New Musical Express (NME)'s Scores

  • Music
For 5,975 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 55% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 41% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 Post Pop Depression
Lowest review score: 0 Maroon
Score distribution:
5975 music reviews
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Musgraves’ assertiveness feels like a real glimmer of light amid the sparse compositions that run through this thoughtful, imperfect, down-to-earth record.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Clocking in at a slither under 77 minutes, ‘Everything I Thought It Was’ is a slog enlivened by some surprising moments.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Playful and sincere, mature but childlike, featherlight and occasionally heavy, this assured record sees Whack pull off a Jenga-like balancing act.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It’s the most sophisticated project yet from a preternaturally talented vocalist who keeps getting better. Whatever you take away from it, ‘Eternal Sunshine’ definitely isn’t an album you’ll want to wipe from memory.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Not all of these experiments quite come off: the industrial clang of ‘It’s Dark Inside’, on which she drawls, “they don’t teach clit in school / Like do Lit”, veers close to ‘Yeezus’ parody. It’s notable, though, how contemporary her distorted art-punk sounds.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Lana Del Rey-featuring ‘Alma Mater’ is another prime example of the Bleachers genius, ‘Tiny Moves’’ glistening undercurrent sounds like a sprinkle of magic, and ‘Jesus Is Dead’’s whispered indie rock assessment of New York micro-scenes and life in a band is pure gold. In those moments – a large chunk of this album – any hint of fatigue is blasted away, Antonoff’s presence a welcome one once again.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Where’s My Utopia?’ marks an outlandish yet assertive second chapter for Yard Act, going toe-to-toe with the peculiar world that we find ourselves in.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Obviously this isn’t a ‘Definitely Maybe’ or ‘The Stone Roses’ – no-one could touch those hook-laden masterpieces. As a triumph of style and mood, though, ‘Liam Gallagher John Squire’ is well worthy of their enduring legacies.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    This record is the perfect display of how to make grown rap music without soiling a legacy that has taken decades to build. If this evolution continues, Ghetts may finally produce the classic album that has escaped him thus far.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A career-best statement of Shah’s songwriting prowess, where inner struggles are rendered with maturity and relatability, supercharged by a fearless, expansive sonic palette.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘Loss of Life’ is imbued with just enough sweetness that by the time it reaches its overarching message – “nothing prepares you for loss of life” – it doesn’t just make you want to prepare yourself, it makes you excited to do so.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Crawlers reaffirm their place as one of the young guiding lights in British guitar music.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Witty and sardonic, Lime Garden’s lyrics would feel at home on any great sprechgesang record: “Tried to get surgery to see her how you see,” they sing on the latter. Yet the band’s exuberant sound marks them as their own distinct entity; entirely within their own league.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘TANGK’ is an adventure into pastures new. Talbot is keen to put arm’s length at the material that exorcises his past traumas and battles with addiction and general frustration at the modern malaise. Now’s a time of appreciation and restraint.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    ‘Vultures 1’ might not be the total dud that could put Kanye’s career six feet under, but it is far from one of his best efforts either. It’s more cohesive than ‘Donda’ – although that’s not hard, given it’s about half its length – and includes some well-curated guest spots from Travis Scott, Playboi Carti and India Love.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    On ‘What Happened To The Beach?’, perfectionism is released to make space to revel in creativity, resulting in a truly joyful effort.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Everything from psych-jazz, electro-funk, soulful house and the occasional rocker gets a look in here. In lesser hands it’s a right old mess, but not in Howard’s.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Fantastic songs that are easy to embrace and return to.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Some other stylistic choices prevent ‘New Last Name’ from being the disruptive moment it clearly wants to be – ‘Flex’ and its nod to ‘Mr Brightside’ (“now she’s calling a cab”), doesn’t quite land – but the album’s overall vibrancy doesn’t dim on repeated listens.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    While NewDad might not be as structurally inventive as the power-pop-indebted Hotline TNT or as heavy as the nu-gaze-leaning Fleshwater, they are perhaps more streamlined and together, which counts for plenty. ‘Madra’ is the sound of a band who have reckoned with where they come from and used it to map out where they’re going.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    There’s no question that Herring still writes songs capable of evoking strong emotions, but this time around they can occasionally feel too twinkly and repetitive. What’s missing is some risk-taking; unpredictable production flourishes that could better reflect the overall mood of the album and all the ambiguities that accompany a major life change.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Where previously the comparisons to their Radiohead catalogue could warp expectations, the breadth of the material on offer here suggest that it could, eventually, flip that dynamic right on its head.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It emboldens its listener to feel power in confronting the uncomfortable feelings, and encourages them to absorb every emotion along the journey. It is a shining glimmer of hope in a room full of sorrow, and another string to their ever-growing bow.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    We’ve been overdue an election-year statement record from the trio, and ‘Saviors’ gives it a good crack. .... Of course, the record is a good romp too.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Though the romantic elements of ‘Discount De Kooning (Last Man Standing)’ are nice enough, it fails to penetrate in any meaningful way. As the record meanders on, tracks such as ‘The Dreamer’ and ‘Anonymous In Los Feliz’ fail to leave a lasting impression. That’s not to say it doesn’t work. It might not offer anything new, but it doesn’t necessarily need to.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Through her boundless ‘Orquídeas’ albums, Uchis blossoms into a fearless pop ambassador at the forefront of breaking down the divide between music in English and Spanish.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    He might not be the steeliest careerist, but the lad from the Wirral has clearly thrown everything at this masterful record.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The result is an excellent follow-up to the breakthrough that was ‘Any Human Friend’. Hackman raises the stakes in her music in a way that feels natural; it is conceptually bigger and more creatively mature, while the songcraft makes this transition feel earned.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    This is a dynamic album that is reflective of the muddled world we find ourselves in – delivered with a fortifying sense of honesty from an essential emerging band.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    McRae is evidently still wrestling with her ambitions. ‘Think Later’, however, contains enough intrigue to suggest that this is the work of an artist finally honing their identity, dancing and sparkling all the way.