DIY Magazine's Scores

  • Music
For 3,051 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 54% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 42% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 73
Highest review score: 100 Not to Disappear
Lowest review score: 20 Let It Reign
Score distribution:
3051 music reviews
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sitting somewhere between say Beyoncé’s auteur-like use of collaborators on ‘Lemonade’ and how Grimes’ ‘Art Angels’ saw the contrary Canadian flex shimmering, glossy pop nous, ‘Caprisongs’ has twigs throwing out hooks left, right and centre.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Steeped in blissful American nostalgia, Bleachers’ sublime self-titled fourth studio album embodies it all, from the rolling vistas to the warmth of distant city lights, at once watching the world pass by and deeply cemented in a moment. It’s rare for an album to capture a feeling so intensely, promoting a universal recognition through something so intrinsically linked to an individual’s time and place.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Between the excitement of the new on ‘Glasgow Eyes’ and the presence of the more classic, indie rock side of the band on tracks like ‘The Eagles and The Beatles’, the band appear to have tapped into a rich new vein of songwriting form. On this evidence, here’s to the next forty.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    By the album’s end - thanks, in part, to the droning noise and scuffed beats on closer ‘Dream Dollar’ - there’s a definite sense of the walls closing in. Here the distance Kim Gordon has forged, both across the album and throughout her career, is falling away - and the gap between music and art seems smaller than ever.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    An intriguing side project that adds to the pair’s already storied careers.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    There’s a fine line between using a formula and sticking to it, and it’s the smart way in which Sheer Mag do the former that makes ‘Playing Favorites’ so enthralling.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    While it does see Faye and her band at their most musically warm and open - nearly every track is a devastating beauty - lyrically she feels more closed off than ever before.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    ‘Half Divorced’ is a bolshy barrage played out over the course of 12 short, sharp tracks.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The band’s most concise sound yet whilst never taking itself too seriously, as Mannequin Pussy continue to dominate a world of their own creation.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    An album that continues the quartet’s knack for pairing potent socio-political commentary with delicious pop nous.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    ‘Where’s My Utopia?’ is as much a joy intellectually as it is musically, a leap in the right direction from one of our most promising groups of the day.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    ‘Blood, Hair and Eyeballs’ is a level, if somewhat uninteresting, addition to the Alkaline Trio lexicon. Fans will find pockets of the band they fell in love with, while less seasoned followers may be better served diving deeper into the back catalogue instead.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Ghetts secured his place in the conversation around the greatest UK rappers years ago; ‘On Purpose, With Purpose’ sets the bar higher once again.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘Club Shy’ is staple Shygirl, re-packaged, pre-remixed, pre-prepared for the club: a dose of thumping post-midnight trance, a playful extension of self with all the irreverence, at her creative high.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    This solitary endeavour - which she describes as sitting in front of a mirror and staring at herself - results in near-complete reinvention, all while retaining melodic guts and expanding the malleability of her misfit artistry.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Having been better recognised as a key member of Wild Flag and Ex Hex in recent years, Mary Timony’s singular ability as a guitarist and songwriter had been forgotten somewhat; ‘Untame The Tiger’ serves as a stirring reminder of it.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Throughout, Andrew’s eccentric lyricism leans away from the paranoia of ‘MGMT’ and ‘Little Dark Age’ and towards a search for love in the midst of darkness; quietly, he and Ben continue to plough their strange pop furrow with aplomb.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Being aware of the context, it’s not the easiest listen, but it’s extremely rewarding.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    For those to whom Courtney’s songwriting is a soothing balm, there is plenty to like here - but there’s a sense of creative inertia that means it’s a difficult record to truly love.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    This is a sonically rich, musically accomplished record - and it truly is - it’s Holly’s enviably dextrous voice that can’t help but take centre stage. They can belt with the best of them.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It is a dynamic and sensual album, rich with imagery, peppered with romance, and imbued with joy.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    There’s something inherently welcoming in the short, sharp, and lyrically open songs, as Laura looks both inwards and outwards at her identity, her chosen music, and her vices. Each track unfolds with an ease only reserved for somebody with so much skin in the game.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Lime Garden offer a reassuring hand to warm shoulders and a candied melody or ten to sweeten ears. Not only this, but as an album indebted as much to Charli XCX or Bon Iver as it is to The Strokes, as equally comfortable with cello-bowing ballads or auto-tuned pop anthemia as it is with the guitar-chugging banger, it confirms Lime Garden as a band with potential to achieve even higher artistic greatness.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    By the closing moments of the eery ‘Monolith’, it all becomes clear: this is love, but through the unmistakable eyes of IDLES.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Driven by Zara’s unwavering vocals and energetic delivery, ‘Venus’ is icy, crystallised and super fun - “fit for a goddess,” she says - and, aside from being a slight hodgepodge of genres, it’s a lush flex of skill.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘Weird Faith’ sees Diaz defiant, ready to let her guard down again, with the title essentially referring to her faith in love; her work here evokes the gut-wrenching melodies and storytelling prowess of American supergroup boygenius.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Decidedly mature yet still with that same self-aware playfulness, this is undoubtedly his most eclectic offering to date.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sonically sprawling (‘80s guitar sounds are referenced on the title track; a glitchy beat flickers through ‘Another Day’; ‘Power To Undo’ brims with pop-funk chaos) yet also unafraid to find joy in simple pleasures (the most immediate moment comes courtesy of ‘Prove It To You’, a club-ready stomp), ‘WHAT NOW’ is a gem.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain’ is an escapist dream, and immersive story.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Fans will hear echoes of his best work, but for most this is a stale, uninspired outing for the legendary figure.