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
    • 50 Critic Score
    Defend Yourself
    The sound remains the same, but the songs aren’t always there.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Shape the Future
    With so much New Age nattering, here more than ever your enjoyment will depend on your own zeal for enlightenment and/or bong rips.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Fading Parade
    On Fading Parade, Papercuts (a.k.a. Jason Robert Quever) hasn't changed too much, sticking with the fuzzed, hazy, '60s dream-pop that's the musical equivalent of a shoebox filled with old Polaroids.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
    Echoes has some characteristic Foo Fighters rockers, but even they sound quieter: Producer Gil Norton keeps the guitars, along with everything else, subdued. And without the usual standout hits (though 'Long Road To Ruin' is solid), Echoes will probably leave fans wanting.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Mirror Mirror
    As much as the album buzzes with new energy-thanks to producer J.D. Twitch, hailing from the DJ duo Optimo-it also creaks with growing pains. Mirror Mirror is never as immediate as its predecessor, and it buffers its outstanding highlights in forgettable combinations of spooky textures, disembodied vocals, and bloodless guitars.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Praxis Makes Perfect
    In the end, Praxis Makes Perfect is an uneven mix of gleaming ’80s homages and tunes burdened by their own ambition.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sugar Ray
    An amiable assortment of summer-radio fare, its only cardinal sins being its calculated and characteristic adherence to trends and "Stay On," an ill-conceived collaboration with 311's Nick Hexum.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Delivery Man
    The Delivery Man only sparks to life when it slows down.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    An Awesome Wave
    An Awesome Wave washes over its beached listeners, pleasantly cooling them for a second, then making its retreat back into an ocean of sameness.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Junto
    For the most part, Basement Jaxx are coloring within the lines on Junto, which leads to disappointing results.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Myths Of The Near Future
    Most of this album is a slapdash mess.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Damage
    Damage doesn’t offend, but it doesn’t offer much that’s memorable, either.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Department of Disappearance
    On the whole, however, the album is even-tempered where it should be adventurous, mild when there should be marvelous.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Live It Out
    Metric has a hard time balancing its pop side and its experimental side, and not enough of the new record is as memorable as its simmering regret ballad "Too Little Too Late" or the frenzied retro-dance cut "Monster Hospital."
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Coral Fang
    Coral Fang's lack of memorable hooks makes it hard to admire for long.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Beautiful Thing
    Yo-yoing of tempos and moods aside, whether it is on the stripped-down “A Hit Song” or the jerky, David Byrne-esque “Oh Baby,” Taylor sounds pretty emotional, a sadness underscoring his signature vocals throughout.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    New Facts Emerge
    It’s not bad--it’s certainly not an Ersatz GB, or Are You Are Missing Winner (though its half-assed cover art certainly comes close). But now that I’ve written it up, off it will go into the pile, never to be played.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    With Teeth
    A tight, straightforward set of serviceable Nine Inch Nails songs, with brief moments of inspiration and lots of fan- and radio-friendly hooks.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Guest
    Given a choice between listenable power-pop by nobodies and the same product by cult movie stars, who's going to say no to a little glitter?
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Invisible Band
    If it didn't follow an album with so many sweetly anthemic, sing-along classics, The Invisible Band would warrant wholehearted recommendation as a pleasant, pneumatic summer trifle. Under the weight of heightened expectations, it's a disappointment.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Drag It Up
    Drag It Up is a proper full-length, but it occasionally plays like an odds-and-ends collection.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Bee Hives
    Works better as an adjunct for those already predisposed.
    • The A.V. Club
    • 70 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Red Of Tooth And Claw
    Red envisions turbulence, stages it professionally, and downplays Murder By Death's power to frighten listeners and conjure up dust storms.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs Of Desire
    Hombre works best when it fully embraces its titular beast: 'Fresh Blood' finds excitement in a brooding groove, and rattles when Everett literally howls. Unfortunately, those are exceptions: The rest of the album just isn’t cohesive enough to entice much repeated listening.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Ownerz
    Premier does a solid job throughout The Ownerz, but nothing here approaches his past classics.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Coco Beware
    As pleasantly promising as CoCo Beware is, Caveman has yet to move past that phase, or to fully harness the alluring darkness at its heart.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Pleasure
    For the most part, Pleasure delivers less on the promise of its title with every rehash of the same, endlessly whirring formula.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    The 2nd Law
    For a band so seemingly full of big ideas, Muse sounds on its sixth album like a hard-rocking collection of other bands, some that they've previously been compared to, and others new.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Meet Glen Campbell
    There's nothing really objectionable here, but nothing transcendent either.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    Crash Love
    The limited palette this time around doesn’t do the band any favors.
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