The A.V. Club's Scores

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For 4,544 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 64% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 34% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.5 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 74
Highest review score: 100 The Life Of Pablo
Lowest review score: 0 Graffiti
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,663 out of 4544
  2. Mixed: 771 out of 4544
  3. Negative: 110 out of 4544
4544 music reviews
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    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Brace the Wave
    Brace The Wave isn’t exactly original or inventive, but what it lacks in innovation, it makes up for in emotional honesty.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Too
    It’s a bold step away from the grimy surf-punk that made the band famous, but anyone who’s old enough to feel the buzz wearing off will be right there with Fidlar.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz
    Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz ends up a collection of fleeting engaging moments sandwiched between a slew of half-formed musical ideas.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Cranekiss
    Cranekiss is going for hypnotic, but too often ends up narcotizing.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Stuff Like That There
    The new tracks (“Awhileaway,” “Rickety”) are pretty if slight, and reveal little of the dynamic range that made Fade such a latter-period highlight. Better are the new-old YLT tunes, even if the selections are occasionally baffling.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Depression Cherry
    The band’s understanding of their own head-in-the-clouds aesthetic and knowing where to sew in (or cut out) the stitches to keep their sound in a constant, albeit low-key, flux results in much more of a mesmerizing experience than would changing directions entirely.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Poison Season
    Poison Season is the sound of an artist in complete control of the strange chaos around him.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Beauty Behind the Madness
    It expertly and carefully closes the gap between The Weeknd’s perception and his reality.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Expanding Flower Planet
    Fans of minimalist beats, layered and lovely vocals, and a general appreciation for stoner krautrock vibes would do well to seek it out.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Music for Dogs
    While the songs on Music For Dogs aren’t as richly arranged and composed as those on the previous two albums, that may be by design.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    E-MO-TION
    One of 2015’s most interesting, effervescent records.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Morning World
    The album skates from tumbling tracks like “Pink” and “Morning World”—which are reminiscent of the slightly math indie-rock sound of the solid Polyvinyl band Aloha—to a jam like “It Starts At The Water,” which features static washes floating in and out of the atmosphere while an underground buzz burrows beneath a simple, chugging beat.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Compton
    Compton successfully crams the magnitude of his origin story into ambitious, densely packed sonics.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Positive Songs for Negative People
    Playing live together save vocals and minor overdubs. The result pushes Turner and his band back into more energetic territory after the careful, pristine sound of his previous effort.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Weirdo Shrine
    The real highlight of Weirdo Shrine comes from Cleveland’s guitar playing. Nearly every song on the record features either a solo or a break for the singer to take over and shine with her instrument.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Another One
    While the record musically and thematically aligns itself a little too closely to its predecessor, that would be a stronger critique if the formula didn’t continue to work so effectively.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Death Magic
    A monstrous album on which its electronic and industrial mystique has matured to represent an absorption of the band’s discography, injected with a serum of growth hormones.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Abyss
    The downside of all this bombast is that the album, taken as a whole, can feel ponderous.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Momentary Masters
    Healthy living and hearty curiosity have inspired some lively rock songs, but being Albert Hammond Jr. still sounds pretty stressful.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    The Most Lamentable Tragedy
    You can hear, see, feel Titus Andronicus trying their damnedest, and when the band’s talented musicians aren’t interrupted for the sake of concept, that enthusiasm and the resulting excellent songs pass infectiously to the listener.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Bittersweet
    Throughout the album, Chambers displays a remarkable ability to weave sharp wit with lyrics that touch on loss and desperation.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    VII: Sturm und Drang
    A generic album.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    The Blade
    The majority of Monroe’s superb third album hunkers down with heartache and struggle.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Star Wars
    Star Wars is absolutely that journey to challenging parts unknown, and, thankfully, it’s a trip worth taking.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    White Reaper Does It Again
    White Reaper Does It Again follows the formula a lot more closely than most.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    How Does It Feel
    Although How Does It Feel is far more subdued and inconsistent than Secondhand Rapture, MS MR still has no peer in its ability to twist retro and modern influences in fresh ways.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Currents
    Currents isn’t quite that [masterpiece] album, but it’s an enthralling listen nonetheless.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Magnifique
    Though the new Magnifique--the band’s first album in five years--doesn’t reinvent the Ratatat wheel, it revisits the status-quo thrill of those first two albums, while sprinkling in the hammock-swaying, breezy tropical vibe of both LP3 and LP4.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Something More Than Free
    Isbell’s lyrics on Southeastern sharpened to a poignancy that he’d mostly hinted at before, and though Something More Than Free may not repeat Isbell’s album-of-the-year accolades, it continues the magic of that breakthrough LP.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Mobile Orchestra
    Nothing on Mobile Orchestra indicates he’s found his new muse, but it reveals a well of passion for that discovery.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Ghost Notes
    It’s a celebration of the two of them--Post and Gordon, back together, joyous and rocking out, the past behind them.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    No Life For Me
    No Life For Me offers a vital reminder of how sharp these two sound even when they’re stripped of those resources.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    Freedom
    Freedom never seems to settle on a single direction, but it’s hard to say whether that’s good or bad.... But it’s when Refused attempts to sound modern--through ultra-slick production tricks and modern sonic collage--that the album truly falters.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Summertime '06
    It’s a major triumph disguised as a minor one--60 minutes of lean, inventive, important rap music that never pats itself on the back for being any of those things.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Wildheart
    Wildheart sees Miguel expanding and refining his sound, and while not every experiment hits its mark, the result is an ambitious and moving album.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Luminiferous
    This track [“The Lethal Chamber”], as well as Luminiferous as a whole, aggressively illustrates that High On Fire still deserves its place at the top of underground metal’s food chain.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Feels Like
    For all its strengths, Feels Like’s greatest flaw is the inclusion of two tracks [“Too Tough” and “Trash”] that mirror one another to a déjà vu-inducing degree.... It’s a small failing, but one that throws the album off balance, even if only for a few moments.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Payola
    When Payola goes too far with the hectoring, its politics start to wear, becoming a stump speech rather than a blast of anger. But the band mostly manages to stay on the right side of that tipping point, favoring storytelling of the Springsteen variety, of poor souls and beaten-down workers suckered by the American dream.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Pageant Material
    Some tracks, like “Fine” and “Somebody To Love,” drag a bit, bringing the already slightly slow record down a notch. Still, tracks like the aforementioned “Biscuits” and weed-infused opener “High Time” more than make up the difference, making Pageant Material a must listen for anyone who’s a little bit country, a little bit rock ’n’ roll, and just a little bit crazy.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    City Of Quartz
    In capturing both Diamonds’ lingering malaise and a regained sense of carefree abandon, the album melds the sophisticated melancholy compositions of his recent career with whimsical experimentation.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Monsanto Years
    It’s a collection of songs that winds up sounding like it could have been a series of blog posts or even tweets.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Grand Romantic
    Grand Romantic often feels so preoccupied with grandiose gestures that it loses sight of the little details that in the past have made Ruess’ music so memorable.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Déjà-Vu
    That contemporary approach to Déjà Vu’s sound keeps the album from being as fun as it should be.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    FFS
    It’s an uncommonly smart record full of unexpected, delightful detours.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Faulty Superheroes
    Pollard has forged a distinctive sound that ultimately merits comparison mostly to his past work, light years from his early days as an R.E.M.- and Who-infatuated music geek who wore his influences like a badge.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Surf
    Surf is so vibrant, so alive with triumphant vibes and unadulterated joy, that it never leaves any room for cynicism.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Black Age Blues
    While a few songs on Black Age Blues could’ve been cut, it’s still a Goatsnake album, which is to say that it’s badass.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The High Country
    They’ve never been the most distinctive group in rock, but with The High Country, the group has maintained a consistent feel for the basic pleasures of three chords and some words about a great girl.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Universal Themes
    They’re occasionally manic and often rambling, but nevertheless they offer brutally honest and undeniably fascinating glimpses into his life and worldview.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    In Colour
    True, a few tracks will bore the casual listener by hewing too closely to standard house music. For the most part, however, Jamie xx’s probing of the past produces some intriguingly useful parts for an intimate style of electronica that is all his own.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Clearing
    The whole record conjures images of naturalism and space, evoking wings, flight, and distance. There’s a melancholy beauty carrying along these delicate compositions. Call it Pictures Of An Outdoor Life.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    English Graffiti
    All this jumping around on English Graffiti doesn’t make it disjointed. Rather, it stops the album from becoming monotonous with a new, unexpected experience on each track.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Why Make Sense?
    Six albums in, Hot Chip doesn’t really have much to offer in the way of surprises, but with such strong songwriting and a languidly sexy mood tying it all together, it doesn’t need to.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Mutilator Defeated at Last
    While not front-to-back pummeling, Mutilator Defeated At Last is fast and hard for much of its 33 minutes.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    The L-Shaped Man
    The L-Shaped Man adds context to Zoo’s post-punk/hardcore hybrid, showing it for the transitional step that it was all along. On The L-Shaped Man, there’s no question of Ceremony’s intent or authenticity.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Peanut Butter
    Taken in one full burst, Peanut Butter succeeds as a rousing and frenetic call to arms, built on the back of sunny harmonies and squealing distortion. It’s not the best record of the year, but it might be the most efficient.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Sol Invictus
    It’s the rare, rare reunion album that’s shoulder to shoulder with what came before it, standing on the band’s solid catalog instead of trying and failing to start the climb anew.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    The Traveler
    Although The Traveler is a Miller solo vehicle, the chemistry he has with Black Prairie is what makes the album such a rousing success.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Dark Bird Is Home
    Dark Bird Is Home is melodically rich and emotionally resonant, even when some moments argue that bigger isn’t necessarily better.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Choose Your Weapon
    The complex, angular song structures beckon only to evade, bolting in unexpected directions just as they seem to settle into a groove.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Anxiety's Kiss
    Beneath all of the album’s foreign effects, there’s still Coliseum banging away on drums and pushing riffs with amplifiers: If only all those studio tricks hadn’t made the album feel so disjointed.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Non-Believers
    Listening to Non-Believers resembles the experience of watching ’80s movies as an adult, when the adolescent agony and drama is still relatable and realistic--but yet (thankfully) no longer an ongoing present concern.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    California Nights
    Thematically, California Nights is perhaps a bit too troubled for a barbecue, but for driving around on a hot summer’s night with the windows rolled down and the stereo turned all the way up, it’s just right.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    MCIII
    The record is so awash in its own lushness--occasionally sounding like the orchestra pit of strings and horns Merge has on retainer has tripled in size--that it seems unimaginable even the most versatile songwriter could cram that many music stands into a practice space.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    II
    If that self-titled first outing was like picking at a scab, Metz’s second effort is equivalent to ripping off a Band-Aid. Either way, it’s still music to bleed to.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Wilder Mind
    With Wilder Mind, Mumford & Sons have morphed from a band that’s easy to either love or hate into a band that’s hard to care much about at all.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Waterfall
    Gripping and in waves, The Waterfall might not be a classic, but it still suggests that after nearly two decades fans don’t know every side of My Morning Jacket. Luckily, they keep opening new doors for us to explore.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Painted Shut
    Unfortunately for some, Painted Shut signals the end of Hop Along’s tenure as a little-known buzz band. For everyone else, it’s the sound of being welcomed to the party.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Fly International Luxurious Art
    For all its unintended sonic drawbacks, Fly International Luxurious Art goes a long way to remind everyone of why Raekwon is one of the greatest to ever wield a microphone.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    The Magic Whip
    It’s a testament to the band’s intangible chemistry that The Magic Whip doesn’t feel like an Albarn (or a Coxon) solo effort; the album sounds like a Blur record. And despite its flaws, this new music is insidiously catchy, with plenty of unorthodox hooks that linger after the record ends.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Wire
    Wire is yet another fine addition to the band’s already bulletproof legacy.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Kindred
    The advantage of Kindred, though, is that Angelakos’ focus on being more versatile requires attention, which results in a greater appreciation for all that he does.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Sound & Color
    Sound & Color drops some of that urgency in favor of a hefty dose of experimentation, and while the results are intriguing, the record can’t help but meander a bit.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Untethered Moon
    Untethered Moon, the band’s first album in six years, wastes no time in reaffirming what Built To Spill does.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Foil Deer
    By its end, Foil Deer asserts itself as a collection of some of the band’s best songs and some departures of varying quality.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Cherry Bomb
    For all their blown-out abrasion, though, Tyler’s harder tracks never dazzle the way West’s industrial experiments did. They merely cloy.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Edge of the Sun
    Edge Of The Sun picks up where Feast Of Wire left off, and though it fails to blaze a new path, it livens up an old one.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    New Glow
    On New Glow, they’ve either finally dumbed things down too much, or simply reached the end of where this rudimentary songwriting can take them.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Ivy Tripp
    It’s Crutchfield’s commitment to embracing both sides of herself--and not downplaying either--that makes Ivy Tripp the most accomplished record to bear the Waxahatchee name.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    What For?
    Even at its most thrilling, What For? manages to sound somehow too daring and not daring enough.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Beat the Champ
    Even though the album isn’t a total triumph, it’s well stocked with new Mountain Goats classics.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    This Is the Sonics
    The weakest tracks are the originals, if only because they don’t stand up to the band’s signature singles.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress
    Despite its brevity, Asunder has more meat on its bones. And though it calls back to many of the strengths of early GY!BE albums, it also highlights an evolution of intent.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Kintsugi
    It blends the newer sounds of the group’s recent output with the warmth and accessibility of its earlier work, which makes for a fine cocktail.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Carrie & Lowell
    Meet Carrie & Lowell on its terms and it’s revelatory.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Short Movie
    The best tracks showcase Marling’s ability to fuse her meandering musicality with her forceful passion.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    The Scene Between
    Despite his plunderphonic techniques, he’s a classic pop songwriter, and The Scene Between comes awfully close to being a classic pop album.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    The Ark Work
    What keeps The Ark Work from being just another metal album with non-metal influences, and elevates it above a post-modern stunt, is the uncompromising, uncategorizable beast that results from this vision.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
    Sometimes extends the fantastic first impression of songs like “Avant Gardener” and “History Eraser” into a far more memorable and cohesive proper debut for Barnett.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    I Don't Like Shit: I Don't Go Outside
    At just under a half hour, it’s even more understated than its predecessor, with fewer guests, almost no outside producers, less variety--less everything, really. That may sound like a downgrade, but it’s not, since here the anti-spectacle becomes a kind of spectacle of its own, as Earl tests how far his music can retreat into itself.
    • 96 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    To Pimp A Butterfly
    On Lamar’s longer, denser, and even richer follow-up To Pimp A Butterfly, he stops holding the listener’s hand.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Goon
    While the narrative is compelling, this is a sound-first record, with each lyric fostering the fundamental ideals Jesso has for his music.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Strangers to Ourselves
    Like 2007’s We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, it’s a comfortably familiar return to the less-than-comfortable mix of weighty lyrics and jittery, crazy-eyed indie rock that’s sustained Modest Mouse’s illustrious career.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Eat Pray Thug
    Eat Pray Thug is nothing if not awkwardly paced (the forgettable braggadocio of “Hubba Hubba Hima” clumsily follows “Home”), but it does manage a rare feat in being at once Heems’ most personal and political work.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Policy
    This is a terrific opening volley from a musician seemingly just beginning to tap an overflowing surfeit of songwriting riches.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Rebel Heart
    Rebel Heart has its fair share of those head-scratchers.... [But] Rebel Heart is a step back in the right direction.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    I Wasn't Born to Lose You
    So again, not much has changed, for better or worse. A couple of standouts might prick up the ears of some long-dead 120 Minutes programmer.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Another Eternity
    Another Eternity seems more focused on entertaining large masses of people than creating meaningful art. That’s all fine and good, but that sort of cash and popularity grab might prove that all that past skepticism was well-placed.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Chasing Yesterday
    Chasing Yesterday is airless and compressed, more like an idea of a great rock album than an actual one.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Aureate Gloom
    Loud, fickle, and impolite, Aureate Gloom is yet another entry into the evolution of one man’s soul made manifest through music.
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