Boston Globe's Scores

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For 2,093 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 66% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 31% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.6 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 72
Highest review score: 100 City of Refuge
Lowest review score: 10 Lulu
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,670 out of 2093
  2. Mixed: 412 out of 2093
  3. Negative: 11 out of 2093
2093 music reviews
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    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Courage Of Others
    Or, more contemporaneously, you could say fans of fellow retro beard-rockers Fleet Foxes will find much to appreciate here. Radiohead fans, likewise, will relish “Bring Down,’’ a virtual rewrite of “Exit Music.’’ Everyone else will simply think it’s pretty.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    What We Say in Private
    With graceful lyricism and intense instrumental juxtaposition, Levy manages to surprise listeners only two tracks in. ... It’s a showcase of Levy allowing herself to feel and explore as many emotions as she can, no matter how they manifest.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Wake Up!
    In the end, even if it's only a brief aside, both the Roots and Legend expand through experimentation.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Heart Speaks in Whispers
    Six years later she returns healed, exuding hope and whimsy on her often wondrous new record.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Cheek to Cheek
    Their respective styles are occasionally at odds, but to amusing effect.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Pinkprint
    It is not an instant classic, but it is the work that fans who admire Nicki Minaj the rapper, this critic included, have been waiting for her to make.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lisbon
    Lisbon is the New York quintet's sixth album, and it hinges on a precision that wasn't there previously.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Exclusive
    If there was ever a record created to turn a pop singer into a star, it's Brown's sophomore effort.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Blunderbuss
    The album is brimming with fabulously skewed turns of phrase that make sense from different angles, as White's protagonists wrestle with what it means to be alternately besotted and gutted.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    One Lost Day
    This new album, their first in four years, is a fine return to form, Emily Saliers and Amy Ray trading lead vocals and reclaiming their pristine harmonies without much fanfare.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Bad Plus Joshua Redman
    The knotty, gleaming structures often have hooky pop appeal (bassist Reid Anderson’s “Dirty Blonde,”), and the band can deliver an affecting ballad with brushes.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Electric Lady
    She’s the star of her own movie--and that’s very much what this album feels like--and she’s in charge.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Edge of the Sun
    Edge of the Sun, the band’s new album on Anti-, is no less adventurous, but it feels curated in a way that sets it apart from previous releases.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Tribal
    This album debuted at No. 1 in her native Ireland, and it has the muscle to catch on here.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Hold On!
    Hunter keeps on doing what he does, and on Hold On! he’s doing it as well as he ever has.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Crying Light
    This deeply introspective album is vast in scope while retaining the intimacy of a concert-hall recital.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Holy Ghost
    Whereas second LP “You’re Gonna Miss It All” delivered Facebook rants from a self-pitying underclassman, Holy Ghost is the hard-charging graduation speech.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dark Red
    Young, sexy, and chic, Dark Red is an album that undeniably is made for this moment, blurring the lines among past, present, and future in a way that could appeal to both EDM neophytes and history-obsessed nerds.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Arc Iris
    Arc Iris puts Adams through the paces, as a composer of mercurial melodies, a nimble singer, and a force to be reckoned with.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shangri-La
    If dance is the religion YACHT's preaching this summer, consider us converted.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Troubadour
    Troubadour, the Somali-born artist's follow-up to his great debut, is a smart fusion of influences.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Yours, Dreamily
    Coproduced and primarily co-written by Auerbach and Michels, Yours, Dreamily satisfyingly careers from gauzy, reverb-soaked late-night soundscapes to raucous, fuzzy freak-outs.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bottle It In
    More than just another tapestry of gorgeous guitar-scapes to get lost in, it’s the fullest portrait yet of the human behind that Cheshire Cat grin.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    American Doll Posse
    Grand conceit aside, "American Doll Posse" is a great art-pop album.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    100 Days, 100 Nights
    The crowning achievement, though, comes with a fantastic slice of raw Southern soul, 'Humble Me,' that sounds like it came straight out of Muscle Shoals circa 1969.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Gloaming
    Appropriately, each track on the debut from this masterful quintet of Irish and American musicians feels like a freshly flipped spade of sod--its ripe turf’s most ancient facets made new just by touching air.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    7/27
    The group’s power has always come from its Spice Girls-like ability to form a massive unit of self-actualization, and the peppy 7/27 has no shortage of that, both lyrically and musically.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Luck In The Valley
    This collection of 10 instrumentals, recorded live with no overdubs along with a trusted crew of accompanists, captures the late Rose’s limber, relaxed guitar style, and the charm of his low-key songs.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Book of Souls
    The Book of Souls is a triumph, packed with instantly memorable songs and riffs, vocal heroics, triple-guitar fireworks, and vital, committed performances.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Blak and Blu
    Blak and Blu pays off; it's not a perfect album, but it is bold and exciting.
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