For 1,599 reviews, this publication has graded:
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62% higher than the average critic
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3% same as the average critic
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35% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.1 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 73
| Highest review score: | Chemtrails Over the Country Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest review score: | The New Game |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1,361 out of 1599
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Mixed: 176 out of 1599
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Negative: 62 out of 1599
1599
music
reviews
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- Critic Score
With imagery haunted by death and lyrical allusions to alienation and angst, Avenged Sevenfold's fifth full-length is almost impossible to appreciate unless you fit the prime demographic: tormented teenage boys.- Los Angeles Times
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Nearly every song overstays its welcome; what may have felt like a bunch of great jams in the studio grows tedious over the course of 12 tracks.- Los Angeles Times
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The singer has no trouble making herself at home in these cuts, but the flimsy material can't quite conceal her hit-hungry desperation. Braxton fares better in the album's slower, more sensual songs.- Los Angeles Times
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Unfortunately, the slick, overproduced headbanger music feels anachronistic and wouldn’t seem out of place on a Korn album. While Cypress Hill remains one of the greatest groups of all time, “Rise Up” mostly flops.- Los Angeles Times
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Imagine Phil Mickelson in a round of putt-putt and you'll get a sense of what's on the line for Beck's first studio album in seven years.- Los Angeles Times
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Team-ups with Ian Astbury ("Ghost"), Chris Cornell ("Promise") and Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale ("By the Sword") produce familiar sparks but die out quickly. And a ballad with Adam Levine of Maroon 5, "Gotten," aims for "November Rain" but ends up pretty soggy.- Los Angeles Times
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As impressively specific as those sonic ideas are, though, Deschanel's songwriting here is less distinctive than it was on "Volume One." Too many of the tracks bleed together in a well-appointed mush of major-minor melodies and hand-me-down lyrics about the inevitability of heartbreak.- Los Angeles Times
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The album is a pointedly minimal production, though -- most tracks are simple guitar-bass-drum affairs with a few tasteful harmonies that put the surprisingly durable hooks up front.- Los Angeles Times
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If the style is intact, though, the songs here seem a bit lackluster; only the relatively jangly "Harmony Around My Table" and the Velvet Underground-ish "Peanuts" (think of O'Hara in Moe Tucker's role) really stand out from the tasteful mid-tempo blur.- Los Angeles Times
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Mudvayne has by and large returned to what it does best (or at least do frequently) on its new self-titled album.- Los Angeles Times
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Many of the same vices that plagued the first installment of "Shock Value" keep the second edition sodden as well: Tim's precise, micromanaged beats usually outshine his random collection of vocal collaborators.- Los Angeles Times
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That spitfire spirit carries over into the most electrifying moments of Just Like You, a batch of tuff-girl tunes for the torn-fishnets set, but too much of it sounds impermanent, like so much Manic Panic rinsing down the drain.- Los Angeles Times
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Boyle is perfectly comfortable singing actual hymns like 'Amazing Grace,' though her take on them is pretty much on a level with any local church's choir star. She's at her worst when she pushes harder; she doesn't know how to build drama, and her throat seems to constrict as she reaches for bigger notes.- Los Angeles Times
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The weird aftertaste of Raditude isn't that Cuomo has so surrendered the oddball charm of his band's first two albums, though. It's that his late-career pursuit of mindless, opulent fun is so transparent that it almost taps a deeper vein of interior sadness than anything on "Pinkerton."- Los Angeles Times
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Play On exhibits a distressing lack of dimension for a singer with Underwood's obvious abilities.- Los Angeles Times
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As a rock star side project, though, Dead by Sunrise has an unlikely fault--it's not nearly indulgent enough.- Los Angeles Times
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The album's polished, middle-of-the-road approach isn't exactly for everyone, but its agreeable heart doesn't hit any sour notes, either.- Los Angeles Times
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The singer cuts loose only as '8th Wonder' winds down, building to the kind of fury that causes one to wonder what this album could've been with less polish and a lot more Ditto, unfiltered.- Los Angeles Times
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- Los Angeles Times
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The 11 new songs, Kiss' first since 1998's "Psycho Circus," hardly deviate from the band's time-proven formula.- Los Angeles Times
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By and large, Shaka Rock is an unmistakable and confident move toward respectability for Jet. But it does make you wonder why it's so rough for a band to be young, dumb and full of bad come-ons.- Los Angeles Times
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Yet for all the sleek settings and the vocal firepower Ledisi deploys, Turn Me Loose doesn't really present an artistic persona any more memorable than the earnest traditionalist from "Lost & Found."- Los Angeles Times
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Gloriana's pop acumen (and virtuoso hair-care abilities) are a sure bet to fill arenas very soon, but they shouldn't forget to toss an occasional 'Landslide' in for the grizzled oldsters out there.- Los Angeles Times
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The album lags in its second half with songs that feel half-baked and are not aided by clever production. Many were penned by Sparks, whose writing abilities are far from hopeless; they simply need more development.- Los Angeles Times
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These days, of course, the documentary vibe of the band's earlier stuff has transformed into an air of escapism -- not for nothing is one track titled "When We Were Young." But that hardly detracts from the crafty throwaway pleasures at which Sugar Ray still excels; in fact, it actually provides a touch of sweetness that helps temper McGrath's innate sleaze factor.- Los Angeles Times
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With only a few exceptions, the material here doesn't live up to his performances, making the music easier to admire than to enjoy.- Los Angeles Times
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Hombre Lobo is much more effective when Everett keeps things one-dimensional, as in 'Tremendous Dynamite,' a deliciously fuzzy blues-punk rave-up in which he describes being "on the prowl for a restless night," and 'Beginner's Luck,' a jubilant ode to the boundlessness of new love.- Los Angeles Times
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It's an impressively focused and clever work. But this music is not transcendent. It's still stuck in Marshall Mathers' muck, his fundamental mistrust of pleasure and love.- Los Angeles Times
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While Rhymes has always been more pop savvy than his peers, his eighth studio album feels compartmentalized at the expense of cohesion and clarity.- Los Angeles Times
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The 16 songs vary in tone, from grease-and-nicotine-stained jams to spit-shined ballads, but too little of it is adroit enough in construction or execution to stick in the craw.- Los Angeles Times
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There's no denying that, three albums in, the winning novelty of Art Brut's tightly defined project is beginning to wear off.- Los Angeles Times
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Jigsaw tries to find common ground in a now-ubiquitous strain of electro-flavored club rap. It's sonically a good fit for her nimble and still undeniable flow, but the wheels come off whenever Sov's newfound earnestness undermines her insouciant appeal.- Los Angeles Times
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- Los Angeles Times
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All that star power can leave little room in these futuristic R&B songs for Hilson, whose sturdy but unremarkable voice rarely transcends its role as a melody-delivery device.- Los Angeles Times
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Its latest album, Love Hate and Then There's You, is a stereotypical dilution of the Stooges/MC5 canon, there are a few unexpectedly tight tunes that hit as hard as, well, a sock in the eye.- Los Angeles Times
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Trouble is, there's never been an ounce of menace in his boy-next-door vocals, so there's a credibility gap in those performances, no matter how catchy they are.- Los Angeles Times
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Intuition presents a sampler of contemporary R&B styles from producers including Timbaland, Just Blaze, Butter Beats and Calvo Da Gr8, giving the collection a disjointed air.- Los Angeles Times
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The cartoonish sound compensates for Spears' lack of range and lung power by allowing her to ham it up.- Los Angeles Times
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Between this and the first "Alone" installment, there's enough gristle for the third-best Weezer album as yet unmade. Cuomo's Patron problems are beatable--it's the "Pork & Beans" that's really derailed him lately.- Los Angeles Times
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The addition of superstar producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange to the mix ensures that everything here is as radio friendly and mainstream minded as heavy guitar rock gets.- Los Angeles Times
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One just wishes the band did it with a bit more grace and inventiveness than on Appeal to Reason, where straight-outta-the Nation song titles like 'Collapse (Post-Amerika)' and 'Re-education (Through Labor)' disguise some pretty conservative ideas about how modern mainstream punk should sound.- Los Angeles Times
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Even in the heavier material on Black Butterfly these guys make more room for melody than they ever have before.- Los Angeles Times
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More often than not, though, Nas offers windy whines instead of innovative ideas.- Los Angeles Times
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Although her songs occasionally feature the alto piano of Apple or the otherworldly trilling of Morissette or Björk, her voice can sound thin and inconsistent, giving the whole thing a somewhat derivative feel.- Los Angeles Times
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The ho-hum tunes on Forgiven won't flip your wig, but the playing-- particularly in the three cuts featuring Dr. John on the keys--oozes bone-deep feeling throughout.- Los Angeles Times
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E=MC2 is a little better--the songwriting is more consistent, the feel a bit more natural--but it too lacks a ruling temperament or artistic vision.- Los Angeles Times
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Other than the album's highlight, the resonant break-up song "Still Missin'," Mail on Sunday rarely delivers.- Los Angeles Times
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The sounds are largely tepid arrangements that fail to generate much excitement.- Los Angeles Times
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Freeway's penchant for ham-handed hooks and emotionally flat attempts at introspection ('I Cry') and romance ('Take It to the Top') reveal, over the course of these 14 songs, an ultimate two-dimensionality.- Los Angeles Times
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Toning down the sonic drama creates an appealing intimacy, but an hour's worth of blues- and folk-flavored ballads becomes monotonous.- Los Angeles Times
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It doesn't have the kind of force and power that would show the kids how it should be done.- Los Angeles Times
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It certainly weaves a wide range of up-to-the-second pop styles into the mix: throwback '70s funkiness, dance music's two-step and drum 'n' bass, new-wave soul.... Still, he is no Prince.- Los Angeles Times
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It may not be fair to rag on the group for picking the wrong decade to rip off, but right now Kasabian's allegiance to the '90s sounds especially uninspired.- Los Angeles Times
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The problem is the Duchess herself. Fergie exudes earthy charm, but can't keep up with the breakneck music. She forces emotion on the slower show-stoppers, and she's all cartoon kitten on the come-ons. [17 Sep 2006]- Los Angeles Times
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A sense that his musical vision hasn't stalled in 1978 might add some urgency. Some kind of retooling might also help with his larger problem: trying to do the same job with old equipment. [11 Sep 2006]- Los Angeles Times
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"Idlewild" leaves the ears longing for something. Coherence, basically. There's no sustaining mood, no clear message, only Benjamin and Patton's efforts to outdo whatever they came up with last.- Los Angeles Times
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Instead of finding a different voice as a writer and producer of original material, Oakenfold seems trapped by dance-music genre conventions. [28 May 2006]- Los Angeles Times
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Hoobastank's newest album has more of the same, mingled with some energetic, inoffensive, mostly forgettable harder rocking tunes. [16 May 2006]- Los Angeles Times
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The challenge in coming back for Round 2 was to make it more than a one-note joke, but the Darkness remains in its Spinal Tap mode for most of "One Way Ticket." [6 Dec 2005]- Los Angeles Times
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There might be a compelling story in there, but when the Furnaces' songs come in to elaborate on her tales... it's all but impossible to figure out what's going on. [6 Nov 2005]- Los Angeles Times
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[His] mature eroticism is undone by overwrought production, eventually drowning every track in layers of instrumentation, vocals and other sonic drama. [31 Jul 2005]- Los Angeles Times
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Her sadly depleted voice is again propped up by multi-tracking, and the occasional dog-deafening shriek hardly proves she's recaptured her early acrobatic power. [10 Apr 2005]- Los Angeles Times
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Once you get past the surface attractions, Sam Endicott's arch singing and rock-rebel posturing are forced, and his production is as stiff as the mechanical discoid rhythms. [24 Apr 2005]- Los Angeles Times
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Oddly, the production in most songs allows lots of open sonic space that reinforces the wispiness of her voice, which rarely ventures out of a mid-range comfort zone. Beyoncé she ain't, much less Alicia. [27 Feb 2005]- Los Angeles Times
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Each shimmering track lights a momentary spark, but the attraction proves fleeting. [6 Feb 2005]- Los Angeles Times
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Not surprisingly, the music is heavy on acoustic guitars and steel drums, light on powerhouse percussion, making for a musical tour as relaxing as a ride in a hammock strung between two palm trees. And about as uneventful. [23 Jan 2005]- Los Angeles Times
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It's all very fun and creative, but, ironically, the duo fall into the common hip-hop traps of being short on actual hooks and not knowing when to edit themselves. [15 Dec 2004]- Los Angeles Times
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At a time when newer acts, from fringe to mainstream, are moving the band's old ideas forward, Duran Duran needs to do more than just mix in the blips and bleeps of contemporary dance music to prove it has something to contribute. [31 Oct 2004]- Los Angeles Times
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It's like a series of beats in search of a firestarter. [3 Oct 2004]- Los Angeles Times
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McGraw's album leans heavily on the soap opera-ish tales that have brought him his biggest successes. [5 Sep 2004]- Los Angeles Times
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The Roots have always been more about the music than the lyrics, but "Tipping Point" excels at neither. [11 Jul 2004]- Los Angeles Times
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She's sounding as genre-bound in her way as the synthetic singers she was supposed to be a relief from.- Los Angeles Times
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There's a sense of urgency when he is inspired by the production backing him, but when the beats coast along without much flair, Method Man does the same.- Los Angeles Times
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Ultimately, all his genre-grazing makes him seem slippery rather than adventurous.- Los Angeles Times
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There are exceptions, but most of "Talkie Walkie" is static and not fleshed out, like a perfectly produced series of unfinished demos.- Los Angeles Times
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