NOW Magazine's Scores

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For 2,812 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 43% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 55% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 6.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 66
Highest review score: 100 Miss Anthropocene
Lowest review score: 20 Testify
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,287 out of 2812
  2. Mixed: 1,452 out of 2812
  3. Negative: 73 out of 2812
2812 music reviews
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    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Here Comes the Cowboy
    There’s nothing inherently wrong with sticking to a formula that works, and in Cowboy’s case, it’s pretty acoustic songs and (mostly) mellow vocals. But for a songwriter like DeMarco, who on previous albums has triumphed when trying something new, perhaps change is worth pursuing.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Terraplane
    Terraplane's saving grace is that it's fun to listen to and full of swagger.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Fantastic Playroom
    If Fantastic is saying anything meaningful, it's "shut the hell up and have some fun."
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Some Things Never Stay the Same
    Irony’s the entry point, the aesthetic and intellectual rigging that supports the record, a way into enjoying it.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    PC Music Volume 1
    The result is a kind of aggressively cute bubblegum trance that sounds like Aqua having a computer meltdown.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    From the Corner to the Block
    There are a few hot instrumental numbers, but most of this is your favourite undergrounders (add Ladybug Mecca and Z-Trip to the list above) doing their thing over bangin' live funk beats with ace production.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Remember Me
    Overall, the record is buoyed by relentless exuberance and good-natured charm.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Which Side Are You On?
    It works best when DiFranco points to contradictions within herself, and worst when her lyrics get preachy or black-and-white.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Black Gives Way To Blue
    ew singer William DuVall spends half his time replicating Staley’s nasal misanthropy and the other half buried by Cantrell’s vocals.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Nevermen
    It all adds up to a whole that’s somehow less than the sum of its parts.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Lex Hives
    This feels more like parody than an honest celebration of rock 'n' roll ridiculousness.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    West
    A resounding disappointment.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Morning Report
    Morning Report finds Arkells lost and deep outside of their comfort zone.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Optimal Lifestyles
    There’s a world-weary wisdom that was only hinted at in party-heavy previous albums, and the band is skilled at translating it into catchy lyrical nuggets you can raise a tall can to.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Untogether
    Their name may reference a 52-year-old Elvis Presley musical, but Blue Hawaii are poised to have a lot of people talking about them right now.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Waltzed in from the Rumbling
    Every few months, the members would meet up at their studio and play whatever they felt like without the looming pressure of album cycles or release dates. Eventually, these sessions became the basis for Waltzed In From The Rumbling, a record at once thoughtful and unwieldy.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Funhouse
    The otherwise likeably raunchy and bratty Pink is now officially walking a fine line, leaning dangerously close to the humdrum.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Two Fingers
    A few rhythmically awkward moments detract from the album’s overall flow, particularly on 'High Life,' but chalk that up to two competing staccato production styles.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sail Out [EP]
    On Sail Out, Jhené Aiko remains on her cloud, delivering 30 minutes of alt-R&B respite from reality, displaying soothing vocals, double-entendre-laden wordplay and a knack for choosing collaborators.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Are You Falling in Love?
    Mixing punk rock with cute pop, the Atlanta, Georgia, quartet are a fine addition to Slumberland's near-flawless roster.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ghosts I-IV
    At 36 tracks, Ghosts is as impressively ambitious as it is uneven and stunted.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Messenger
    His vocals do the job, even as his lyrics will probably keep the majority of ears fixed on the instrumentation.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Forcefield
    It’s a collection to bob your head and sing along to, something that will never go out of style.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World For Tomorrow
    The aggression is still there, now tempered with lighter numbers like Feathers, but the whole thing still reeks of comic nerd sci-fi awesomeness.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    My Best Friend Is You
    Disappointingly, she doesn't go all the way with this new, abrasive approach. Instead, she lets ex-Suede guitarist and Duffy mastermind Bernard Butler smother the album with corny string and brass sections that try but fail to impose a 60s girl-group aesthetic.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    New Maps of Hell
    On Maps, BR breathe new life into their formula--short, fast and melodic Cali skate-punk ditties led by the always politically and socially aware growlings of lead singer Greg Graffin.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Castlemusic
    Just 30 minutes long, Castlemusic demands repeated listens.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
    Brazen Bull is a cohesive, if lengthy, album that offers only occasional audio reminders of who was behind the board.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Warm on a Cold Night
    Seventies and 80s soul and funk influences shine through on nearly every track.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Finally Famous
    While Big Sean is a charismatic and occasionally clever rapper, he often fails to dominate the big production elements he rhymes over.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    American Doll Posse
    Ambitious, high-concept albums are one thing, but Posse's just a boring mess.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    To The Races
    With folky guitar picking, lush harmonies and sophisticated melodies, this album is a must-have for all of Bachmann's fans.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    A Sleep & a Forgetting
    It might be an imperfect stepping stone, but the staircase he's climbing here shows great promise.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pattern of Excel
    The 15 songs are relatively short by ambient standards, which makes the album feel like a collection of sketches.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Changing Horses
    The 27-year-old can write killer tunes, and his voice is sweet-guy inviting. There’s a masterpiece disc in him yet, but this still isn’t it.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Quilt
    Though he stays within his comfort zone, frontman Travis McCoy is a gifted MC who usually upstages the rest of the band members, who sound like hired hands. And Daryl Hall sings on a track. That's gotta be worth something.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Love Comes Close
    Packed with lo-fi-meets-nu-rave parsings of UK post-punk discontent, the album’s distorted melodies are immediately catchy yet convey brooding emotional depth.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dylanesque
    Ferry manages to breathe new life into [the songs] while maintaining their integrity and original purpose.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Empyrean
    The Empyrean, is an engaging collection of brilliant soundscapes, fancy guitar work and some intriguing electronica flourishes.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    So Divided
    While they may never reach the heights of their Source Tags & Codes, the band can still push boundaries.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    I Remember Me
    She almost always goes for the jugular, belting out Super Bowl Sunday-sized performances over the most laid-back of summer-afternoon soul clappers. Her voice overflows with emotion, and subtlety's in short supply.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    We Are Born
    Not as good as we were hoping, but still strong enough to make us excited about the next chapter.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Out of Love
    There's not enough doo-wop or doom on much of the material, and their willingness to get far too goofy with the lyrics and delivery gives the sense that they're not taking the project seriously.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Hairdresser Blues
    It's a quick, occasionally dirty and sweetly affecting collection of ballads about ill-fated romance, the Bay City Rollers and letting go of love.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Big Boat
    Their records are blueprints laying out a basic architecture to be improved upon, expanded or subverted when the band plays live. Big Boat offers glimpses of the group's playfulness.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Blue Songs
    His arrangements sometimes outshine his melodies and lyrics, though. Whereas the first album packed an emotional wallop, the enjoyment of this one is in its details.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Somewhere Else
    While the songwriting is more varied here than on previous LPs (Shapiro sometimes causes rather than experiences heartbreak), the pop hooks don’t always ascend to the maximal sound they aim for.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Everything Is
    Nine Black Alps are definitely louder and more aggressive than many of their Britrock counterparts, but that's really nothing to boast about.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Sweet Heart Rodeo
    And though her voice is strong enough to carry the tracks, most of the time it’s needlessly strained. Memorable as these songs may be, they could use a good kick of grit to truly set them in motion.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    ...Featuring Norah Jones
    Ultimately, though, the comp is uneven, and it's difficult to determine the intended audience; fans likely already own these songs.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Rewild
    It’s all very lush and fabulous, but also restrained and calculated to the point of coldness. If that’s intentional, they’ve pulled it off, but not necessarily to the album’s benefit.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Ghostdini: Wizard Of Poetry
    All the more frustrating is the fact that Ghost’s guest verses on the new Raekwon album are stone-cold incredible. Clearly, he can still rap, but only when his audience isn’t looking.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Audio, Video, Disco
    Sure enough, this record brings to mind airbrushed vans flying through Day-Glo galaxies firing lasers at dragons, with no interest in any notions of good taste. Having said that, it fucking rocks.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The Sun & The Neon Light
    It’s not a complete washout; there are indeed some promising moments. Unfortunately, none of them get developed enough to compensate for the bland­ness of the rest of the album.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Business Casual
    Still, while we wait for a pop saviour to take the genre forward, Chromeo provide a nice enough tribute to its past.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Electronic Projects for Musicians
    For the most part, this collection is a great addition to the band’s oeuvre.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Michel Poiccard
    Regrets take on new meaning knowing the background, but they're also just plain fun, and no amount of misfortune can change that.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    LP4
    LP4 hints at the band's potential. The mildly weirder arrangements and quirkier synth twists on Party With Children are signs of what they should have fully run with.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Formula
    9th Wonder can now give the BDI Emcee his top-batch beats since being disowned by Little Brother, so a multitude of satisfying soul-inflected thumpers grace The Formula.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Page One
    The album is stylistically restless, jumping from power pop to 60s-inspired ballads, with dashes of disco, 80s dance music and klezmer squeezed in.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Gravity the Seducer
    Hard-driving Helen Marnie-sung tune Melting Ice, meanwhile, is surely Ladytron's steely attempt at self-aware irony.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Slow Dance
    The L.A./Paris musician has a voice reminiscent of Owen Pallett’s and tends toward cutesy (see aforementioned Gallop). But these cloying idiosyncrasies are stirring on darker songs like Canter Canter and the title track.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Sonic Highways
    It's a cool premise, but despite the ambition and guest musicians on each song, Sonic Highways sounds like every other Foo Fighters record.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Elect The Dead
    His ambition is never entirely realized, and though his voice is versatile, his almost operatic style at times borders on annoying.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shotter's Nation
    It's a record full of straight-up good songs from a band that should be (and would be, except for Doherty's fuckery) much more important than it is.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Jet Lag
    A few songs are too long and self-indulgent (Do You Want What I Need, Hold Me), but the fuzzy synths, minor-key melodies and subtle worldy percussion make it very easy listening on the whole.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sky Full of Holes
    No doubt they know to bury weaker material; the last few songs are less memorable.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Two Thousand
    A sleepy stretch of mediocrity that unfolds with lackluster monotony, Two Thousand once again fails to live up to the potential suggested by their One Time Bells debut.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Animal Nature
    A solid offering that could have been improved by swapping some of the remixes for the originals.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Oh, Fortune
    While it's dense with mood, gloomy lyrics and studio texture, almost to a fault, it's thin on memorable melodies.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sigh No More
    They're not at their strongest when echoing the reverb-filled harmonies of Fleet Foxes, but when they drop their instrumental restraint, they achieve an alluring balance of plaintive folk and upbeat bluegrass.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    10,000 Days
    10,000 Days sounds messy and poorly paced.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tosta Mista
    Simple, lo-fi surf rock fuelled by Daniel Lee's charismatic, laconic singing and melodies as memorable as ever.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Ukulele Songs
    The ukulele, while a beautiful, serene instrument, is arguably limited, especially as the centrepiece of an album this long. Vedder's distinct baritone complements it, but his chords eventually become repetitive.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mind Chaos
    With a name as dumb as Hockey, these Portland hipsters tempt me to dismiss them as having overdosed on irony. But to their credit, there are a few decent new-wavey pop hooks here.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Creaturesque
    Scott Reitherman, the multi-instrumentalist behind TMTS, switched to a full band following 2007’s "Moonbeams," and it paid off. Creaturesque stays aloft thanks to its big sound and well-placed handclaps.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Pluto
    Pluto nicely refreshes current rap trends and offers some genuinely forward-thinking hooks.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Freak Puke
    They seem incapable of softening their sound, even when they try.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Shade Of Poison Trees
    Songs like 'Little Bombs' and the title track are evocative of his "So Impossible" EP while also showing a definite maturity without relying on the disappointing FM-friendly electric rock that's marred the band's work in last few years.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Free the Universe
    Too bad the missteps and poorly executed collaborations stink badly enough to make the borderline stupid/genius party rockers get tainted by proximity.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Situation
    Younger rap fans may be puzzled by Buck 65's throwback character sketches and references to Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Bettie Page, but those who yearn for a more literate approach will find lots to dig in Situation.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    MAYA
    The new industrial influences and heavily distorted textures work amazingly well at times, but after a few songs you find yourself longing for something resembling a melody.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    19
    She’s often at her best alone with an acoustic guitar instead of ornamented with retro R&B references. It’s easy to want to dislike something that the UK press, Perez Hilton and Kanye West are telling you to like, but Adele shows some real talent.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    America Give Up
    This is an endearing and eminently likeable listen.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Wavvves
    There’s mountains of potential here, but the initial hype was premature. If he keeps it together long enough for a second album, Williams may deliver on the promise of greatness.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Face Control
    There’s no denying the chemistry between these two; it throbs all over their impressive new disc.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cruel Summer
    All the best cuts are Ye-led and stellar. He's as inventive, hilarious and potent as ever. The guest list, however, is less consistent.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    S [EP]
    The production is shinier, which some might hear as poppier, but the overall feel is too quirky for the mainstream--and sometimes too twee for her own good.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Curious Volume
    It’s nice to see a seminal, hugely influential band given their dues (and then some) after the fact. But it’s equally disappointing to see them fall short of the hyperbolic over-hype.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Four
    They return to remind us that there's still one side of dance rock they haven't tried: rock. On Four, Bloc Party turn up their amps and tune down their guitars.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Not Too Late
    A very good showcase for Jones's evolution as a writer and musician.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Crime Pays
    Cam’ron has evolved on this no-frills release, and it is disarmingly effective.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Return Of The Wu & Friends
    Anyone who’s followed Wu-Tang throughout this millennium knows that the Clan’s DJ Mathematics is the proper heir to RZA’s Wu production throne, and his new compilation only reinforces this....One issue: at least half of the album is recycled.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Melbourne
    His debut album (named after his street, not the city in Oz) is a charming collection of lo-fi bedroom pop ditties that has the thematic naïveté of someone who’s just left his teen years and hometown behind.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A Productive Cough
    There’s still an indomitable punk fury, and A Productive Cough is the most hopeful Titus Andronicus record yet.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    2:54
    It's all deliberate gazes, chins down and forced smiles, like being at your best on your worst days.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Trigga
    As sex-filled as Trigga is, typical bedroom R&B is no longer such a turn-on.... Nevertheless, Trigga is smooth and singable, with its share of gems.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Peace Is the Mission
    There are some glimmers of pop gold.... But those moments are overshadowed by dated cheeseball synth presets, uninspired choruses, goofy samples and clunky rhythm programming.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Living Thing
    PB and J also don’t lose their mass appeal here.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Drums Between the Bells
    The record, lacking choruses or pop hooks, isn't one to turn to for instant gratification. Instead, it's an engaging marriage of words and music.
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