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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    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Icky Thump
    It's fantastic.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Lost Highway
    The band does little more than take the easiest trappings of country and plug them in.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    In Camera
    The Seattle boy-girl duo of Grant Olsen and Sonya Westcott fashions narcotic, melancholy pop songs that would make the band's influences proud (Neil Young and the Velvet Underground in its quieter moments chief among them).
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Era Vulgaris
    Somehow, it all works together, from the psychedelic guitar warble to the bits of prog to the almost country-style harmonies.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Memory Almost Full
    This collection is filled with half-baked ideas and shallow reminiscences, a pair of dated rockers, and one meditation on mortality that manages to be maudlin and bubble-headed at the same time. It smacks of Wings at its goofiest.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Eat Me, Drink Me
    It's not his best effort, but it's the perfect mood setter for your midnight absinthe and auto-erotic asphyxiation party.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Good Girl Gone Bad
    What the songs lack in lyrical innovation they more than make up for in transporting rhythms.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sweet Warrior
    With nothing particularly unusual to recommend, non-fans will miss out on yet another in a long string of superb collections.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Sun And The Moon
    This easily ranks among the top rock records of the year.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    It Won't Be Soon Before Long
    The tunes... are uniformly strong, and the playing and production neatly manicured, if a bit dense in places. But the lyrics are spotty at best.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Light At The End Of The World
    A batch of keyboard-driven dance tunes that could easily have been recorded in the early 1990s -- and for fans, that's good news.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Release The Stars
    It's an ornate, dizzying affair, where all his interests and talents collide in one brazen gesture. It's impressive in scope, but where does that leave the listener? Possibly with a headache.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sky Blue Sky
    Wilco hasn't forsaken its experimental streak, and the group uses it in the service of darkness -- or rather the threat of darkness.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Minutes To Midnight
    We've heard a lot of this despair before.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    One Of The Boys
    A pleasant-enough escapist soundtrack for the summer.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Volta
    "Volta," much like "Medulla," is an appealing series of collaborations and musical ideas that do not quite jell in their final, recorded versions.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Everybody
    They take prime garage rock and global beats from past works and flirtatiously commingle them to craft a gossamer rock - steady creation.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    New Moon
    Far from a compilation of rough mixes and rejects, any of the songs on this disc -- as spare in sound as they are elegant in form -- would have fit beautifully on a mid-'90s Elliott Smith album.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Human The Death Dance
    He's still one of the most enjoyable lyricists in hip-hop, and he successfully communicates what he's feeling in a dark and enlightening fashion.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Strength & Loyalty
    Together, they have their tricky, intricate flow intact, and the songs are supremely melodic, sharply arranged to remind you of how tuneful and infectious hip-hop can be.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Magic Position
    Rarely has spilling one's heart been such a colorful affair.
    • 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
    Beyond
    Amazingly, "Beyond" picks up where 1988's "Bug" left off, with only slightly more streamlined polish but with the old love of volume and excess still sweetly intact.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Reminder
    "The Reminder" features Feist free from the polished confines of her previous effort. Instead, she opts for a more organic approach punctuated by subtle electronic elements, soulful vocal harmonies, and glam-rock guitar riffs.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Because Of You
    A sexy and sweet sophomore release that’s got more love flowing from it than an ‘‘Oprah’’ audience on ‘‘My Favorite Things’’ day.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Snakes & Arrows
    "Snakes & Arrows" is several steps ahead of more recent efforts.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    5:55
    These gauzy songs are an ideal fit for Gainsbourg's dreamy, impossibly light voice.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Twelve
    Captivating.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Favourite Worst Nightmare
    Forget about the dreaded decline. Arctic Monkeys have moved from their alarmingly evolved infancy into rock toddlerhood with glibness, swagger, and whip-smart songs intact.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Dumb Luck
    Everyone seems tired on this album: The songs meander, and the guest singers (including Conor Oberst) speak or moan lyrics they don't seem to care about.
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