Chicago Tribune's Scores

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For 566 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 51% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 46% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 73
Highest review score: 100 I Like to Keep Myself in Pain
Lowest review score: 25 Graffiti
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 456 out of 566
  2. Mixed: 97 out of 566
  3. Negative: 13 out of 566
566 music reviews
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    • 77 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Food
    Just as eating well should be a sensual experience, this album layers its flavors.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Redemption
    A few songs fail to blossom beyond an initial intriguing burst of color. But the album's ambitions reward long-haul, continuous listening.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    The Truth About Love
    It's not the left-field pop classic she seems capable of one day creating, but it also contains a handful of tracks that laser in on exactly what she does best.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Everything Will Be Alright in the End
    Everything will likely add a few tunes to the pile of singalongs, but likely won't change anyone's mind about what the band's greatest albums still are.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    El Pintor
    Interpol has never wallowed in happiness, but yet the songs sound not only splendid but strangely triumphant.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Rose Mountain
    It's likely that guitar-rock fans who have never heard Screaming Females before will find this a solid introduction to a great band. Here's hoping they are intrigued enough to discover the richer rewards to be found in the trio's back catalog.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Unsound
    With Unsound, Conley, Miller and Prescott have now made four good to great albums since returning from a two-decade hiatus.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Destroyer Of The Void
    Things get more interesting when the band loosens up a bit on the multi-part title track; layered harmonies, elegant harpsichord and celestial synthesizers give way to a flamboyant mid-section with some unusually strident, glam-rock guitar.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Street Songs of Love
    What makes it work is the sheer exuberance of the performances, the roar coming from the speakers. This is an album about the heart, but it hits below the belt--it wants to make you move.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Unfinished Business
    She connects much more deeply with the country lament "Am I Even a Memory?," a duet with Earle. Her interpretation affirms that even at 74, she's still much more than that.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Depression Cherry
    Many of the songs address the notion of transition and change, of leaving one part of life behind and moving into another, and Depression Cherry sounds like the work of a tentative band working through its own transition, unsure of its next move.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Imani, Vol. 1
    The tracks brim with sing-along choruses, strutting horns and bright melodies that evoke the heyday of Philly soul, the mystic optimism of Earth Wind & Fire and the "Car Wash" soundtrack.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Arrow
    Arrow sounds like the work of a top-tier singer who also is developing into a formidable songwriter.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO
    It’s slower, dreamier, with songs that prize atmosphere above immediacy.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Boys & Girls
    The rough-hewn production wouldn't pass muster on a major-label budget: amplifiers audibly hum, voices crack with emotion, a few bum notes crop up here and there. But this band is terrific all the same.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Songs Cycled
    There’s nothing musty about his arrangements, a sharp melding of pop melody and new-classical harmonics. Parks also brings a wry and pointed flair for political and social commentary.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Circuital
    Though My Morning Jacket has been one of the most consistently brilliant live bands of the last decade, its studio albums remain hit-and-miss. Circuital is no exception.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Nick Waterhouse
    Nick Waterhouse (Innovative Leisure) occasionally comes off as a little too clean and polite. But when he loosens his tie a bit, Waterhouse brings a spark to his songs that transcends era and genre.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Big Station
    Escovedo's growing confidence as a band leader and especially as a vocalist has never been more apparent.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Gossamer
    The onetime bedroom artist now makes first-rate pop anthems, gleaming rocketships of sound that wouldn't sound out of place on the radio next to Rihanna or Nicki Minaj. The tone might seem out of step with the lyrics, but it speaks to a certain resilience.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Juice B Crypts
    Though Battles might be viewed from a distance as a potentially daunting listen, “Juice B Crypts” provides multi-faceted kicks, whether on the dance floor, through the headphones, or riding, screaming with joy, on a rollercoaster.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Watch the Throne
    In many ways, West and Jay-Z are saying something similar on their new album. But their approach is not to shine a spotlight on their community. Instead, they urge listeners to "watch the throne," and gaze in awe on their good fortune.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    21
    It's best to focus on the sheer sonic splendor of Adele's voice set against some dramatic arrangements, especially the rumbling regret of Rolling in the Deep and the piano-based melancholy of Turning Tables.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Amok
    As technical achievement, Amok is an amazing album in many ways. As a collection of songs, it’s as slippery as its rhythms.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Blood Pressures
    On Blood Pressures, the fourth studio album from singer Alison Mosshart and guitarist Jamie Hince, the duo adds a few twists to the formula.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Everyday Robots
    The album's attempts at shaking up the down-tempo, down-hearted mood fall short.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    Heaven Is Whenever
    It adds up to another transitional effort rather than a major statement.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Them Crooked Vultures
    Nasty riffs and sticky melodies are everywhere, buttered over by the androgynous harmonies that have made Homme a hard-rock anti-hero, but verse-chorus arrangements hold little interest. Instead, there are fascinating digressions, packed with surprises.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Traveling Kind
    There are few surprises, but these two enduring artists have a sure grasp of their strengths, and they sound rejuvenated in each other's presence.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    25
    She sprinkles just enough specifics amid the cliches to identify the songs as her story, rather than a cut-and-paste factory job assembled by a committee of songwriters. But the music itself sticks to a formula centered on piano ballads and churchy hymns.
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