Splendid's Scores

  • Music
Select another publication »
For 793 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 65% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 33% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.8 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 75
Highest review score: 100 Humming By The Flowered Vine
Lowest review score: 10 Fire
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 654 out of 793
  2. Mixed: 119 out of 793
  3. Negative: 20 out of 793
793 music reviews
view
per page
    • 76 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Power In Numbers
    As spiritual as Talib Kweli, as musically complex as Mos Def, as joyfully syncopated as the Roots, Power in Numbers sets the standard for intelligent hip hop.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    C'Mon Lets Pretend
    People who listened to Sahara Hotnights' albums in their proper sequence will appreciate their improvement, but those who heard Jennie Bomb first may well end up preferring it.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    We Fight Til Death
    McNeely and Matz have found their calling and left a lasting impression with this fierce yet fragile album.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Stereo
    Stereo/Mono is less polished than Westerberg's other solo efforts, but the song quality is consistent.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Aldhils Arboretum
    There's emotion, extraordinary technique, and a surprising, oh-so-welcome passion in the singing.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Echoes
    You say you don't give a shit about lyrics? That's good; most of Echoes' lyrics aren't worth giving a shit about.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Mount Eerie
    It is a more intimate and more cohesive work than anything else he has done, but it is decidedly difficult, tossing aside more ingratiating effects in favor of a haunting, ethereal mood and a single, thematic narrative.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Open Season
    Don't look to Open Season to get your heart pounding or your blood flowing; it trades in less cathartic experiences.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Universal Truths And Cycles
    No more fancy studios, no more high priced producers; this is truly GBV as nature intended -- reckless, hook-laden and drunk as hell.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Today Is The Day [EP]
    Today Is the Day! is much better than most between-albums rehashes.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Equilibrium
    It is refreshing to encounter an album that does a number of different things well rather than sticking to a tried and true formula.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Casino
    They so precisely meet your expectations that no matter how good the music might be, you can't help but be disappointed by the sheer dearth of surprises.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Winds Take No Shape
    Winds Take No Shape's compositions are not as varied as their debut, but it's a more atmospheric, cohesive and significant work because of it.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    So Much Staying Alive & Lovelessness
    Flashes of the energy and precision JOA exhibit in the live forum are, arguably for the first time, perfectly realized here.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    White Hot Peach
    White Hot Peach displays a precise and inventive nature that has a lot in common with Guided By Voices' Do the Collapse.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shamelessly Exciting
    It's everything we've come to expect from Forrest in one gloriously hack 'n' sawed package, meticulously pieced together from his wide-ranging record collection.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Give Blood
    The music is comfortable, lacking the self-conscious over-rehearsed feeling of other new bands.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Control
    Control stands apart from previous Pedro the Lion releases because its harder material is among its most satisfying.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Bavarian Fruit Bread
    Bavarian Fruit Bread comes with the same warning as most of the winter season's baked goods -- it's rich, warm and full of flavor, but overindulgence will result in unplanned napping.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Louden Up Now
    This is the smartest fun music (and the most fun smart music) I've heard this year.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Frances The Mute
    With Frances the Mute, the Mars Volta have unfurled a big and bold artistic statement... Unfortunately, that bold artistic statement is rife with pomposity and glimpses of prog-rock at its most horrifically self-indulgent.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Close Cover Before Striking [EP]
    Six of the seven songs are understated, melodic mid-tempo pieces.... The song that breaks the mold is also the album's best moment[:]"Astronaut."
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Eminem Show
    A thump-and-groove driven Cadillac ride down the shadowy streets of Motown.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Dignity And Shame
    Dignity and Shame is sparse and vulnerable, showcasing nothing but Bachmann's bittersweet musings and his deep growl of a voice. It is by no means a unique album, but it's an effective one.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Alter
    This is sensual, prophetic, dense and romantic, sumptuous and altogether eerie.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    L' Avventura
    Despite some great moments... L'Avventura never quite comes into its own -- there just aren't enough perfect Phillips/Wareham moments here to cash in on Romantica's promise.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sorry I Make You Lush
    Sorry I Make You Lush runs on fresh sounds and non-drowsy wit.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Musique Automatique
    It's true that a lot of Musique Automatique can get old really fast.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ego War
    Even if their big 'n' bashy brand of party-happy tech-hop gets a bit familiar by album's end, it's destined to be a staple of 2003's party mixes.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Radical Connector
    The giddy shift towards pop and even traditional dance music structure that Mouse on Mars take here is so irresistibly fun and persuasive that the very thought of loyalists furrowing their brows and crossing their arms is comical.
Page: