New Musical Express (NME)'s Scores

  • Music
Select another publication »
For 6,013 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 to hell with it [Mixtape]
Lowest review score: 0 Maroon
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,233 out of 6013
  2. Mixed: 1,627 out of 6013
  3. Negative: 153 out of 6013
6013 music reviews
view
per page
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    No Mundane Options
    Sonic developments in the form of style, delivery and arrangement (an experimental approach no doubt encouraged by Mogwai producer Tony Doogan, who recorded the album in Glasgow earlier this year) are marred by disappointingly dumb and predictable lyrics, and where the quintet once made it sound so easy to come up with killer choruses, this second effort finds them slumping into forgettable filler territory on more than one occasion.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tell Tales
    Tell Tales is spirited and theatrical, if not necessarily memorable enough to pass into local lore.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Get Well Soon
    Convalescent, and luminescent.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Free Nationals
    The Free Nationals’ supreme musicianship is unquestionable, but they more often than not seem to require an outside presence leading from the front to really bring it all home.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    King of the Beach
    One knock-on effect of going professional is that you can now hear the music clearly and properly, and it turns out that Mr. Williams isn't exactly a Mozart in the songwriting stakes.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Always Strive and Prosper
    The problem is that Ferg fails to provide a coherent musical vision to go with these compelling reminiscences.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Damaged
    Even more subdued than usual. [12 Aug 2006, p.32]
    • New Musical Express (NME)
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Version
    His choices are faultless and his sense of fun is very apparent.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Raven in the Grave
    Hazy, dark, The Cure-ish dreampop with a Lynchian vibe.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Raditude
    Given what we know about Cuomo’s eccentric inner world, it’s hard not to find those dazzlingly perfect melodies kind of hollow.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Cold Still
    They have the relentless persistence needed to stick to the wall long enough (this is their third self-released album), but despite their striving for the grandiose (Kings producer Ethan Johns provides the country-ish bluster) and breaks (a spot in rom-com Going The Distance for last album "Union"), there's still that dark sparkle missing.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Queen
    Unfortunately, in trying to take on all comers at once, there are parts of Queen that feel like an overreach. There is a better ten track effort hiding in Queen, but you get the impression Nicki kept tracks like ‘Miami’ to hedge her bets in a bid for streaming success. The Queen is back, but only just.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Riot On An Empty Street
    Hushed vocals, strummed guitars, creeping cello, and an all-encompassing sense of politeness are the order of the day. [19 Jun 2004, p.57]
    • New Musical Express (NME)
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Brand New By Tomorrow
    We find exquisite Beatles-indebted pop, moments of effortless lyrical and melodic brilliance and a few tunes which drift dangerously close to easy listening.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    All of Us Flames
    Where it works best is that clear marriage of anger and aspiration, interwoven with Furman’s melodic drawl, musical tenderness and reverb. In parts, though, ‘All of Us Flames’ is an example that sometimes less is more.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Still Sucks
    This ain’t ‘Chinese Democracy’. ‘Still Sucks’ doesn’t feel laboured or overthought and never overstays its welcome.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Flying Dream 1
    The result is a soothing, slow-burning collection which reflects on times and friends gone by.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Microscope
    In parts Riz's flow is slightly awkward, but his rhymes are tight and full of razor-sharp quips, and the production is slick and energetic.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Passerby
    For all its prettiness, though, Passerby is a record that boasts about as much excitement as a gentle breeze, and its rewards are too few and far between.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Broken Politics
    If there’s a criticism of Broken Politics, it perhaps that the record doesn’t broadcast this voice often enough.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Blue Film
    For all Hemerlein’s prodigious talents, you can only have your heartstrings tugged for so long before it all gets a bit wearing.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Osaka Ramones
    [Shonen Knife's] 13 Ramones covers sound exactly like you'd expect.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Heartbreaking Bravery
    Swirling synths abound, but remain encased in four-minute micro-epics which sometimes mine the icy ambition of pre-megastardom Simple Minds.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    So Jealous
    Spiky, occasionally over sugary. [14 May 2005, p.67]
    • New Musical Express (NME)
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    2000 BC
    Although clearly Canibus is undoubtedly one of the best freestyling lyricists of his generation, he's still to find the right production team to match his vocabulary.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Brave And The Bold
    Twist[s] both the ultra-familiar and the obscure into awkward new shapes. [21 Jan 2006, p.35]
    • New Musical Express (NME)
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cape Dory
    A little shade among the sugary rays might not go astray, but maybe that's just the goth in me talking.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Await Barbarians
    It's not without charm--the needle-jump static of 'Dolly And Porter' gently drives a sweet melody; stroboscopic flickers of synth make a gripping arrangement for 'Closer To The Elderly'--but too often it's just Taylor's fragile voice cooing drab, introspective mantras over sparse electric piano.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Sunset Tree
    If you've ever wondered what growing up in middle-class 1970s America would have been like, these deeply personal revelations are for you. [30 Apr 2005, p.64]
    • New Musical Express (NME)
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Acoustic Dust
    Constant jangle blurs the songs, and a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Revolution Blues’ only emphasises Ranaldo’s newfound likeness to the Canadian in one of his dirgier moods.
prev
Page: