Boston Globe's Scores

Select another publication »
For 2,093 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 66% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 31% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.6 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 72
Highest review score: 100 City of Refuge
Lowest review score: 10 Lulu
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,670 out of 2093
  2. Mixed: 412 out of 2093
  3. Negative: 11 out of 2093
2093 music reviews
view
per page
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    All That Echoes
    The album continues in the vein of longtime Groban producer David Foster’s Olympic-ceremony pop: panoramic in scope, the better for Groban’s clear, tremulous tenor to stand on mountains and call out vague blandishments.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cynic's New Year
    While there's a charm to their baroque simplicity, the preponderance of shared elements speaks to the lack of movement in getting from the one to the other.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Bush
    All of the things that made Snoop Snoop--his effortless, laconic flow, clever wordplay, and narrative skills--are almost completely absent.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Infinite Arms
    It’s painful to say, but Band of Horses’ third release makes one long for the proverbial record-label suit saying, “I don’t hear a single.’’
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Catching a Tiger
    Lissie is certainly a phenomenal talent and one to watch, but it's disappointing that Catching a Tiger doesn't make a more lasting first impression.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Nocturnes
    Little Boots’ hooks rarely fall flat but can’t fully take off, either--they’re chained to the dance floor.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Memory Almost Full
    This collection is filled with half-baked ideas and shallow reminiscences, a pair of dated rockers, and one meditation on mortality that manages to be maudlin and bubble-headed at the same time. It smacks of Wings at its goofiest.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    In the Time of Gods
    It's a lofty premise and, sadly, she overreaches with some unusually contrived lyric writing that spoils some of the great music behind it.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    What Is This Heart?
    What Is This Heart? often feels uncomfortably intimate, which cuts both ways..
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Mind of Mine
    Zayn sounds tentative when he’s venturing into lyrical territory beyond his former band’s purview, which compromises the album’s clearly wide-ranging aims.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Paperwork
    The music, executive produced by Pharrell, is inviting, soulful, and sonically inventive (the mournful “Light ’Em Up RIP Doe B” is especially impressive). The rhymes and subjects are so stale, though.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Delta Spirit
    Though this overhaul is often passionate and catchy, it's also frustratingly generic and portentous.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    My Weekly Reader
    Her whip-smart daffiness sets up her serious moments to hit all the harder--but the performances of the (mostly ’60s) covers that make up the album are largely uninspired.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Li(f)e
    Some consider Francis more of a spoken-word artist than a hip-hop MC, and there’s validity to that. When he falters, his cadences flatten out and completely lack rhythm, especially in the songs that are bursts of verbosity. At times, his verse is more provocative than evocative.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    My World 2.0
    It effects a musical anachronism, albeit a catchy one, but in this sped-up recycling moment all styles all at once are grist for the mill.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Living Legend
    Displaying sharp technique and wordplay, he promises something special. Disappointingly, the record quickly devolves into pro forma bluster as the rapper never reveals himself, opting instead for familiar thug posturing.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Then Came the Morning
    Then Came the Morning never overcomes its distance; Williams can keen all he wants, but he’s no louder than someone speaking right to you, right in front of you.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Sonic Highways
    Sonic Highways isn’t a bad album, merely a disappointingly bloodless one; after all, one thing Foo Fighters have never lacked in the past is immediacy.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sky Full of Holes
    Right on cue comes Sky Full of Holes, which continues the identity crisis that began on the flailing "Traffic and Weather.''
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Man Against Machine
    The baker’s dozen tracks on the collection break like so: two classics, six above-average cuts, and six songs, like “People,” that are just fine.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cruel Summer
    While every second of Cruel Summer sounds high quality, it never feels cohesive.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Night Train
    The traditional tones and textures of country music are largely lost in the array of guitar solos that sound like Bon Jovi audition tapes.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Trigga
    Songz follows suit with these gratuitous songs about dominance and bedroom prowess. Unfortunately, he completely lacks irony and tips into caricature.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Midnight
    It’s a cheesy plunge into dance-pop that shows a crass haste to grab Top 40 radio play. Many of these synth-driven, computerized songs land with a thud.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Believe
    Lyrical awkwardness abounds.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Family Jewels
    There’s not much variety as a result, despite a wide range of ingredients, and while it’s possible that liking one song could mean liking them all, it’s best to focus on a single track.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Drastic Fantastic
    Tunstall's third album is far less gritty than her first album.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again
    For all that firepower, the follow-up can’t touch the rough, quixotic charms of its predecessor. But it has moments.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Mastermind
    This overlong record feels labored and bereft of new ideas.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    December Day
    An unfortunate monotony sets in with the slow tempos, but Nelson’s acoustic guitar provides some life on Django Reinhardt’s “Nuages.” This appears to be a special album for Willie; whether it will be so for his fans is open to debate.
Page: