American Songwriter's Scores
- Music
For 1,812 reviews, this publication has graded:
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50% higher than the average critic
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5% same as the average critic
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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: | Rockstar | |
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Lowest review score: | Dancing Backward in High Heels |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1,456 out of 1812
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Mixed: 352 out of 1812
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Negative: 4 out of 1812
1812
music
reviews
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- Critic Score
The fact that all the songs segue seamlessly together adds to the intrigue, while at the same time reducing the entire album to a series of hazy soundscapes that mostly come across as a bit of a blur.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 13, 2021
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There is really not much to separate this from the late-period, post-millennial albums that Cohen started churning out to ease financial issues, and those records maintained an imposingly high standard.- American Songwriter
- Posted Nov 18, 2019
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- Critic Score
Plant continues down his remarkably innovative path on the combustible Carry Fire, further expanding an already eclectic, forward-thinking solo career and creating an artistic, often edgy persona largely removed from past glories many younger fans may not even be familiar with.- American Songwriter
- Posted Oct 12, 2017
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- Critic Score
Seven Psalms is certainly an intriguing album, but not necessarily one that will reflect the faith of his followers.- American Songwriter
- Posted May 19, 2023
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Her most diverse work yet, careening from the stark acoustic with sparse drums and bass opening “Grace” to the crashing, grinding grunge guitars of “Wheelbarrow,” the latter an electrifying performance closer to Nirvana than anything in the Americana genre Chambers calls home.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jul 24, 2015
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- American Songwriter
- Posted Jul 23, 2021
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- American Songwriter
- Posted Feb 1, 2012
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- Critic Score
The ten tracks, heavy on ballads that comprise a third of the selections, seemed if not languid, then at least lacking the band’s dangerous edge. A few of Soup’s tracks have become classics. ... “Scarlet” with Jimmy Page sitting in for Keith whips up a funky enough froth, “All the Rage” doesn’t generate a boil, and “Criss Cross” sounds like an adequate Stones cover band. The rest of the extras are hardly remarkable different mixes, demos and instrumental tracks, generally of interest to collectors.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 4, 2020
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- Critic Score
It’s the start of a somewhat short but compelling 10-track, 41-minute ride that rocks hard while remaining firmly in country/roots territory.- American Songwriter
- Posted Apr 27, 2015
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- Critic Score
The fact that there isn’t much variety in the approach is somewhat forgivable at the shorter EP length. boygenius may be a one-off, but there is great potential there for more should they abide, what with their top-notch songwriting and three voices that coexist much more smoothly than the couples depicted in their songs.- American Songwriter
- Posted Nov 20, 2018
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- Critic Score
It’s time to start thinking of Vampire Weekend not as upstarts but as one of the world’s best bands, because they’ve delivered a trio of great albums in an era when diminished expectations leave most listeners grateful for one.- American Songwriter
- Posted May 8, 2013
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- Critic Score
It's meat-and-potatoes blues-rock topped with something sweeter, and it's the most consistent thing these guys have ever cooked up.- American Songwriter
- Posted Dec 5, 2011
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- Critic Score
In its strongest moments--though there are no real weak moments to speak of--Dream River presents a compelling, gorgeous sonic world in which to get blissfully lost.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 11, 2013
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- Critic Score
LaVette is clearly in her element throughout, delivering Bramblett’s words with as much emotion as anyone could squeeze out of them. Producer Jordan supports her with a band of pros that never upstages the star. Call it a win-win for the writer and singer, spotlighting the talents of both, with this thrilling, often electrifying work.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jun 16, 2023
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- Critic Score
One of the most searing, potent and passionate albums you’ll hear this year.- American Songwriter
- Posted Apr 21, 2020
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- Critic Score
This is more than just a stroll down memory lane since the emotions and lost love laments remain timeless, as does the sound of a man who understands his musical strengths and plays to them with class, authority and soul searching intensity.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jun 3, 2014
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- Critic Score
Suffice it to say that unless you simply need to own everything Janis touched, this package is of negligible value. Newcomers will be better served by the 2005 edition with its powerful concert material showing how Joplin and the scrappy Full Tilt reinterpreted her earlier work.- American Songwriter
- Posted May 15, 2012
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- Critic Score
There seems to be a slightly less edgy approach to these ten tracks, some of which could have used a dose of the hyper-caffeinated style TDM3 whip up in front of an audience.- American Songwriter
- Posted Oct 29, 2013
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- Critic Score
His calm, ageless voice is perfect for this material and it’s clear he’s in his element on 13 songs that capture and condense the essence of his Americana blues, soul and country influences.- American Songwriter
- Posted Mar 31, 2015
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- Critic Score
With Leave No Bridge Unburned, they successfully magnify an already impressively established sound and create one of the best and most exciting Americana albums of the year.- American Songwriter
- Posted May 5, 2015
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- Critic Score
Clearly this is a heartfelt, meticulously crafted package for a cult artist who deserves far more acclaim and respect from a wider audience. As a single disc, non-boxed set re-release, it’s everything this classic deserves and a beautifully realized example of how reissues should be done.- American Songwriter
- Posted May 24, 2016
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- Critic Score
He beefs things and takes a full-band approach on Big Bad Luv, which contains almost as many hooks as it does Moreland’s hard-earned kernels of truth.- American Songwriter
- Posted May 5, 2017
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- Critic Score
While this may appear preachy, Mule’s tough, riff-driven attack along with Haynes’ raw, flinty vocals and the synergistic nature of the quartet, which functions as a well-lubed outfit honed through years of live work, keep you focused on the music.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jun 19, 2017
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- Critic Score
Cray has been criticized--rightfully at times--for repeating his distinctive if somewhat staid style for many of his almost 20 studio albums. But this one pushes outside those boundaries. It plays to Cray’s established vocal and guitar strengths while injecting just enough grit and grease to spur him to new heights.- American Songwriter
- Posted Jun 30, 2017
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- Critic Score
The music’s not raw enough to be considered outlaw but it’s melodic, sharply arranged and driven by passion. That balance makes the Turnpike Troubadours both one of Americana’s preeminent purveyors and this album arguably their most accomplished set to date.- American Songwriter
- Posted Dec 22, 2017
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- Critic Score
Their music is unique and instantly identifiable, high praise indeed for brothers that have seemingly become tighter and more focused as their professional liaison has matured.- American Songwriter
- Posted Mar 27, 2018
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- Critic Score
Overall this is, perhaps not surprisingly, a mixed bag with enough impressive, even stirring moments to make it a moderately recommended listen, albeit one that too seldom validates its intent of bringing homespun country grit to the John/Taupin songbook.- American Songwriter
- Posted Apr 6, 2018
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Shemekia Copeland might have been born into the blues, but the riveting America’s Child shows her continuing to push those boundaries, creating music reflecting a larger, wider-ranging tract of Americana.- American Songwriter
- Posted Sep 18, 2018
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This is another tasteful and tasty JJ Cale set, one that comfortably slots in with the rest of his similarly styled catalog. It’s like he never left.- American Songwriter
- Posted May 9, 2019
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It’s an album that both looks backward and forward, reprising the dusky feel of the music that first inspired the Dickinson brothers to start their band while pushing it into electric boogie and even psychedelic directions its founders might not have imagined.- American Songwriter
- Posted Oct 4, 2019
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