New Musical Express (NME)'s Scores
- Music
For 6,004 reviews, this publication has graded:
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55% higher than the average critic
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4% same as the average critic
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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: | to hell with it [Mixtape] | |
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Lowest review score: | Maroon |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 4,226 out of 6004
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Mixed: 1,625 out of 6004
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Negative: 153 out of 6004
6004
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
Ultimately this record lacks the genuinely interesting shifts that have punctuated Swift’s career so far, from the lyrical excellence on her superior breakup album ‘Red’ to ‘1989’’s pivot to high-octane pop.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Apr 18, 2024
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‘I’m Doing It Again Baby!’ is a fine album; it’s fun and sweet, if a little bland. It’s a pristine pop record that takes few risks and leaves little room for error – though it might be more interesting if it did.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Apr 15, 2024
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Gray’s newfound penchant for ’80s pop doesn’t come with a notion of irony – he’s fully embracing even the era’s most ostentatious elements. But despite his own sincerity, there are moments that drift closer towards a caricature of the era than a true homage to the decade’s most innovative pop.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Apr 9, 2024
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This is a pretty good Black Keys record that chiefly serves to underline how wedded they are to the fundamentals of their own process.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Apr 4, 2024
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Viewed in isolation, ‘Heaven’ is a pretty sublime pop-punk record. Its little brother, ‘Hell’, yields more mixed results, continuing the metal-infused sound Sum 41 have veered towards in recent years.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Mar 28, 2024
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Musgraves’ assertiveness feels like a real glimmer of light amid the sparse compositions that run through this thoughtful, imperfect, down-to-earth record.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Mar 15, 2024
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Clocking in at a slither under 77 minutes, ‘Everything I Thought It Was’ is a slog enlivened by some surprising moments.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Mar 15, 2024
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‘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.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Feb 12, 2024
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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.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Jan 29, 2024
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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.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Jan 24, 2024
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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.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Jan 12, 2024
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It’s not until ‘Kids Are Growing Up’ the album’s 20th and final track, that Howard attempts to reflect on anything but heartbreak and fame. .... It feels like an emotional breakthrough for Howard, but it comes just a little too late.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Nov 30, 2023
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- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Nov 20, 2023
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‘Quarter Life Crisis’ moves between moods that translate to bright, Day Glo colours (‘Kid Genius’) or dark goth accents (‘Die Alone’). But the former can often turn grating.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Nov 9, 2023
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The issue is, however, that it’s perhaps lacking in variety. Although the rocket-fueled, lightning-paced ‘More Than You Know’ and the gently atmospheric closer ‘Childhood’ do offer changes in pace, there’s only really subtle things differentiating many of these songs from each other. Sometimes, the hooks aren’t as strong as they could be.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Oct 19, 2023
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While ‘The Darker The Shadow’ is ambitious, packed with witty, insightful commentary on the human experience, its conceptual focus allowing plenty of scope for creative flourishes, it ultimately lacks the incisive punch of his earlier songwriting.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Oct 18, 2023
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The club bangers lack the oomph of his past singles and the lead-out tracks, ‘Fan’ and ‘Worth It’ are criminally limp. .... Eventually, the vulnerability shines through.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Oct 17, 2023
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For All The Dogs- his third solo LP in as many years – not only feels tiring, but sounds tired too.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Oct 9, 2023
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The album, frustratingly, proceeds on a perplexingly flat note. Clocking in at 14 songs, one wonders if the ferocity of ‘Grooming My Replacement’ could have completed a memorable ten-track collection, with the final few tracks lacking that consistent cutting edge.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Sep 29, 2023
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The nuance and specificity of his last album’s songwriting is largely absent; instead ‘Autumn Variations’ is akin to aimlessly swiping through Instagram, blurry snaps of followers’ leafy happenings whizzing past in a distracted daze.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Sep 28, 2023
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‘Sorry I’m Late’ is a lot more fun when it stops trying so hard to prove itself.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Sep 28, 2023
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- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Sep 25, 2023
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It all adds up to an overlong, slightly repetitive but ultimately compelling album of two halves.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Sep 22, 2023
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There’s one too many generic, string-laden ballads, and a stop-start feel to the record, a frustration given how enlivening its highs are. But if anything, it feels like a record Beer has been desperate to make since the very beginning: she’s come a long way in her time in the spotlight, but now we’re finally getting to know her true sound.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Sep 15, 2023
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‘Volcano’ certainly isn’t overstuffed with ideas. Often, the uniformity in this approach – muddy vocal line that could be a chopped-up classic, and a minimal but effective bassline – mean that several of the songs meld together, struggling to stand out. .... But when they get it right, it’s hard to deny how hard it hits.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Aug 10, 2023
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Where he’s inventive and precise in directing his energy, he’s able to make real uplifting and imaginative indie bops. It’s a shame this album’s not full of them. The potential is there, but he’s not quite hit it.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Aug 3, 2023
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By going back to the sound of his early work, Scott steps back into the gargantuan shadow of his mentor. Kanye West – particularly the mechanical abrasiveness and fragmented textures of 2014’s ‘Yeezus’ – is not just an inspiration but an apparition that looms over Scott’s identity on this album.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Jul 31, 2023
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There’s a certain power to ‘Euphoric’, but it certainly could have been a much more potent album. It’s a shame, and a missed opportunity: we don’t learn much about Georgia’s new worldview on a record that is, supposedly, dedicated to moving on from the past.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Jul 28, 2023
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‘Sunburn’ still acts as a love letter to the place he was raised in, however, allowing Fike to return home not only to the relentless humid state but to himself.- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Jul 27, 2023
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Despite its underwhelming second half, ‘Barbie’ is packed with a surprising diversity of sounds paying homage to the Mattel muse. The soundtrack has some wonderful highs and some miserable lows – but then again, it’s not all rosy in Barbie Land…- New Musical Express (NME)
- Posted Jul 21, 2023
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