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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    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shadow of a Doubt
    Every song here features cascades of syllables, careful integration of repetition, and narrative momentum.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Way
    This is a euphoric trip to the apocalypse, whether in a dig at social media in “Virtually Real” or a look at daily craziness in “The Way.”
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Seventh Tree
    What keeps Seventh Tree from lapsing into music for looming by is Goldfrapp and Gregory's inventive instrumentation, which harvests the warmth of electronic pop and marries it organically to acoustic instruments.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Cardinal
    Simple and understated, Pinegrove grafts unassuming banjo and pedal-steel textures to classic slacker indie rock, making each moment as engaging as the next.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shadows in the Night
    Far from an indulgent wallow in saccharine nostalgia--and disproving absurd accusations of a quick-buck dip into a fountain of easygoing oldies a la Rod Stewart--the album is lean and subtle
    • 58 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Freedom
    This tuneful, seemingly effortless set of sun-kissed pop reminds you why he's in so much demand.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Short Movie
    She seldom raises her voice in anger or frustration, but imbues her words with emotional heft.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    American Saturday Night
    It's very much a smartly produced album that, while adhering to the blueprint for commercial-radio country music, successfully lassos a loose party vibe.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Nothing Gold Can Stay
    It takes on joy and loss with equal measure, and at its best--'Still Remember Love,' 'Lose Myself'--lands at the intersection of the two.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel
    The album reminds you that those budding superstars can’t beat Carey at her own game.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    I Speak Because I Can
    Marling combines craft, instinct, and emotion for a collection of tunes that showcase a variety of mostly acoustic moods but coalesce into a hushed, beguiling whole.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Wrote a Song for Everyone
    With help from a diverse coterie of peers, fans, and friends, Wrote a Song for Everyone offers fun and fresh takes on well-worn tunes.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994-2014
    A sprawling four-CD set of demos, alternate takes, B-sides, live cuts, promo-only tracks, and other miscellany.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    New View
    Subtle hints at emotional undercurrents enhance the potency of Friedberger’s lyrics.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Already Free
    This album is his best yet with his own band, a potent dose of rock and R&B instead of the lighter jazz and world music of past efforts.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Belong
    The transition is subtle - the reconstituted tracks of Belong remain vehicles for near-perfect pop melodies, gentle self-deprecation, and wistful sentiments
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Weather
    It adds up to an album of left-field soul that's downcast but not at all a bummer.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lady Antebellum
    A rare find in any genre, the entire album holds up from stem to stern as the group deftly gives Nashville what it needs in terms of melody and production polish while mostly sidestepping assembly-line banalities.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Crows
    Covering the likes of Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, and Nina Simone on last year’s “Mockingbird’’ seems to have rubbed off on her. “Crows’’ is a striking album.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Once I Was an Eagle
    You’d be hard-pressed to name another songwriter who sounded so fully formed at such a tender age.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Give My Love to London
    If it is indeed her swan song, it’s a triumphant sendoff that reiterates what a singular figure she has been in rock music. It’s among her broadest work, spanning intimate ballads (“Love More or Less”), apocalyptic art songs (“Late Victorian Holocaust”), and harrowing blues (“True Lies”).
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Fortune
    His latest release, Fortune, weds his marvelous lyrical economy to music that ranges from spare acoustic guitar to a clanging junkyard sound, and proves once again that he’s a ringmaster at turning misery into art.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Gift Of Screws
    Gift of Screws is only his fifth solo record. Perhaps that's why the singer and guitarist (who turns 60 next month) still sounds so vital and passionate, especially on the voluptuous, opening songs 'Great Day' and 'Time Precious Time,' where his luminescent riffs and nimble finger-picking shine.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    1989
    If you didn’t already, it even makes you appreciate Swift’s stealth songwriting, particularly when scaled to its essence.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Silver Age
    [Silver Age is] an album not just reminiscent of but worthy of comparison to his best '90s material.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Seasons of Your Day
    It’s prime Mazzy Star, the work of a band that knows what it does well. And then does it beautifully
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    My Favourite Faded Fantasy
    Rice’s Fantasy, coproduced by Rick Rubin, is often dark and beautiful, featuring dramatic orchestrations, intricate arrangements, and hushed, swooning vocals.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Reason Why
    With the assistance of ace songwriter-producer-multi-instrumentalist Wayne Kirkpatrick "The Reason Why" does what all good records should do: It makes you laugh, cry, hoot, holler, and breaks your heart.
    • 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.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Magic Hour
    Even with such hitmaking producers as Calvin Harris and Diplo on board, Magic Hour is refreshingly out of step with current tastes in pop music.
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