Sputnikmusic's Scores

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For 2,395 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 53% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 45% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 72
Highest review score: 100 The Seer
Lowest review score: 10 The Path of Totality
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,773 out of 2395
  2. Mixed: 543 out of 2395
  3. Negative: 79 out of 2395
2395 music reviews
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    • 81 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Agora
    Agora is a lot of things, but one thing it is not is corny. But in the process he has sacrificed a whole lot of virtues. Where Fennesz once generated productive frisson in the mind-body continuum of his listeners, now his music stares blankly at them, as if hoping that their and not his affective dispositions will create the passion that sustains worthwhile musical practice.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    We Are The Night
    The end result is a record that runs quite average, there are some quality songs that can be picked from it ("We Are the Night," "Do it Again," "All Rights Reserved") but by itself it will lose many listeners.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Colors II
    It’s too much. As much as I enjoy the solid starts a la “Monochrome” and “The Double Helix of Extinction” there’s a lot of filler and needless over indulgence in the form of gimmick.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Illusion [EP]
    Illusion is a decent release, but it doesn't differentiate itself from anything Fleet Foxes would have written.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Zig
    Poppy seems to be restrained here – as if something is holding her back from embracing her typically wild and unconventional whims. Next time, I hope she grabs that sword and cuts herself free of whatever led to this.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Some of It Was True
    Its strongest moments don’t quite stand with the best that The Menzingers discography has to offer, but they’re well worth a listener’s time and showcase the group’s inherent songwriting prowess. What’s sad is to see a band now nearly 20 years into the career suddenly desiring to be entirely different, independent of the type of music they are writing and releasing.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Ritual
    Overall, Ritual is too much of the same.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
    No longer supported by two decades’ worth of prophetic scope or career-highlight compositions, Godspeed’s revolution feels as performative as it always has - and a good deal more hollow.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Axe To Fall
    In general, 'Axe to Fall' speaks towards the stagnancy of most bands in the metal genre. The collaborators here can't even help a band as good as Converge make a solid record and when examining Converge's almost flawless discography that is wholly unexplainable.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Nobody's Daughter
    I would love nothing more than to tell you that Nobody's Daughter is a massive ***-you to the haters, but unfortunately, all this does is give them more ammunition, meekly soiling the legacy of a band that deserves far, far better.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Harps And Angels
    It's hard to slate Harps and Angels too much, because the music is actually quite good in places and it's nowhere near bad enough to be a chore to listen to.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Us
    As it stands, Us lies at a precarious crossroads of self-help preaching and black history compendium, succeeding at neither and exposing a serious disconnect between lyricist and producer.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Everything's Fine
    Sure, the album is a commendable attempt at maturity which suggests that the five-piece are unlikely to take their careers for granted. Unfortunately, Everything's Fine is another example of a band attempting to grow up far too fast, and coming unstuck because of it.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Purple Naked Ladies
    Any halfway interesting endeavor is either quickly discarded or frustratingly bereft of further exploration and expansion.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Plastic Beach
    All these songs just sound too much like Gorillaz songs, in an uncomfortable, self-conscious way.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Wonky
    Wonky is a work full of many flaws and too few shining moments, but as ammunition for the obvious tours to follow, there's enough here to be effective enough in a large enough setting.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Solar Power
    The truth is that there are things to like here – namely some new percussive elements and O’Connor’s ever-rich voice – but Solar Power comes across as painfully flat compared to her first two records.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Emerald Forest and the Blackbird
    The thing about Emerald Forest and the Blackbird, though, is that it has no logical direction and no cohesive force, despite its strong and intriguing concept.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Transistor Rhythm
    While Transistor Rhythm ends up as the superbly-produced album that Addison Groove has always hinted at, it's the uniform sterility and refusal to tread water beyond the reach of his peers that stops it from succeeding beyond anything more that simple idol worship.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Dark Horse
    There’s no question about which side of the disc is the more interesting- sleaze beats manufactured sentiment any day--but ultimately it’s the country half that most people will pay attention to, and to that end there is very little to actively criticise.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Christfucker
    Without a doubt, it’s ‘heavier’ than past PoGs on a moment-to-moment basis, but its constituent pieces of songvomit are frequently disjointed and undeveloped to the point that you straight-up question why the band were so unwilling to dig any deeper into them.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Reunion Tour
    The Weakerthans are still writing pretty, tender music, but they seem to have lost their immediacy and potency.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Area 52
    It's a nice project that might have been put to better use as a one night only concert, because it's certainly not the crucial next step in the continued evolution of this otherwise fascinating duo.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Simulation Theory
    It’s clearly leagues below what they’re capable of, but they’re at least moving forward with the styles of music that they want to create, uninhibited by expectations rooted in the past. This is essentially a synth-pop album, one that is at times exciting and unconventional and at other times tasteless and rudimentary.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Repo
    Repo isn't a bad record, but it's certainly the least fresh and consistent one I can remember Black Dice releasing and both of those traits are a big deal with 'difficult' music like this.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    COWBOY CARTER
    If we got 10-12 solid tracks in the vein of “16 Carriages” or “II Most Wanted”, Cowboy Carter could have been a slam dunk. Unfortunately, the record stands as a bloated mess that doesn’t fully know what it wants to be.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Street Sweeper Social Club
    When an emcee sounds interrupted or unbalanced by the guitar and most of the music appears to be ripped from a bedroom jam session, it’s painfully obvious; Street Sweeper Social Club would better benefit society by performing said namesake operation.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Living Things
    There are still traces of their recent, more mature outings, but those moments are predictably outshined by the ones that harken back to the band's glory days.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Stone Temple Pilots
    There are a couple groovy licks scattered here and there which are half decent, but otherwise it's a tepid exercise in mediocrity difficult to even feign interest in.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    My World 2.0
    My World 2.0 is effective and innocent Top 40 material, if not terribly inventive.
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