American Songwriter's Scores

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For 1,814 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 50% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 45% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.8 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 74
Highest review score: 100 Rockstar
Lowest review score: 20 Dancing Backward in High Heels
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,458 out of 1814
  2. Mixed: 352 out of 1814
  3. Negative: 4 out of 1814
1814 music reviews
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    • 65 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Crush Songs
    This is a tough listen and not in a good way. Most of the songs are little more than unfinished sketches, most just over a minute long, waiting for more inspiration to be completed.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sparks
    No one expects sing-along, hit single material from the edgy, thought-provoking Heap, but this seems excessively random.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Benjamin Booker
    It’s tough and grimy but you have to wonder how many others are out there bashing out similarly trashy rock who haven’t gotten Booker’s breaks
    • 62 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Get Hurt
    The verbal intensity and reaching for the back rows attitude seldom pauses long enough for the listener to catch their breath.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Beck Song Reader
    For all the eccentric performances and approaches, it’s hard to warm up to these songs.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    United States
    As befits his sideman status, McLagan is neither a particularly riveting vocalist nor songwriter--some of his lyrics are rudimentary bordering on simplistic--but he makes the most of his limitations by sheer heartfelt resolve.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale
    Where Cale would experiment with horns, vibes, female backing vocals and even restrained orchestration, these tracks stay rooted in a respectful if rather heavy lidded closet.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Similar Skin
    On stage, the stretched out pieces allow the group to more seamlessly stitch their tapestry together, a talent that isn’t quite as effective in this occasionally inspired but just as often hectic studio set.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    No Fools, No Fun
    Ultimately you wish they would have put more effort into what seems to be a really relaxed, yet not lackadaisical release.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    World Peace Is None of Your Business
    World Peace is an album that rewards patience, and the deeper one goes into it, the more fun there is to be had.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Phosphorescent Harvest
    There are highlights here but not enough to leave all but the most rabid Black Crowes fans hoping for much better from a once riveting frontman who can’t seem to consistently catch that ever elusive groove he so effortlessly used to harness.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mutineers
    The high bar he has set with a tremendous back catalog makes us yearn for just a bit more out of Mutineers.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Fortune
    At times, the sudden shifts are rather dizzying.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Invisible Hour
    Those less focused might find their attention taxed, but this is a meticulously crafted and uncompromising work that shows Henry to be at the top of his game releasing challenging music not made for prime time.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Heavy Reverie
    Buffalo Killers aren’t offering you anything you haven’t heard countless times before. Whether or not you want to pick up the phone to have that conversation again will be determined by how much you value novelty.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    El Camino Real
    Existing fans won’t be terribly disappointed since there are just enough high points spread throughout the 11 songs to keep the faith. But even they might agree this is far from the act’s best work and even a few notches below its more creatively stimulating predecessor.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Modern Creation
    While the songs aren’t the most complex ever written, even among The Whigs’ catalog, they are perfect for cruising with the windows down.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ghost Stories
    While there are moments in which Coldplay take some interesting steps forward on Ghost Stories, there are a few moments when the band rests a little too heavily on easy listening or pop music clichés.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Indie Cindy
    On Indie Cindy, there’s not a lot of danger, or passion--or excitement for that matter.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    A Letter Home
    There is a one-take charm to the performances on A Letter Home, an album that’s more of a tribute to Neil Young’s ever-loving idiosyncrasy than to any of the artists covered.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Undefeated
    This rampant musical eclecticism is fun and keeps things from getting boring but it’s also occasionally too scattershot, even though most of the players remain the same throughout.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett
    This is unquestionably slow going and perhaps best taken in smaller doses, but it’s ultimately rewarding for those willing to take advice from a guy whose darkness and internal demons have remained key components to his emotionally naked creativity.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Enclosure
    Like a lot of Frusciante’s solo output, Enclosure sometimes sounds more like him working through ideas than a presentation of conclusions.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Make My Head Sing...
    What she’s come up with isn’t always completely successful, but it keeps you wanting more.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    A Dotted Line
    A closing cover of Sam Phillips’ plaintive and rarely heard ballad “Where is Love Now” shows the group knows how to dig for a great song, even if the originals that dominate this disc aren’t immediately as accessible. This isn’t the band’s finest (half) hour, yet it’s great to have them back.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cope
    Eight tracks straight of gut-punching, emotive arena rock can be exhausting--especially when it leans so heavily on emo aesthetics.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Effra Parade
    A beautifully fashioned, classy and meticulously crafted background music, perfect for Sunday brunch among the NPR crowd.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Private World of Paradise
    Everything here is painted in varying shades of gloom and lit by flickering candle flame, but every now and then, illuminates something quite gorgeous.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Silent Treatment
    Your enjoyment is decidedly dependent on how you appreciate her sweeping, multi-octave singing and tunes that reflect the give and take of relationships in ways that make soap operas seem subtle.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Like It Never Happened
    While this is surely not for everyone, those whose tastes aren’t constrained by traditional notions and are willing to go with Ziman’s somewhat oblique, even aloof flow, will find plenty of reasons to spend the requisite time getting comfortable with her unique style and genre expanding approach.
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