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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    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Rave On Buddy Holly
    The performances range wildly in ambition, from straight-forward readings (Justin Townes Earle's "Maybe Baby") to spooky reinventions (Julian Casablancas' electro-shock "Rave On").
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Ivy Tripp
    Crutchfield keeps her songs concise, and weaves in subtle forget-me-nots.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Morning Phase
    Beck’s blend of acoustic instruments, twinkling percussion and wordless vocal harmonies feels weightless, evanescent, sometimes lovely. But when David Campbell’s strings make themselves heard, Morning Phase becomes something more than just a sequel to Beck’s best album.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Drunk
    Each of his solo albums reflects that musical range, and Drunk (Brainfeeder) crams 23 songs and snippets into 51 minutes that evoke the sumptuous jazz-infused R&B of the '70s, filtered through catchy melodies, undergirded by virtuoso musicianship and salted with conflicting emotions.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Living Proof
    Amid the album's stolid, sometimes plodding traditionalism, Guy's shrapnel-tossing tone brings some much-needed tension and surprise.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Mirror Traffic
    He may mock his lack of motivation and energy, but on Mirror Traffic, Malkmus sounds more focused than he has in years.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Skull Worship
    It’s the sound of the Warlocks finally burning out on the most inward-looking album of the band’s career.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    World Painted Blood
    Slayer has remained unrelentingly true to its origins. The innovations no longer arrive with each album, but the quartet is playing at a high level, and Greg Fidelman’s production captures that sound with thrilling, their-fist-your-face immediacy.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
    It's a voice built for drama, and on this album its emotional range has never been wider.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Mental Illness
    This is a solid addition to Mann's estimable discography, the kind of record that sets a mood and sustains it for 39 craftsmanlike minutes.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Tree of Forgiveness
    This is the kind of record that preschoolers would find catchy enough to sing along with, accompanied by their grandparents. And yet, the wry, trippy humor and image-rich wordplay often feel futuristic, in the way they conflate time and space, sometimes wondrously, sometimes darkly.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Go-Go Boots
    Patterson Hood's plaintive growl couldn't suit his songs better, and Mike Cooley adds a plainspoken twang.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Freedom
    He's a master of weaving his overdubbed vocals into rapturous gospel heights, as on "Flesh," and his cry of "Should've known better" amid the heartbreak of "Leaves" resonates long after the track is finished.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Researching the Blues
    The band doesn't break much ground--if you loved their '90s albums, chances are you'll appreciate this one. But maturity has its own rewards.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Long Live the Angels
    Subtlety isn't a typical pop virtue, but it suits Sande.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Norman Fucking Rockwell!
    Things inevitably drift, but beneath the surface in the best songs there is a toughness and a newfound resilience.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Live in London
    Beneath the energetic exterior, a steely resolve informs the songs.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Little Broken Hearts
    Not everything works. The closing "All a Dream" is a six-minute drag back to sleepy-time Norah. But mostly, Jones plays her part in this career left-turn with chilled and sometimes chilling resolve.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Highwomen
    The voices and the hooks can’t easily be denied, and Shires injects some playful sassiness on “Don’t Call Me.” But the potential for what could’ve been a harder-hitting roadhouse-style album largely goes unrealized.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Wildflower
    Daydreams don't get much more vivid than the Avalanches iconic debut album, but Wildflower is a worthy--if not quite as revelatory--sequel.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Unseen In Between
    At times in the past, Gunn’s songs felt like they were skimming the surface of multiple genres. On The Unseen in Between, the guitarist more fully submerges himself--and by extension, his listeners--in his most personal songs yet.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Mountain Will Fall
    Shadow's beats programming remains formidable, as he steers clear of standard bangers in favor of something far more difficult to pin down. This isn't an album built for dancing. It's more about its rhythmic intricacy, a master class for connoisseurs of nuanced production.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar
    The band's debut studio album is more Lullaby than ceaseless roar. As such, it leaves more room for Plant to explore the next time he gets together with this formidable crew.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Wild! Wild! Wild!
    Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Fulks wrote the bulk of the songs, sang, played guitar and banjo and produced, all in service to Lewis, who sounds as if she’s having a blast.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Villains
    An album that makes a virtue of its uneasiness, its unwillingness to settle down. Homme turns his restlessness into a virtue.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Whole Love
    As a sheer sound experience, The Whole Love is rewarding, a tapestry of tiny details that invites close listening.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Jade Bird
    With relatively strain-free production that sprinkles orchestral textures across folk-rock arrangements, Bird also shows an affinity for lifting the emotional temperature at lower volume levels.
    • 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.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Plastic Beach
    The result is an album that is slightly less immediate--the instant appeal of a hit such as “Clint Eastwood” or “Feel Good Inc.” is lacking. Bobby Womack’s strident vocal on “Stylo” is a rare burst of exuberance, but much of the rest exudes a chilled charm.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    ...Like Clockwork
    ...Like Clockwork is the best and most focused Queens album since “Songs for the Deaf” in 2002.
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