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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    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Universal Pulse
    On its 10th studio album, 311 perhaps was aiming for familiarity yet falls short at tepid.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Blown Away
    This is nebulous pop music dressed up in country fringe, zoomed out so far that Underwood never nails anything in particular.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Beginning
    You can probably imagine what it sounds like: minimalist drum machine beats, techno-lifted synth pulses, plinky keyboard hooks, retro-fitted hip-hop callbacks, pitch-shifted vocals, and songs that chain your brain to the furnace and beat you over the head with their cursed affability.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Peter Gabriel Tribute Album: And I'll Scratch Yours
    With other contributions from folks like Bon Iver, Regina Spektor, Randy Newman, and Paul Simon, it’s an interesting, if uneven, experiment but Gabriel fans will likely find versions that scratch their itch.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Joy
    The songs give off good vibes, even when alluding to the missteps that undid guitarist and main writer Trey Anastasio and ultimately his band. That lack of friction is a problem with Phish.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Master of My Make-Believe
    Dazzling moments don't come often enough to make up for flat ones.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    LotusFlow3r
    LotusFlow3r is perhaps the most palatable of the three albums, a guitar-driven collection of rockers and slow jams. There's a lot to like here....Still, they can't save the album from its turkeys.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2
    Her confidence and grit have increased, though that's a double-edged sword. She's become especially reliant on a yowling vibrato that's a terrific fit for the brush-off of "(1-2-3-4-5-6-7) Count the Days" (a special edition bonus track) but doesn't leave much room for vulnerability.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Timbaland Presents Shock Value
    Solid if unspectacular.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Five Ghosts
    Stars may be moving beyond songs like the soothing and dramatic opener "Dead Hearts," but it's not quite clear where they're going.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Oracle
    Though built mainly with recycled material, "The Oracle" has fresh moments, such as the scrappy delivery of "What If?" and the up-tempo snap of "War and Peace."
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Best Damn Thing
    The songs are furiously bouncy and unbelievably vapid.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Forward
    The Brit funk-soul band’s first record in six years is a solid, if uneven, effort that marks a reunion with N’Dea Davenport.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Coco Beware
    Debut album CoCo Beware swirls around just fine, but it's all shapes without edges.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Now Now
    How much Gorillaz fans enjoy The Now Now will depend on why they became fans in the first place. Anyone captivated by Hewlett’s world-building will probably feel a little let down, as will those who fell for their eclectic, big-tent approach to pop. That leaves the Damon Albarn diehards.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Do To the Beast
    The Whigs seem only capable of reclaiming their turf in fits and starts.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Looking into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne
    Unfortunately, the longtime troubadour of existential restlessness and uncertainty gets overly reverential treatments here from Don Henley, Lucinda Williams, and Bonnie Raitt, among many others.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Kiss Land
    Unfortunately, Tesfaye can veer toward the portentous with his youthful, conflicted lyrical vision, which often confuses sex with love.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Strange Desire
    Even the infectious energy of “Rollercoaster” can’t quite overcome a demo-like lack of polish that keeps the songs earthbound even as they reach higher.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Victorious
    Mostly, though, Victorious simply colors within the lines drawn by others, scratching the itch of those already inclined to seek it out.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Thank You
    Trainor continues the self-esteem party on Thank You, and the cracks that were already forming on her debut grow a little wider and deeper on its followup.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Lotus
    There are missteps, including needless Auto-tune and a few of what sound like Rihanna or Katy Perry leftovers. And there are several tracks that sound mindlessly repetitive as sedentary listening experiences but will likely improve with the addition of a dancefloor.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Saturn's Pattern
    With the thunderous blues-rock of “White Sky” (where his voice takes on gospel fervor), the glam momentum of “Long Time,” and the watery vibe of “These City Streets,” he remains defiantly all over the map.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Snakes & Arrows
    "Snakes & Arrows" is several steps ahead of more recent efforts.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cynic's New Year
    While there's a charm to their baroque simplicity, the preponderance of shared elements speaks to the lack of movement in getting from the one to the other.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Fool Metal Jack
    The disc’s more subtle moments are also the sweeter ones, with just enough whimsy to honor the brand and earn this new crop of self-styled mutants their name.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Psychedelic Pill
    Too often bloat tempers the brilliance.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Rabbits on the Run
    Carlton's wheels are finally spinning forward, but they don't gain much traction.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Li(f)e
    Some consider Francis more of a spoken-word artist than a hip-hop MC, and there’s validity to that. When he falters, his cadences flatten out and completely lack rhythm, especially in the songs that are bursts of verbosity. At times, his verse is more provocative than evocative.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sounds from Nowheresville
    The first five tracks stick more or less to the angular post-punk dance-party template....It's on the back half that Nowheresville turns crazily experimental
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