Punknews.org (Staff)'s Scores
- Music
For 508 reviews, this publication has graded:
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61% higher than the average critic
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4% same as the average critic
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35% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.3 points higher than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 75
Highest review score: | The Center Won't Hold | |
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Lowest review score: | Just Like You |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 434 out of 508
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Mixed: 63 out of 508
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Negative: 11 out of 508
508
music
reviews
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- Critic Score
They had a pop-punk grit and an edgier take on their 2012 release but The Finer Things just falls short of the potential that State Champs should be exploiting by now.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 31, 2013
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- Critic Score
Back On Top isn't a bad listen but it falls short of that benchmark they set in the past.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 21, 2015
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- Critic Score
All in all, it's an accessible ride and if this is your first rodeo with them, then Imbue isn't such a bad jumping-on point. However, it doesn't hold up to the young days where The Early November were immature mavericks letting loose.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted May 12, 2015
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- Critic Score
On this particular album, they achieve just the right amount of flair and flavour to spice things up with character and believe it or not, lyrical depth. Track-wise, there are some growers. Then you've got some tedious chores to work through mid-way but overall, the album ends on a fairly decent note.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Sep 12, 2016
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- Critic Score
I think the punk rock attitude is to not easily be impressed with technical musicianship that doesn’t make you feel much of anything. American Head didn’t hit me in the heart or in the gut, but it did make me want to go back and listen to “She Don’t Use Jelly” again and, if nothing else, that’s a positive that comes from this experience.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 16, 2020
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- Critic Score
The tracks that hit really save this album but those that miss, really leave a bad taste. Still, Citizen does just enough to get the benefit of the doubt.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Jun 24, 2015
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- Critic Score
Not a bad album but one that requires a few more listens, personally, to really feel captivated. The band seems to be going through the motions here and it doesn't stick as much.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Sep 9, 2015
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- Critic Score
Overall, the album isn't a bad listen. Symphonic. Orchestral. But compared to the last outing, it's lacking.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 7, 2016
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- Critic Score
I did enjoy hearing Jetty Bones' cooing voice on "Icicles (Morning Glow)" but other than that there aren't that many songs to phone home about. There aren't even rock ballads a la "Minnesota" and while the closer "Hallmark" tries to mix aggression with toned-down indie licks to somewhat appeal to folks like me, it's just not the impact I expected from the band this time around.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Sep 18, 2019
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- Critic Score
Much like peer Frankie Cosmos, the sugarcoated uneasiness works, especially when done well. Swear I’m Good At This is a solid debut.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Apr 25, 2017
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- Critic Score
Overall, not as diverse a record so points lost there, but definitely a move that gives this new iteration much more character.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 10, 2016
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- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Jun 16, 2022
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- Critic Score
When it tries, it succeeds but when it doesn't, it really crashes into the ground face first.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 21, 2016
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- Critic Score
These are songs about everyday life at its most basic level. You'll have to decide for yourself whether that's enough.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Dec 2, 2016
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- Critic Score
While some of it lacks creativity, expression, and comes off a tad bland, you do get a sense of what could have been, had they just unchained themselves a bit more. Ironically, the songs that stand out the most here are the ones that ape tracks off Sing The Sorrow.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Jan 30, 2017
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- Critic Score
This seems like a minor pit-stop for them and in fairness, it's a good record but nothing like what I expected.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 14, 2014
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- Critic Score
While each member's technically great at what they do, once more, the magic from the band's debut seems too hard to recapture and as a sum of all its parts, DGD comes up short on Instant Gratification.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Apr 20, 2015
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- Critic Score
While Luciferian Towers evokes a lot of gorgeous imagery to soothe the soul, it lacks a lot of inventiveness and imagination I usually associate with the band.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 2, 2017
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- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Jan 22, 2014
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- Critic Score
Before a Million Universes is made up of good songs. Certain ones, you'll want to listen to over and over. But as a full record with two centered roadblocks, it needs you to earn the experience.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Mar 15, 2016
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- Critic Score
Thrashing Through the Passion is easily the band’s softest album to date. Where most Hold Steady albums fill the room with sound, there’s a lot of quiet and negative space on this album. While the band’s other albums wrap you up in an awkward hug of emotions and drag you through to a catharsis, this album is passive.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Aug 23, 2019
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- Critic Score
Comfort/Distraction is a good album that shows off how well Broadway Calls understand how to make pop-punk, but it's hard to shake the feeling that the band are pulling its punches in the name of wider appeal.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted May 8, 2013
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- Critic Score
It's classic Fidlar. However, while the musical style's sure to leave fans scratching their heads, peer a bit deeper and you'll see their signature's very much there--it's just, well, diluted and funkier than ever.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Jan 29, 2019
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- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Nov 7, 2019
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- Critic Score
Tell Me I'm Pretty, while poppy and as mainstream as ever, loses its sense of appeal, character and individuality in coming off too much as a carbon copy of The Black Keys.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Jan 13, 2016
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- Critic Score
While Return to the Moon is good, it’s not the momentous occasion the next National album is sure to be. It is, however, a refreshing change of pace for its well-defined members.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 30, 2015
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Zipper Down on its own is a single short burst of energy stretched too thin.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Oct 9, 2015
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- Critic Score
This album continues to keep the Have Mercy brand stagnant and disappointingly makes surpassing their debut a tall order. "Smoke and Lace" and "Coexist" are probably the only songs that recapture the magic of the first record. Everything else tries too hard to repeat the slow/loud dynamic they pride themselves on.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted May 9, 2017
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Good Nature is mellow and laid-back, everything they intended it to be. Hopefully, they add a hard rock or indie edge on the next effort as I think that sound suits them better.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Aug 25, 2017
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- Critic Score
Happiness Is has some great tracks, but ultimately is probably the group's weakest showing overall.- Punknews.org (Staff)
- Posted Apr 25, 2014
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