Sputnikmusic's Scores

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For 2,596 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 53% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 45% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 72
Highest review score: 100 Exit
Lowest review score: 10 The Path of Totality
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,936 out of 2596
  2. Mixed: 572 out of 2596
  3. Negative: 88 out of 2596
2596 music reviews
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    • 82 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Labyrinthitis
    On the one hand, this is a record which sees Destroyer recalibrate their formula, quite successfully, to avoid any potential staleness in the fifth incarnation of their recent run. As such, it feels like a record that most, if not all, music fans with any interest in Destroyer could enjoy. On the flip side, this album also continues the trend that Have We Met began, accentuating Bejar’s idiosyncrasies in a more pronounced way than before.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Dead Channel Sky
    Though it may not match its forebears’ ambition or near-flawless execution, the speculative and nostalgic centrifuge spinning like a catherine wheel at the heart of the record assures listeners of the usual cutting insights, by way of brazen bars and some of the finest storytelling of the group’s career.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Sunrise on Slaughter Beach
    Sunrise On Slaughter Beach is far from a perfect effort, but it’s good to have the merry band from Maryland back again regardless.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Blu Wav
    Grandaddy’s latest feels slightly remote but wholeheartedly nostalgic, the synthesis of deeply personal loneliness and some kind of cosmic greater meaning, and all three of my theories seem perfectly suitable. Weary but still imbued with plenty of heart, Blu Wav is all you can ask for as the return of Jason Lytle’s long-running indie project.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Masterpiece
    Modern folk fans take note; it’s not every day we get the pleasure of hearing such an accomplished debut.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Interplay
    In the end, Interplay feels like something of an incoherent mess if looked at with a microscope, but zoom a bit further out and it maintains enough of a “vibe” to feel at least somewhat cohesive, while also being a fun listen which should be even more enjoyable as the sun comes out and the temperature climbs.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships
    Great albums don’t need to define a generation or open doors to other worlds, they just need to make great music--and Inquiry does exactly that. It’s a batch of quality pop songs--nothing more, nothing less.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Order in Decline
    There’s no delusion going on that Sum 41 have reinvigorated pop-punk, but Order In Decline certainly qualifies as a pleasant surprise. ... They’ve proven that there’s still something left in the tank.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Always Centered at Night
    Nothing feels forced, the tunes’ order plays like a summary of a night long DJ set that starts slow and ends at the crack of dawn with downtempo/trip hop. Some are highlights, others fly by making less of an impact, yet they are not throwaways. Despite being released as separate singles, the LP plays very well as a whole.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Cave World
    It goes from caustically smart presented social observations to absurd, childish rants, while keeping you dancing. I’m glad Viagra Boys found their niche without losing any of their edge.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Lost Girls
    Overall, Lost Girls ends up as a fun record that luckily, doesn’t overstay its welcome. It has groove and substance as it takes its cues from the likes of Prince, David Bowie, Madonna, Cindy Lauper or Peter Gabriel to name a few.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Zeit
    Zeit is imperfect, but there’s so much to be savoured here, and aspects you won’t get from any other Rammstein album.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    The Long Road North
    The Long Road North is a more sophisticated record than A Dawn to Fear, and Cult of Luna’s reputation for steely competence is quite at home in its various details and refinements. It’s less contingent on the intensity of individual moments, benefitting more from a pervasive atmosphere of the risky-wilderness-journey variety.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Super Champon
    Super Champon’s genius lies in the way it brings this relatively complex subject matter down to a set of laser-sharp bangers, all supported with just enough English to resonate either side of the Anglosphere frontier.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Dissolution
    It wouldn’t be a Pineapple Thief record if we weren’t served some moody tracks. There are less than usual (no complaints about that) and often spiced with louder sections throughout.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    She Is Coming [EP]
    Regardless of its intention, whether vapid or passive-aggresively referrential, SHE IS COMING is really, really fun. It bounces from eye-roll-inducing to warmly dazzling without asking whether or not it should.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Tyron
    The end result is an album that passes by without any significant misfires, and at least a handful of headshots. It's probably a stretch to say that he's met the potential signified by the queue of people within the industry that have recognised his talent and reached out to him, but TYRON's best cuts provide further unequivocal evidence that there is something special about Tyron Frampton.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Spiral in a Straight Line
    Spiral in a Straight Line strives to strike a balance. It’s a collection of great songs, varies in pace, and is recognisably Touché.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    I Don't Like Shit: I Don't Go Outside
    There's a fair bit of tension in his rhymes and it works for him. Earl upholds a dangerous, unpredictable presence--when he slurs “step into the shadows, we can talk addiction” in “Grief” there aren't many who would take up the offer--but at times he holds himself wide open.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Dream Weapon
    Dream Weapon, bold reimagining that it is, could well be the line in the sand that releases the four-piece from the shackles of their historic hallmarks. The dream of another Dead Mountain Mouth or Board Up the House may have been shattered, but a new, better dream may yet be forged from the pieces. Here’s to finding out.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Goodbye, Hotel Arkada
    The album feels wonderfully grounded as such, and is ideally placed as an ambassador for the open-heartedness, peace, and healing that are as key to new age as its otherworldly mystique.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    In Cauda Venenum
    A higher level of ambition and a confident balance of the various changes in tone is felt all over the record. While not all of the flaws from the new Opeth are gone, the band are giving their full effort and showing off how creative they have always been, and still are without doubt. Renewed inspiration and a fine balance between the dark and light sides of Opeth’s music make In Cauda Venenum their best work since Heritage.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Tooth
    They return with something more uniquely insidious than anything heard from the label so far, something which attacks and intoxicates in equal measure, completely assured of its success and all the more awe-inspiring for it.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Blood Drive
    Even though this LP may not be a complete game-changer, they are certainly on the right path to come out with one sooner rather than later.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    People, Hell and Angels
    As entertaining as this album may be, a lot of these songs, needless to say, feel rather parched of vitality.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Saviors
    A return-to-punk that simultaneously honours Green Day's history of arena-friendly alternative rockers, full of adrenaline and feeling. A mere four years after the execrable Father of All Motherfuckers, it may qualify as a minor miracle.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Sister
    The good thing is that all songs have a character of their own and hence an appreciable replay value.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    IV Play
    IV Play succeeds in spades with its production and songwriting.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Dying of Everything
    For old school fans of the band, Dying of Everything would be more than enough. ... for newcomers, this might be an issue, as we're not in the 90s anymore, and to impress a new generation of metalheads that think this or that deathcore album “could use more blast beats”, Obituary would need to submit themselves to a change that isn't feasible or realistic.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Everything Will Be Alright in the End
    Rivers' lyrics are just as bad as they've always been, the band's sense of pop-song structure is still the backbone of every track, but that doesn't matter when everyone is having fun.
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