Pitchfork's Scores

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For 12,726 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 41% higher than the average critic
  • 6% same as the average critic
  • 53% 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 Sign O' the Times [Deluxe Edition]
Lowest review score: 0 nyc ghosts & flowers
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10,462 out of 12726
  2. Mixed: 1,950 out of 12726
  3. Negative: 314 out of 12726
12726 music reviews
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    • 75 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Glider
    The record walks well-treaded territory lyrically and musically.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Have You Fed the Fish?
    That's just the thing with Badly Drawn Boy-- he doesn't care about momentum, or continuity, or a lot of other things that you might quite reasonably care about when you sit down to listen to his records.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    You're Not Alone
    Being shouted at for 53 minutes to find some agency in the midst of chaos may not make for highly nuanced music, but it would be hard to argue that you couldn’t use it. This is kitchen-sink maximalism as refuge—just throw everything in there, there’s no time.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Six
    While, the Black Heart Procession does an excellent job of musically embodying October's primary mood, they'd do well to remember that it's a month made more bearable by the occasional flash of Indian summer.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    I Remember
    It cribs largely from dancehall, but stops short of adopting any of that form’s humidity; these diaphanous tracks are a long stream of cool appraisal.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
    Everything is delicate, but nothing is muted. This aesthetic certainly isn’t for everybody, but after her ambivalent pop experiments, Marina no longer needs her albums to be. It’s a beacon out for the highly emotional people of the world, of whom she clearly is one; it’s for her.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Infinite
    There are no moments in the same area code of The Infamous or Hell on Earth. But Infinite is a decent stab at giving one of the greatest rap duos of all time one last trip around the block.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Ride Your Heart
    Though there's an electric current coursing through Ride Your Heart, it's too often wasted on mundane material--which is especially disappointing given how zany and lyrically imaginative their previous band was
    • 77 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Attention Deficit
    Internal rhyme schemes, halting phrasing, thoughtful self-exploration; this is Wale at his best. Not as a preening star filling in the gaps for a king-making debut. A regular person, with doubts and sadness, joy and confidence. There's just not enough of it on Attention Deficit.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono
    The song choices are smart, and all of the covers range from capable to very good, but all of them reinforce the idea that no one else could make her music.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    The Devil's Walk
    In the end, the record is a disjointed listen--there are some really beautiful and even moving stretches but too many missed opportunities to truly bring together Ring's love of pop with his natural gift for beats.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Drift
    Drift is the sound of them trying to figure out what to do next--and compared to the maniacal focus and intensity of previous records, the band can sound oddly rudderless here. But they can still stun you with a radical reinvention.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Satan's Graffiti or God's Art?
    Satan’s graffiti or God’s art? tries to make a masterpiece from spray paint, but for every cool mural, there’s a splatter of obtrusive tags.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
    "Midnight Organ Fight" announced with its title that its underlying concern was sex (not getting it, not getting it from who you want, being unfulfilled by it), and the songs on this new album, though more lyrically complex, seem neutered by comparison.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Descending Shadows
    While Descending Shadows (their second full-length and first for Vice) is leaner and mellower than anything they've done, it still barrels forth with the same haggard, long-fanged intent that made Dead Moon so great.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Sleeper
    This foggy unease and blankness communicates itself everywhere on Sleeper, a frustratingly imperfect record that nonetheless holds onto the essential mystery that sparked my curiosity.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities And Rarities 2003-2008)
    Unsurprisingly, the rarities on The Fine Print could make a good album, but the oddities are often distracting.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Music's Not for Everyone
    Music may lack the crazy ambition of his previous acts or some of the unexpected goofiness of the Gang's debut, but it's still a modest pleasure and a fine addition to Svenonius' catalog.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Still on My Mind
    Dido’s fifth album, Still on My Mind, guides her even more into the path of serenity and easy listening electronics, with odes to marriage and motherhood that bask in their comforts.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Heavenly Bender
    But as clear as that opening switch to afterburners rings, much of Heavenly Bender sounds too-worn in at times, hooks still more familiar than barbed.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Friends That Break Your Heart
    Even if the music remains more ambitious than that aspiration, perhaps the most groundbreaking thing about Friends That Break Your Heart is that James Blake has never sounded so safe.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    X
    Likability has got Kylie Minogue this far, and it pulls her through again--even the weak tracks on X have a sparky enthusiasm that makes their magpie modernism sound less cynical.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Policy
    Policy's highlights maintain a precarious balance between classicism and cataclysm, but the album often tips too far in either direction.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Nashville
    As with past Rouse efforts, Nashville is always pleasant, if unexceptional.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Build a Problem
    Sometimes, you don’t want to think too hard. You want to put on a big sweater and complain. You want to listen to something soft and sad, look out the window and remember how embarrassing you have been. Clark knows that feeling well—her music is made for it.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Head First
    There's plenty of highly stylized fun to be had here. Just don't expect to remember many of the details when it's all over.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Pocket Symphony
    Pocket Symphony winds up feeling strangely transient, accomplished and genuinely likeable but also forgettable.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Classics
    Classics is charming and sleepy in a '60s samba sort of way, filled with whispering percussion, light electric guitar solos, and string arrangements worthy of the silver screen.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    North
    North is definitely Hyperdub's most pop-friendly release, but it's also one of its most conservative-- not a bad thing, just an interesting one given the importance label integrity plays in the electronic dance music world.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 66 Critic Score
    Silver
    Were they based in an indie rock hothouse, it's easy to imagine Eternal Summers feeling somewhat pressured to streamline or smooth out their sound in a way that would be more easily describable and digestible. Instead, the duo happily flits back and forth between nervy, combustible raves and languorously pretty head nods without a care for thematic cohesion.
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