Wall of Sound's Scores

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For 232 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 68% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 29% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 73
Highest review score: 92 Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
Lowest review score: 20 When It All Goes South
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 198 out of 232
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 232
  3. Negative: 2 out of 232
232 music reviews
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    • 72 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)
    Manson's most ambitious, musically accomplished, and -- dare we say it? -- mature album to date. Holy Wood treads too much over the same nihilistic territory, raging against a God he claims doesn't exist, and describing in detail a life that he says isn't worth living. That said, there are some musically powerful moments on the album, notably the eviscerating power chords on "The Fight Song" and the galloping rhythms of "Disposable Teens."
    • 56 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Bridge
    The members of Blues Traveler, new and old, still play better than they write songs, but there's no denying that the group's indefatigable spirit remains engaging.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Binaural
    A formless collection that drifts from one tune to the next, weighed down by a general sense of murk that pervades everything from Tchad Blake's production to the song arrangements and the lyrics.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 64 Critic Score
    At Last
    The main problem on At Last is that despite her best intentions, many of the tunes are so sappy that they just don't live up to the high standards a veteran singer can and should aim for.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 64 Critic Score
    NakedSelf
    NakedSelf feels more like a transition than a treatise, like a little bit less when more is actually called for.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 64 Critic Score
    Phantom Moon
    When all the elements of Phantom Moon align -- as they do on a handful of songs ("Mr. Chess," "Requiescat") -- the results are mesmerizing.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 64 Critic Score
    Come to Where I'm From
    Because the songs jump so radically between styles, the ultimate reaction to Come to Where I'm From is confusion. Arthur seems to be looking for an identity but not feeling totally comfortable with any of the ones he adopts.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Happy Ending
    A perfectly serviceable modern-rock record-
    • 73 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    All For You
    But for all its emotional directness and prodigious length, there's a point on All for You where it all starts wear thin and Jackson's moments of celebration and vindictiveness seem played out rather than genuine...
    • 76 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    The Optimist LP
    Underlying The Optimist's base -- two complementary voices highlighted by beautifully executed acoustic guitar -- is Turin Brakes' bent existentialism, an expansive vision that adds a feeling of fatalism to many of these songs.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Black & Blue
    Surprisingly and disappointingly tame.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 62 Critic Score
    Tomorrow's Sounds Today
    Tomorrow's Sounds Today belies its promising title by breaking no new ground, and, in fact, retracing some pretty well-known boot-scootin' steps.... If nothing else, it's still a pleasure to hear on Tomorrow's Sounds Today what producer and guitarist extraordinaire Pete Anderson can do with material that is only average.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 62 Critic Score
    ANThology
    Lyrically, they've got a ways to go.... That said, Alien Ant Farm shows some real potential.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 62 Critic Score
    Tha Last Meal
    It gets tiresome, sure, but should this Dogg be put to sleep? Not yet. He's still coming up with funky beats and rhymes (like every single day).
    • 72 Metascore
    • 62 Critic Score
    Dusty Trails
    Too often it sounds only half completed...
    • 60 Metascore
    • 62 Critic Score
    Conspiracy of One
    There's not much fat here, but there's not much meat and bone, either. If the Offspring, still the most successful of all the latter-day Southern California punkers, once had interest in teasing and amusing its fans, it has largely hidden those qualities this time around.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 61 Critic Score
    The Fifth Release From Matador
    Fifth Release is an intoxicating cocktail of beats and colors that swirl and explode like a Roy Lichtenstein collage. When Pizzicato Five gets in this zone, which they do repeatedly here, all the world's a runway, and everyone's a size four and working it on pinpoint stilettos.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 61 Critic Score
    Rule 3:36
    Unfortunately, Rule 3:36, which does feature a few worthwhile moments, doesn't string enough strong tracks together to be a cohesive, effective listen.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Look Into The Eyeball
    This is an album about textures, grooves, and sounds, but it's not really about songs. Once one is done decoding its structure, Look Into the Eyeball is an elegant but empty building.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    All About Chemistry
    The results are not bad -- nor are they dynamic. It's shiny and it shimmers, but there's no fizz, no explosion.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Donnas Turn 21
    The Donnas do what they do just fine, but, four albums into their career, you can't help but want to see a little bit of growth in place of arrested development.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    This Is The Moment
    Osmond could teach today's teen idols a thing or two about singing. His pure, clear tenor voice still shines as bright as his trademark smile. But This Is the Moment is mostly meant for adult easy listening pleasure, and it's not a stretch to say that it mostly succeeds on that level.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    More
    With its grove of synthesizers, sequencers, and sonically treated vocals, it's music without pulp -- or a great deal of heart.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Golden Greats
    The 10-song album... hits and misses in equal quantities, though even at its worst moments, there's at least a germ of a good idea that simply wasn't realized -- or, in the case of some of the album's longer tracks, was overdone.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    The Golden D
    Too often Coxon's sketches-in-song come off as coy experiments -- fascinating to himself, perhaps, but holding little interest for those of us outside the lab.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Vapor Transmissions
    An album awash in old new wave sonics, borrowed Ziggy-isms, and facile science fiction claptrap. As you'd expect with an album called Vapor Transmission, it suffers from quite a bit of gas.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    My World, My Way
    Like so many of Master P's own productions, the music here stems almost completely from synthesizers, a fact that diminishes the potency of the grooves on My World, My Way. With so many of the right elements in place on tracks like "Beef" and "Uh Ha," it's a shame to hear cheesy synth lines where a shattering bass should have been.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Drops Of Jupiter
    Not only do many of the tunes have a similar feel, but Monahan, whose dusty vocals put the band on the map with the hit single "Meet Virginia" in 1999, is regularly drowned out by the soaring guitars and effects.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 57 Critic Score
    Super Sound
    But other selections feel more like skeletal sketches than finished songs, composed of interesting components but short on fully developed ideas and momentum. Great stuff for background noise at a party, or in a TV commercia, but not necessarily compelling headphone fare.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 57 Critic Score
    Unified Theory
    Like far too many bands whose members bring strong musical pedigrees to the project, Unified Theory's sum is less than its parts -- despite, or perhaps because of, an abundance of adventurous spirit and experimental zeal.
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