L.A. Weekly's Scores

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For 70 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 64% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 34% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.5 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 71
Highest review score: 90 Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)
Lowest review score: 10 Bridge
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 70
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 70
  3. Negative: 6 out of 70
70 music reviews
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    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Faith and Courage
    You yearn for raw guitars, gritty beats or at least a broader dynamic range.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Golden State
    Sadly, nothing about the unspectacular Golden State will save them from the Where Are They Now? file.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Fragments of Freedom
    Despite having gotten a bit too caught up in imitation rather than innovation, the trio have succeeded in making an album that's accessible without compromising their artistry.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    I'm Lonely (And I Love It) [EP]
    The music?s the problem. Given a typically goofy, urbane Merritt turn of phrase like ?You can find your own messiah/in the pit of a papaya,? Ewen crafts the most predictable and robotic of faux-techno settings. There are mildly bumping drums and sequencers, but no Hawaii, no magic and, most fatally of all, no melody.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Killing Puritans
    With the exception of only a handful of moments -- most of which are more interesting in theory than in execution -- it's a very bad album, both in its politics and its sound.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Under Rug Swept
    Under Rug Swept is Alanis Morissette in top form, exercising her God-given right to vent and sound beautiful doing so.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Music Kills Me
    It’s on the more open instrumental jam sessions -- "Dead Can Dance"'s pseudo-bossa tempos and especially the bluesy twang of "Highway to Heaven" -- that they distinguish themselves as live players eagerly retrofitting rock/dance hybrids.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Malpractice
    Redman comes up frustratingly short on thrills with an indulgent, complacent effort that takes you on a loooooong road to nowhere.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 10 Critic Score
    Bridge
    The real crime is that these guys are good musicians who happen to have horrible taste.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Crown Royal
    It’s not just that Crown Royal is a mediocre album; it’s how it manages that feat. Run-DMC, former trendsetters, now seem to be chasing after every pop fad in the book, including the ones they helped start.
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