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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    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lifeline
    It's a beautifully composed disc that Harper fans should love -- and it should also convince boomers, especially, that there's still great new music out there.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Panic Prevention
    A cheeky, delirious romp that's rife with humor and originality, this debut channels the euphoric sound of an underdog finding his voice and gaining his glory.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Places Like This
    This time, the energy is clear from the start, giving tracks like 'Heart It Races' and 'Lazy (Lazy)' the momentum to burst into the sonic equivalent of confetti.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Andorra
    For every track that fails to coalesce, Andorra rolls out two more that hum with a peculiar sort of heart.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mentor Tormentor
    'Cold Cold Heaven,' the 15th--and last and best--track on "Mentor Tormentor is the kind of cozy hymnal Earlimart does best: a wash of strings, the major-key wail.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
    The production creates a Joe Henry feel of gently deconstructionist pop--warm and relaxed even as the instruments occasionally struggle against their leashes--giving the album's best material an extra spin.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Combinations
    For a sophomore effort, Combinations makes for yet another strong debut.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Unglamorous
    Her vivid miniatures of complicated intimacies and everyday inadequacies slip between the cracks of country, folk, and rock, and they're as graceful as they are unflinching.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?
    The results are surprisingly encouraging. Flavor Flav, having been turned by VH1 into even more of a caricature (if possible) than he already was, reminds PE fans that he is still a competent and efficient hypeman, and Chuck D sounds angrier and rawer than he has in years.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Finding Forever
    Finding Forever finds Common at his best lyrically, which means at his most basic, bending beats to fit his deliberate delivery.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Fur & Gold
    Even though Khan's music is not yet as ambitious as [Kate] Bush's best work, it has enough arresting moments and unique beauty to suggest that Khan is an indie songwriter and chanteuse to watch.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Planet Earth
    Somehow these songs don't beg for a repeat listen.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Con
    It's a dark, personal record that holds big promises for the future.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Grand Animals
    Stripping down to a three-piece on the new ‘Grand Animals’ has actually made them more ornate.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Horseshoe Curve
    The Horseshoe Curve offers few surprises.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Paper Walls
    Throughout Paper Walls, band members work themselves into laughable tizzies of teen angst, propelled by Key's capable-but-whiney voice and his bandmates' capable-but-generic uptempo rock.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    An End Has A Start
    The band's sophomore disc, which teems with drama and dark dollops of piano that swarm beautifully around singer-guitarist Tom Smith's clarion-call voice, continues to make good on the hype while again drawing on the past.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Beauty & Crime
    Almost every song is a gem, the lyrics thoughtful and melodies memorable.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Rise To Your Knees
    Rise is a welcome, if uneven, return.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Our Love To Admire
    The foreboding melancholy of "Turn on the Bright Lights" has eroded into a sound that's less idiosyncratic; by design or accident, that broad-brush aesthetic coincides with the band's move from an indie label (Matador) to a major one (Capitol).
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
    From the terrific pulsing opener, "Don't Make Me a Target," to the curt horn and acoustic-guitar stomp of "The Underdog," these wonderfully produced and arranged songs brim with optimism and are pounded out purposefully.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Cross
    Layers of production can obscure the organic--or at least faux-organic--sounds of a ripping performance. That's not the case on the debut full-length album from French house duo Justice, whose complex, dark, and heavily pop-rock-influenced dance tracks span banging disco grooves to instrumental electro-funk space operas to minimalist hip-hop.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Marry Me
    Though her versatility is promising, Clark will be able to compete only when she figures out how to be one very interesting person, instead of five caricatures at once.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Ms. Kelly
    Rowland offers a solid if somewhat safe set of grooves, but the album never takes full flight to become something special.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Easy Tiger
    Gone is the petulant enfant terrible, and with it a certain sparkle and swagger that made a record like "Gold" careen from the speakers.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Build A Nation
    The music? Thrilling as ever.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    At My Age
    The album traverses Ray Charles-like country soul, smoky late-night jazz, lush Western swing, and even a bit of Rockpile-style rockabilly.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Theology
    The acoustic half... overshoots mere serenity and lands in a much sleepier place.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    My December
    "My December" offers an appealing if uneven snapshot of a girl with a big voice and big emotions who's in transition.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Fragile Army
    The new songs are much darker.
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