Q Magazine's Scores
- Music
For 8,545 reviews, this publication has graded:
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42% higher than the average critic
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3% same as the average critic
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55% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 5.7 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 67
| Highest review score: | A Hero's Death | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest review score: | Gemstones |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 4,112 out of 8545
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Mixed: 4,355 out of 8545
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Negative: 78 out of 8545
8545
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
Opener 9:13 is too close perhaps to Brian Eno to make much of an impact. But when a chorus of ghostly voices rise above the fractured piano of Phantom Brickworks III, the theme really works, offering a genuinely unsettling air of spookiness. [Jan 2018, p.106]- Q Magazine
Posted Nov 22, 2017 -
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Lindberg is dedicated to atmosphere, and if these songs are disconcertingly hazy as they move through the dry ice, they just about hold a twisted shape of their own. [Jan 2016, p.111]- Q Magazine
Posted Dec 9, 2015 -
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Some of it is beautiful, but perhaps they should've enlisted the help of their offbeat brother Rufus to add a bit more colour to the canvas. [Jan 2016, p.115]- Q Magazine
Posted Dec 14, 2015 -
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What Mew have come up with here is a gently twinkling Mercury Rev-ish album of experimental percussive nonsense and occassional jazz-like noodling that somehow manage to hypnotise even while they irritate. [Oct 2009, p.114]- Q Magazine
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- Critic Score
There's a little too much in the way of filler, but this is a promising start. [Feb. 2011, p. 113]- Q Magazine
Posted Feb 2, 2011 -
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In its crunchy guitars, rich harmonies and fist-pumping choruses, there's a warmth and positivity that, while occasionally too smooth, shows an admirable disregard for current trends. [Jun 2010, p.128]- Q Magazine
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- Critic Score
The significance of their sonic puzzles can remain frustratingly out of reach. [Jul 2014, p.114]- Q Magazine
Posted Jun 13, 2014 -
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Combining Koretsky's electro throb, Rourke's funky bass and O'Riordan's distinctive, albeit newly toned vocals. It particularly works on the uptempo and lush The Moon and the more hardcore Gunfight, enhancing everyone's reputation. [Oct 2016, p.107]- Q Magazine
Posted Sep 6, 2016 -
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Unfortunately there's no left-field motion, no unexpected turns, none of the twist'n'crawl that separated them from the workaday pack. [Nov 2016, p.102]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 7, 2016 -
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Elsewhere they veer off into roboid electro, but a certain lack of variety costs points. [Oct 2011, p.124]- Q Magazine
Posted Sep 21, 2011 -
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While the proceedings might be more restrained than usual on the '80s hardcore-aping Husker Don't and Sabbath clatter of Halloween 3, if you think Lightning Bolt have softened you're very much mistaken. [Jan 2020, p.110]- Q Magazine
Posted Nov 19, 2019 -
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Surprisingly muted, sophisticated synth-pop that lowers its eyes and keeps to the shadows, a glint of hi-tech disco chrome occasionally catching the light. [Feb 2018, p.116]- Q Magazine
Posted Dec 20, 2017 -
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Curious fans of contemporary pop-house acts such as Disclosure might find the spartan style forbidding, but once Dunn hits his groove it's impossible not to feel the force. [Feb 2018, p.108]- Q Magazine
Posted Dec 21, 2017 -
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This debut collection of lo-fi chillwave-esque electronics and introspective song fragments locates itself deftly between Animal Collective's strung-out post-rock and the drum machine-powered sketches of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone.[Dec. 2011 p. 137]- Q Magazine
Posted Dec 15, 2011 -
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The new problem is a lack of texture: in aiming for big hooks and big bucks, they've thrown variety out the window. [Jun 2009, p.134]- Q Magazine
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Yann Tiersen's latest is as distant from that film's {Amelie's] accordion-powered melodies as his native Brittany is from Paris. [Jul 2014, p.117]- Q Magazine
Posted Jun 13, 2014 -
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There isn't anything quite as special as, say, Veronica but the veins at Costello's temples are throbbing again.- Q Magazine
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If, after a while, it just hangs there like a low mist, Noctunes is still a thing of impressive substance made by a very striking somebody. [Oct 2015, p.102]- Q Magazine
Posted Aug 25, 2015 -
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It's warmly unreal how in thrall he remains to The Beatles, from melodic progressions down to the thwack of drums, but these heartache-powered ballads retain a simple elation at the power of rock'n'roll. [Jan 2020, p.110]- Q Magazine
Posted Nov 19, 2019 -
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It's all a disarmingly easy listen, even if their sugar-spun harmonies at times prove a touch too sweet. [Dec 2015, p.112]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 27, 2015 -
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This compilation of remixes doesn't find too many revelatory portals in St. Vincent's fifth album Masseducation, but there are moments that know just how to push open the wormholes in Annie Clark's flexible, fluid music. [Feb 2020, p.116]- Q Magazine
Posted Jan 6, 2020 -
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Not all of it works but tracks such as the duskily euphoric Dojo Rising; Moonrabbit, all sunny, West Coast harmonies; and Ice Age Heatwave, which sparkles on a soundscape of otherworldly guitars, are epic in both sound and ambition. [Nov 2013, p.102]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 11, 2013 -
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He's still more traditionalist than outlier, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. [Jul 2020, p.19]- Q Magazine
Posted May 12, 2020 -
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The lascivious lyrics have gone, replaced by monotone melancholic musings on love and loss that initially grate, but actually compliment the minimalist cello and piano arrangements. [Oct 2008, p.139]- Q Magazine
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Sawhney's gentle yet eclectic studio skills make everything agreeable enough but the opening song sets a standard he never tops. [Nov 2008, p.120]- Q Magazine
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Essentially, the Hollywood sunshine hasn't changed them. This is probably best, as Smith's eccentricities still elevate Maximo Park above the guitar-pop herd. [Jun 2009, p.128]- Q Magazine
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They still sound a little too arch and buttoned-up to make a convincing transition from lab to club. [Jun 2014, p.111]- Q Magazine
Posted May 20, 2014 -
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Not all the songs are as well-defined as the skittish pop of Our Eyes, however, and while beautifully enunciated melancholy is her default setting, this record could do with more sharp edges. [Aug 2015, p.111]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 2, 2015 -
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Posted Jul 15, 2015 -
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All We Need is a lot more powerful, and a heap more fun, when it aims for transcendence. [Dec 2015, p.112]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 27, 2015 -
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Posted Nov 20, 2018 -
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Posted Oct 24, 2012 -
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The demos remind you that Stevens doesn't need much more than a guitar and an iPhone to work his magic. [Feb 2018, p.119]- Q Magazine
Posted Dec 20, 2017 -
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It's a heady, exuberant mix, although the mystifyingly reduced vocal contribution of Jamie's husband Derek in turn reduces their uniqueness. [Nov 2008, p.123]- Q Magazine
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At times, the album merely provides a straight-arrow version of more twisted talents. [Jan 2014, p.124]- Q Magazine
Posted Jan 21, 2014 -
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Atmospheric and richly layered, their best moments tap the same ecstatic eclecticism of fellow travellers Sufjan Stevens and Beirut's Zach Condon. [Nov 2008, p.114]- Q Magazine
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Telepathe appear devoted to doing something utterly different, which cannot help but be exciting. [Feb 2009, p.116]- Q Magazine
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Certainly there are some weak tracks... but Long Long Way To Go and Unbelievable are expertly crafted pop-rock tunes. [Aug 2002, p.122]- Q Magazine
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A belligerent record: fiercely independent, full of right angles, curious sound effects and a guitarist, Aziz Ibrahim, who believes, incorrectly, that the soul of Jimi Hendrix is preserved in his G-string.- Q Magazine
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- Critic Score
Kozelek's sparse, haunting delivery can render even the basest material achingly affecting...- Q Magazine
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There's talent here and with a slight upping of the serotonin levels next time round, Real Lies could yet be onto something. [Dec 2015, p.112]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 27, 2015 -
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There's enough flickers of former greatness within to be glad he's stil there. [Dec 2007, p.120]- Q Magazine
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Roberts inhabits this work so entirely you can't really imagine him trudging through the same grey world as the rest of us. [Mar 2015, p.114]- Q Magazine
Posted Feb 5, 2015 -
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Posted Feb 12, 2013 -
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It's Envy's quietest moment, a hazy cover of Bowie's Letter To Hermione, which is the real diamond in the rough here. [Apr 2012, p.105]- Q Magazine
Posted Mar 27, 2012 -
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It might be summer, but autumnal is the atmosphere here. [Summer 2018, p.114]- Q Magazine
Posted Jun 15, 2018 -
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Posted Apr 24, 2012 -
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Sub-Lingual Tablet is occasionally lumpen, frequently marred by Smith's recently adopted growl yet powered by enough energy and spark to burn through any reservations. [Jun 2015, p.105]- Q Magazine
Posted May 19, 2015 -
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While Head First more than delivers on its title's promise of instant sensation, like an uncorked bottle of champagne, it inevitably loses its fizz. [Apr 2010, p.110]- Q Magazine
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They do succumb to indulgence--most pointedly on bloated eight-minuter Deep Water--but if you're prepared to allow them, they're just about worth it. [Jul 2011, p.116]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 18, 2011 -
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Vocally, Fogerty still shreds, and this lively album omits enough of his gems to hint at a sequel. [Aug 2013, p.97]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 10, 2013 -
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The experimental approach drifts into plain old messing about more than once, but when he gets it right, it's superb. [Aug 2013, p.99]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 25, 2013 -
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The further you get into Mythologies, the further off-piste Cheatahs go. [Nov 2015, p.106]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 30, 2015 -
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While hopes of stardom might have passed, there are a few minor gems in here. [June 2008, p.148]- Q Magazine
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There's not an original thought in the quartet's heads, giving them free reign to gleefully exhume the corpses of Black Sabbath and Kyuss with hulking riffs and bear-like voices. [Apr 2008, p.107]- Q Magazine
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Grote can at times sounded penned in by the relative straightness of the source material, yet this is an enjoyable noisy debut. [Mar 2015, p.106]- Q Magazine
Posted Feb 5, 2015 -
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Posted Feb 20, 2013 -
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Entertaining though these tracks are, it's hard not to wish that he could ignore the buzzing irritations of not being universally adored, all the time, forever, and concentrate on the big picture. [Mar 2009, p.90]- Q Magazine
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Halfway through... it becomes a directionless mess. [Jul 2004, p.113]- Q Magazine
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- Critic Score
It takes a while to adjust to the darkness generated by these songs of loss, age and adultery, but once you have, you won't want to leave Shah's night visions behind. [Aug 2013, p.104]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 11, 2013 -
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For all its finite charms, though, Mirage Rock lacks the slinkiness of Infinite Arms. [Oct 2012, p.93]- Q Magazine
Posted Sep 12, 2012 -
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Posted Oct 27, 2016 -
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[Sey] struggles to find a style that's truly her own on an album that see-saws between brooding electronic blues and expansive pop ballads. [Dec 2015, p.113]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 27, 2015 -
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Posted Nov 20, 2018 -
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Posted Oct 11, 2013 -
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The sheer wealth of material--over four hours' worth--seem designed to only excite the tastebuds of tourbus veterans. [Nov 2013, p.120]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 22, 2013 -
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Posted Jan 13, 2016 -
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If Kylie's musical ambitions extend further than play-safe good times of X, she's keeping them, like everything else, to herself. [Dec 2007, p.108]- Q Magazine
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Casablancas's lyrics are, as ever, largely and deliberately incomprehensible, but enough phrases slip intermittently into the foreground to convince you that they must mean something. [May 2020, p.98]- Q Magazine
Posted Apr 6, 2020 -
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Gary Clark, Jr merges smooth vocals with economical guitar wizardry and makes it all sound less wearyingly pub-rock by embracing the 21st century. [Mar 2013, p.95]- Q Magazine
Posted Feb 12, 2013 -
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Even if diverse moods elude them, they channel disenchantment superbly. [Jun 2019, p.108]- Q Magazine
Posted Apr 9, 2019 -
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Posted May 20, 2014 -
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With sympathetic production by reggae stalwart Mike "Prince Fatty" Pelanconi, the results combine Janet Kaye's lovers rock, the Wailers' pop years and the sound of Compass Point studios. [Jun 2014, p.107]- Q Magazine
Posted May 21, 2014 -
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By the end, they're almost sounding like their own band, rather than a Thin Lizzy tribute act. [Jul 2013, p.100]- Q Magazine
Posted Jun 26, 2013 -
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A lack of sonic variety and a mild sense of deja vu won't help to advance his cause. [Aug 2014, p.110]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 3, 2014 -
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If you're it the mood for a trawl through R&B's greatest hits delivered on R. Kelly's own terms, if not always in his own style, that's just how you'll like it. [Aug 2012, p.101]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 27, 2012 -
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There's something ageless about these songs that make them art-school tasteful rather than genuinely unsettling. [Oct 2011, p.112]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 12, 2011 -
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If Ski Mask fails to be a hit now, though, give it 20 years and it'll be cult gold. [Nov 2013, p.102]- Q Magazine
Posted Oct 11, 2013 -
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[An] equally seductive follow-up [to 2013's Woman] with a musical collective shaped from his touring band. [Mar 2018, p.113]- Q Magazine
Posted Jan 30, 2018 -
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With Pedro de Dios Barcelo's vocals so Andalusian-accented even other Spaniards have trouble following. No Matter: their readiness to rumble transcends such trifles. [Feb 2016, p.111]- Q Magazine
Posted Jan 13, 2016 -
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A collection of jangly guitar pop that struggles to locate a niche within their favoured genre. [Mar 2019, p.116]- Q Magazine
Posted Feb 4, 2019 -
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Silver Eye's strength lies with its strong sense of mood rather than any truly memorable material. [May 2017, p.104]- Q Magazine
Posted Mar 21, 2017 -
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The world may have moved on but they haven't, so '80s funk backdrops merge with Sweet pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowen's classic soul vocals and some biting surreal lyrics. [May 2008, p.141]- Q Magazine
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These songs are Blake at his best and most sonically inventive. At 75 minutes-plus and 17 tracks, though, the whole presents a challenge at odds with the sensitivity of those romantic reveries. [#361, p.117]- Q Magazine
Posted May 31, 2016 -
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As befits a title meaning "peaceful," Eirenic Life is background balm for modern life. [Aug 2017, p.109]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 12, 2017 -
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Everything Now offers an underwhelming kind of overload: too much, but still not quite enough. [Aug 2017, p.113]- Q Magazine
Posted Jul 19, 2017 -
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Weird Drift is a lighter and less oppressive affair [than Love & Devotion]. [Jun 2014, p.112]- Q Magazine
Posted May 20, 2014