longtime fan of Usher, this album has great moments and also lagging tunes.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Those Who Didn't Run
    It's not a love-hate relationship I have with his stuff, it's more like a so what attitude. So what if he gets Laurie Anderson to recite drab poetry on his record, so what if he can play tens of thousands of notes in one breath.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Keys to the Kuffs
    He's given us a lot to unpick, even if the record isn't as cohesive as it ought to be.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009
    While it is by no means required listening, Couple Tracks is certainly worth it for newcomers and short-time fans of an up and coming experimental punk band. And while it never achieves an album feel, it's got enough short blast of quality to make it worth the money.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Kill My Blues
    It's not much different to a Sleater-Kinney record in second gear, which still means there are flashes of brilliance.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tongues
    There are sublime moments here, and occasionally the interplay is breathtaking. This is pretty rare however, which leaves the rest of the record sounding just as you’d imagine it would, which isn’t a bad thing, just not at the levels of creativity we’ve come to expect.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Outside
    With Outside, Tapes n' Tapes have it really tough because, frankly, they're questioned by those who originally praised them in the first place.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Nightfall
    From overblown cheese (Questions) to overly pretty (Bluebird), some of these songs seem indistinguishable from each other. By the time reverb-soaked bongos show up here, you wish Nightfall sounded just a bit uglier.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Let It Sway
    You could call it inconsistency, but you can tell they never signed up for the mission of steering the chasm of modern rock music. Instead, they're four guys doing what they want, culling their influences and breathing life into whatever construct emerges. But regardless of where it falls on the spectrum, it's always fun.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Guilt Mirrors
    Guilt Mirrors covers different facets of Harte’s unfiltered work ethic, cobbled together into an unpredictable jumble of distinctive idiosyncrasies that somehow brings more clarity into his thought process.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Galactic Melt
    Sometimes the beats will have an extra kick to them, or the song structures will change up, but the keyboard tone is the same throughout the record. It walks a very fine line between intriguing and boring, and frequently drifts between the two.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Do You Wonder About Me?
    Ultimately, the project is still a little lightweight, if not a solid effort.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Far
    'One More Time With Feeling's' dynamics shift and her lyrics are vague, but carry a heartfelt sentiment. Far has too little of this and winds up being a mixed bag.
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