The Line of Best Fit's Scores

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For 4,495 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 64% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 32% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.8 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 77
Highest review score: 100 Adore Life
Lowest review score: 20 143
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,040 out of 4495
  2. Mixed: 438 out of 4495
  3. Negative: 17 out of 4495
4495 music reviews
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    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Strictly 4 The Scythe
    As a project, Strictly 4 The Scythe is overcommitted and faintly ridiculous. Its collective chemistry is intermittent, owing something to its indiscriminately-into-the-crowd exuberance and occasionally tipping into something cynically curatorial. .... These failures are failures of abundance, though. Curry remains an earnest underground champion.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    so sad so sexy
    The album’s repeated motif of smoking and cigarettes as an addiction metaphor feels try-hard rather than smart. The best tracks are those that transpose the drama of Li’s best work to the album’s more explicitly pop context.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Palaces
    Whilst some tracks are arguably a bit forgettable, this album is still full of some brilliant moments.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Land, the Water, the Sky
    The sound of the album is too monochrome in general, with ballads and epics all drawing from a similar palette. That being said, there are stunning moments too.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Hypnotic Eye
    Hypnotic Eye is little more than a decent record with a few ideas above its station.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Hurts Like Hell
    Hurts Like Hell may feel unremarkable to some, but for those who are constantly contemplative of where one used to be, its subtle yet deeply personal storytelling will be much more touching than expected.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Burnt Up on Re-Entry
    He has not made a classic here, but he may have made an album which allows him to do so again in the future.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Defend Yourself
    While it’s good to have Sebadoh back thrashing around in the unfurnished basement of the music industry once again, you just wonder how much better the results would have been if they had a complete album’s worth of material that proved worthy of their return.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mariachi El Bronx (III)
    Either through reticence or reverence for the music, this approach feels half-hearted and only partially realised. If the group wants to keep pushing the limits of Mariachi El Bronx, it may need to look elsewhere.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Compton
    The Chronic and 2001 were simply collections of great songs and the order didn't matter much; Compton, conversely, is one giant song presented as a specifically sequenced album. While it succeeds as such--a lush, expensive-sounding art rap song-cycle--it fits the Doctor about as well as a baggy t-shirt. Dre makes great songs, not great albums.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    I Care So Much That I Dont Care at All
    While glaive clearly still has the chops to record something great, his debut falls short of the creativity that marked his meteoric rise to fame.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell
    At its worst, Red Hot + Arthur Russell shows up the limitations of the cover-album-as-form, but at its best, it's a thrilling tribute to a none-more-singular artist.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Palomino
    Palomino is a return to their familiar and comforting poetic and melancholic storytelling powers.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Feminine Divine
    The Feminine Divine can’t match those first three deathless classic albums and falls just below the convincing return that was One Day I’m Going to Soar. Still, there’s enough of their unique brilliance on display to make this a qualified victory.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Providence
    While Providence is by no means a failure or throwaway LP, as a body of work, it doesn't quite keep you enthralled and, more than often, leaves you grimacing at the cacophony of, at times, irritating sound that's pummelling your eardrums.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Chris Cohen
    While Chris Cohen is by no means a bad record, the combination of muddy production value and laid-back pace can make it feel like somewhat of a drag to listen to (despite it clocking in at just over half-an-hour), and, while there are gems on here, you certainly have to seek them out.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Slow Focus
    Here, finally, is some of the ebb and flow, some of the emotion that’s been lacking on the album up to this point. What a shame that it comes so close to Slow Focus’ end.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Era
    Era joins the other three albums as a missed opportunity.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Silver Tongues
    This debut record still sounds like a band caught between two stools, not sure if they’re still full-on punks anymore or softer, introspective shoegazers.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Whorl
    It’s refreshing that the most appealing parts of Whorl are when the duo abandon exactly the musical nuances they’re known for. At the very least they should be applauded for exploring new territory, even if the overall record is not entirely satisfying.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Roosevelt
    None of the tracks are bad per se. But they lack something that the first tastes promised, and so pieced together it feels like the debut is not worth more than the sum of its parts.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Daniel
    Daniel shows potential for Real Estate to take their music to the next level and in a way, that’s both its biggest plus and greatest minus.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cosmic Logic
    There are plenty of great ideas here, and if you really listen, they’re not particularly hard to find. But it would be nice to be able to let an album like this simply wash over you, rather than be forced to pan for gold in its still, murky waters.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Contender
    Whether due to the pandemic or not, Contender however suffers from a lack of consistency mirroring the context in which it was created. Despite nuanced shifts in their sound, the blueprint remains much the same.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Forever Is A Feeling
    Those who invest in their fave singers’ personal lives will no doubt enjoy digging deep into the lyrics. Those who fell in love with the epics and wigouts of 2018’s Historian may find engaging moments on an album too cohesive for its own good.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    3D Country
    They haven't put all the pieces together, but the evidence suggests that Geese are still capable of laying a golden egg.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Am I The Drama?
    Whereas her blockbuster debut Invasion of Privacy used every minute of its runtime, AM I THE DRAMA? wavers and meanders around tracks that are fine at best and miserable at worst.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Serpentina
    Not quite pop perfection, but it has its moments.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Jamaica Plain [EP]
    This EP is more for fans of Robinson than Vile, though those picking it up just for name recognition won’t be disappointed as long as they don’t ask for more than what’s on offer--an absorbing but brief ambient interlude.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    It's Alive
    La Luz excel when they commit to the way the songs of that era worked, rather than settling for the aura or the pleasant, used-vinyl memories of it all.
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