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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    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Everything Is Borrowed
    Despite Skinner’s undeniable verbal and production talents, and his online hand-wringing about embracing positivity without getting cheesy, there is something undeniably sappy about this record that won’t sit well with people expecting to hear more mockney slander about drunken gits.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dig Out Your Soul
    With this balanced collection of solid rockers, more airy, toned-down tracks and far less self-indulgent noodling, Oasis prove they can learn from their mistakes.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    OH (Ohio)
    The Nashville band’s ninth studio album is definitely sleepy and nuanced, only Wagner’s halted singing is disintegrating further into the background as the overall sound inches closer to adult contemporary.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Offend Maggie
    Ultimately rewarding for indie enthusiasts up for a challenge, Offend might leave more pedestrian listeners scratching their heads.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Living And The Dead
    Her new disc is a sweet, infectious collection of alt-country that tackles broken hearts (Palmyra) and Jack Kerouac (Mexico City).
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    City Of Refuge
    City Of Refuge’s 15 tracks are uneven in both length and musical depth--one track, 'High Plain 3,' is just a minute and 31 seconds of quiet, droning ambient static--yet the record plays out like the cohesive score to a postmodern, post-apocalyptic western.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Chemistry Of Common Life
    There’s a reason why this Toronto band is capturing the imagination of critics and fans all over the world: they’ve reinvigorated the form and stretched its limits in genuinely novel ways, and for the most part their experiments actually hit their mark.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Some Are Lakes
    Ultimately, LOT’s songs will dictate their trajectory, and principal songwriter Liz Powell sounds mostly up to the task.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Another World [EP]
    This EP, a teaser of what to expect from the full-length album scheduled for January, sees the vocalist reining in some of his more histrionic tendencies while expanding his palette of influences and sounds.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Women
    Produced by VanGaalen, this record explores a whole host of interesting sonic ideas, which keeps things nicely unpredictable.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Snowflake Midnight
    They’ve set their laser harp on “snooze” and come up with a yawn-inspiring set of digital whoosh over which to chant some nonsense that at best resembles the Chemical Brothers at their worst.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    4
    It’s a totally mellow set where flute often takes precedence over guitar. Thankfully, Ejstes’s tight arrangements leave little room for wankery, and none of the songs deal with flying dragons.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Murs For President
    His major-label debut after years on Def Jux feels status quo for the most part, and new labelmates will.i.am and Snoop only dilute his product with lazy cameos. But there’s still much to admire about Mur’s campaign to turn on some heads.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    WLIB AM: King Of The Wigflip
    The sick is far outweighed by the sloppy as the selection shifts from slo-mo chronic puffers to wobbly boozer bumps bracketed by two thugged-out rips by Guilty Simpson.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Double Night Time
    You won’t find many dance-floor fillers here, and on that level this album comes closer to Junior Boys’ wistful electro ballads than to Metro Area’s laid-back club magic.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Hawk Is Howling
    Not that a few half-baked progressions spell disaster for Hawk, a record that methodically moves from dreamy, lush, introspective numbers to tension and ultimately catharsis in the way Mogwai is close to perfecting.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Only By The Night
    For the most part the record is a sluggish mess of sweeping guitars and stoner-rock sounds, not unlike what you might hear at a high school talent show.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dear Science,
    The most engaging film characters have likeable qualities that conflict with something that’s inherently hard to stomach. Brooklyn’s TV on the Radio masterfully employ this tension in Dear Science,--apparently their major breakthrough album.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Doll Domination
    As it turns out, Scherzinger’s not interesting enough on her own, so she’s padding out her shtick with four glorified backup singers in tow.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Furr
    They’ve topped up every track with so many hooks and contemporary indie rock clichés that their new songs sometimes go right past catchy into corny.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Hungry Saw
    The Hungry Saw may make Leonard Cohen’s stuff sound positively giddy, but it’s a positive turn for the Tindersticks.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Gift Of Screws
    Gift proves that Lindsey Buckingham’s knack for writing catchy pop-rock chord changes is alive and well.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Way I See It
    This is instant vintage.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Brass Knuckles
    It’s sure not a knockout, but it’s his hardest-hitting album yet. Just don’t call it a comeback.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Chunk Of Change [EP]
    Angelakos’s Hot Chip-meets-MGMT sound also works on I’ve Got Your Number. His distinctive vocals backfire only on the too-cutesy Cuddle Fuddle.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Death Magnetic
    Their latest successfully revisits elements of their thrash-metal prime, eschewing bloated self-indulgence for straight-up head-banging aggression, with decent riffs to match, thanks in no small part to producer Rick Rubin.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Knowle West Boy
    Butler might consider himself lucky he got out when he did, as Tricky’s ideas are scattered all over the place and Knowle West Boy is mostly a mess.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Carried To Dust
    Nothing terribly new or unexpected to report, just a more direct way of expressing not so adventurous ideas.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Lightbulbs
    Despite a few uncomfortable moments, the Brighton trio turn in another solid effort.
    • 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.
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