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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    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Ruins
    It’s a very familiar take on Americana, full of heartbreak and yearning, but a damn reliable one.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Strange Weather, Isn't It?
    With 2007's Myth Takes, the ecstatic dance-punk collective !!! came up with an album almost as strong as its best singles and live shows. The group largely holds that stride with its fourth LP, Strange Weather, Isn't It?, a nine-song, 40-minute set that functions as a celebration of rhythm, movement, and macking.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Foreverly
    As it is, Foreverly is a smart, lovely tribute LP.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Jukebox
    Ultimately, Marshall's knack for rearranging and her adulation for the artists at hand make Jukebox almost as compelling as an original confession.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Belle and Sebastian Write About Love
    The long break didn't stall the group's momentum, but Write About Love suggests Belle And Sebastian may have forgot a trick or two about, well, writing about love.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Lonely Avenue
    More sweet than cynical on this outing, Folds and Hornby are perfectly complementary as a pair of smart-asses with sentimental sides.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Seeing Sounds
    N.E.R.D.'s gonzo commitment to crossing genre boundaries in sometimes silly, nonsensical ways remains surprisingly tenable.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Modern Guilt
    "Odelay" this surely isn't, but Beck it surely is--a chameleon who changes colors just enough to keep himself interested.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Short Movie
    The best tracks showcase Marling’s ability to fuse her meandering musicality with her forceful passion.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Left by Soft
    The record is a spotlight for his delightfully unhinged guitarwork, which veers frequently into long, eloquent solos.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Fever
    Like all of his albums, it’s good but not great, a consummate professional continuing to perfect his craft.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Thr33 Ringz
    Ringz won't convert any non-believers, but for fans (auto) tuned into Pain's gleefully synthetic, excessive wavelength, he continues to deliver the guiltiest of pleasures.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Devouring Radiant Light
    The 46-minute Devouring Radiant Light lets the band breathe. It sounds like they needed it--the record’s longest songs are its best.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Swimming
    Miller sounds great when he’s whining, croaking, stretching syllables like warm mozzarella. Swimming’s spare, dreamy production allows him to do a lot of that.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Join Us
    The weird, eclectic Join Us serves as a refreshing corrective to years of kiddie albums and so-so grown-up discs, and reestablishes Linnell and John Flansburgh as geek-rock explorers of the highest order.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night
    Lortz obviously has a thing or two about women to get off his chest, and he does it with quiet but intense desperation.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    So Divided
    So Divided rushes in the opposite direction, moving lyrically toward more recognizable rock themes and musically toward the center.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Forever
    Despite its ridiculous lyrical moments, Forever advances the trend of mashing together disparate styles in metal and hardcore.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    This Is Forever
    This is She Wants Revenge's "The Black Parade:" a lot dumber, but a huge improvement.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Lust for Life
    While Del Rey’s voice remains firmly at the forefront, the spare arrangements encourage listeners to fill in their own emotional blanks for once.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Stray Ashes
    There’s no denying that Marchant can construct some amazing, well-decorated spaces. Now he just needs to populate them.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Pinkprint
    The PinkPrint is the closest Nicki Minaj has ever gotten to balancing her tendencies, and the furthest she’s ever been from emotional stability.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Who Killed Amanda Palmer
    Aside from a few tedious moments, that's no reason to complain.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Oohs & Aahs
    Elbogen is plenty emotive, but his sighed vocals never seem forced or affected.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Talahomi Way
    The record is both a journey and a respite: an opportunity to disappear for a while and return feeling refreshed.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Thr!!!er
    A groove-heavy cool-club record that never takes on more than it can handle.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Expect the Best
    On Expect The Best, Widowspeak returns to the looseness of its earlier output but drops even more of its guard, and the band’s ever-present nostalgia becomes a deeper autobiographical commentary on the passage of time and expectations.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Rise To Your Knees
    Barring two tracks of effects-happy hard rock, Rise To Your Knees is a pleasant collection of downplayed, mid-tempo, gently psychedelic Americana.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Widow City
    The Fiery Furnaces earn repeated listens on hooks and convoluted storytelling alone, though 2003's "Gallowsbird's Bark and Bitter Tea" hold more surprises.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968
    Much of the time, though, those "raps" meander--a good fifth of Sugar Mountain's 70-minute run time is devoted to them, and their replay value is limited. Which is too bad--the performances are excellent.
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