Paste Magazine's Scores

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For 4,079 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 67% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 30% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 76
Highest review score: 100 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [50th Anniversary Edition Deluxe Version]
Lowest review score: 10 Songs From Black Mountain
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,643 out of 4079
  2. Mixed: 400 out of 4079
  3. Negative: 36 out of 4079
4079 music reviews
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    • 74 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Passwords
    Dawes’ latest may well sound fresh and new, or at least vaguely soulful, if you don’t know it’s a retread, but Passwords is all too easy to crack, and what’s inside isn’t really worth protecting when others have been doing it all better for decades.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Motion Sickness [Live]
    All the pros and cons of Bright Eyes present themselves here. [Feb/Mar 2006, p.110]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Volume Two
    The smiling-through-tears undercurrent of ’60s pop is lost in Deschanel’s taffy-like vocals, and though the album evokes memories of a more pleasant time, they seem far too sweet to be real.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Falling Off the Sky
    They made a wholesome record without embarrassing themselves or their fans.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Spell
    The wonderfully overdramatic Spell inspires imagery of the house band in a borderland casino. [Sep 2006, p.81]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 73 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Highway Companion
    So why is his new album so underwhelming? Because Petty has gotten away from his strength--whipping pop hooks into an emotional frenzy of harmonies--and has focused on his weakness: overly ambitious lyrics.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    What We Saw from the Cheap Seats
    Unfortunately, What We Saw is heavy on overlong ballads, and when she adds that trademark whimsy to the mix, it's nearly unbearable.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Knuckle Down
    DiFranco always throws her heart into her songs, and Knuckledown gives her a chance to reflect on it.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 57 Critic Score
    Human Ceremony
    All in all, Sunflower Bean stripped away more than was necessary. The blunt truth is that the refreshing and energizing band that birthed “Tame Impala” and “Rock & Roll Heathen” just didn’t show up to the Human Ceremony recording sessions.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Getting Somewhere
    Moorer's most muscularly produced and pointedly written release. [Aug 2006, p.87]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 73 Metascore
    • 53 Critic Score
    Love Me
    Barfod has more faith in his electronics, and when he’s playing something he trusts, he permits the songs to venture out and reach greater emotional heights. But that comfort doesn’t extend to his human players, and his hesitation to let go and explore permeates the album.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Car Alarm
    Maybe all of Car Alarm is about conflict, but Prekop glides and sighs over every vowel, making it difficult to hear what he’s saying or to detect a hint of tension beneath the gloss.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Lightning Bolt
    Essentially, the cruise control is running onward with disregard for all the maintenance and repairs that an engine needs, and the result is the worst album of their career.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    A Bigger Bang
    The ideas quickly wear thin. [Dec 2005, p.107]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 73 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Magic Chairs
    The album struggles at times to raise its head from the multi-instrumental pack; textured as it is, there’s a muted quality to this collection that inevitably leaves ears slightly cold. It’s pretty, but not always gripping.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Summer In The Southeast
    Oldham lacks the commanding vocal presence needed to convert delicate songs like "Master And Everyone" into shambling rock epics. [Feb/Mar 2006, p.110]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 73 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Glad All Over
    All told, Dylan and company don't leave you glad all over--but maybe half-way.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Fading Trails
    Unlike previous MagCo. releases, it finally feels like the band has achieved a unifying cohesiveness. [Nov 2006, p.79]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Under A Billion Suns
    Abrasive, apocalyptic rock. [Apr/May 2006, p.105]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Curve of the Earth
    Curve of the Earth isn’t a complete rebound--there are too many fumbles, too many eye-rolls. But in its fits of brilliance, Mystery Jets reclaim their throne as rock’s savviest copycats.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Wolf's Law
    All but a few tracks could be touted as a single, though in the same breath, it is hard to pick a standout from them, their defining moments tied to a choice on their pedal board.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Trans-Continental Hustle
    It seems Gogol Bordello is still stubbornly clutching for the inventiveness of earlier records like Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike and Super Taranta! without truly progressing, leaving us with a Rick Rubin-adorned imitation of their visionary past work.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Let Them Drink
    It's not that terribly accomplished, it's not terribly coherent, it's not very linear, mature, or even sober-sounding. But that's rock 'n' roll, innit? [#16, p.145]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Souls Alike
    Music that's radio-ready, but never boring or insipid. [Dec 2005, p.108]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 72 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Tucson: A Country Rock Opera
    The record is good as background noise, with a few tracks strong enough to stand alone. As a complete story, though, it doesn't exactly deliver.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    The Recession
    The Recession's singles are exceptional, but the filler suffers from a detached and dispirited sound.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Feathers
    An elongated, spacey drone of acidic riffage and flickering psych-rock ambience. [Apr/May 2005, p.135]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pixel Revolt
    An uneven album that encapsulates much of what's gone flat in the scene he helped ferment, along with the few flourishes that make him a vital creative force.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Viva La Vida
    Given Eno’s quarter-century of Bono-fides, this isn’t surprising. Martin’s interests are frequently vague--on 'Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love' he sings about soldiers who must soldier on and runners who must run until the race is won. Seriously?
    • 72 Metascore
    • 57 Critic Score
    Brutalism
    Not everything has to be pure pop, but nothing else on Brutalism even comes close to sounding like a complete song the way [“Body Chemistry”] does.
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