DIY Magazine's Scores

  • Music
For 3,080 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 54% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 42% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 73
Highest review score: 100 Not to Disappear
Lowest review score: 20 Let It Reign
Score distribution:
3080 music reviews
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Agut-wrenching yet joyous journey into the thick of her every feeling, with neither sugar-coating or shame. It’s a walk on a tightrope, balanced precariously between a downward spiralling cascade of thought.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The richness of its sounds is what makes ‘Strange Dance’ a warmly familiar, if not entirely compelling listen.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    ‘Food For Worms’ bulges with high-octane surprise. This is the sound of a band performing at the peak of their powers.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘Cracker Island’ is very much a set piece that prioritises concept and narrative, resulting in one of Gorillaz’s most restrained, contemplative releases yet - one that will perhaps appeal to fans of Albarn’s solo work more than devotees of his monkeys’ more genre-hopping forays.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Like a pop phoenix rising from 2011’s ashes, ‘Let Her Burn’ is Rebecca Black showing us just what she’s capable of.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    It’s eerie, it’s weird, and maybe a tad too long (it could still perhaps work as a three-minute interlude or similar) but regardless, it still somehow manages to feel like Pigs x7 while offering a welcome change. By its last quarter, ‘Land of Sleeper’ feels like it’s said all it can.
    • 94 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    It embraces the unconventional with resounding ease, finding its voice in the skilled hands of two of pop’s most forward-thinking pioneers, both busy rethinking just what it can be.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Where ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ was a bold move to reforge their identity and rejuvenate their dedication for the band, it’s with ‘Truth Decay’ that they seem to have found their sweet spot.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    ‘This Is Why’ is a blistering melding pot of artistry.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It’s cleverly written and produced too, with motifs (both sonic and lyrical) seeping from one track to the other. In all, this makes ‘Raven’ completely alluring, and offers a soundtrack for melancholic late-night drives through buzzing cities.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘Breaking…’ offers up a feast of exuberance, standout track ‘Riots and Jokes’ musically epitomising the album’s forward-charging freedoms, and neatly sums up Quasi’s modus operandi there in its very title.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A curious collection of contrasts. Most notably, that between the protagonists’ own voices. ... That said, the duo know when to complement each other, too.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    With the emotionally charged beats of ‘Black Mascara’, the candour of ‘Body Dysmorphia’ and the unfiltered soul of ‘Buss It Down’, it would be impossible for anyone to sleep on RAYE anymore.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Unique, raw and totally joyous.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sam’s latest finds them exploring self-acceptance and self-growth across their now-classic style of soul-tinged pop. ... While ’Unholy’’s catchy melodies may be elsewhere untouchable, it breaks down the boundaries of topics to explore throughout the rest of ‘Gloria’.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    A bright and inviting pop album that brilliantly captures the emotional snapshots of life.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    There are whispers of similarity to her queer contemporaries, too, from Shura (’Pandora’s Box’) to Years & Years (’Nightingale’), that make this break-up record much more exciting than its conveyor belt competition.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ‘Lifetime’ remains one of the album’s strongest pursuits; lovestruck and introspective, each beat keenly felt. The album revels in this on a whole; a lovelorn sheen which dances between interludes. It’s less dancefloor filler, more earnest confessions and professions of absolute adoration.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    This one does find itself running out of steam a little towards its conclusion without enough robust new ideas. For the most part, though, this bold experiment pays off, and Fucked Up can be admired for their ambition as much as they can for their enviable productivity.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Energetic, furious and deeply lamentful, perhaps the main achievement here is how Italia 90 so forwardly address a near fifty-year old cultural heritage which so many depend on yet take for granted.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The mixtape allows space for this experimentation, jumping from one emotion to the next, yet finds consistency in Biig Piig’s inability to stand still.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dave’s voice holds up well throughout, showing vulnerability. It makes for an exciting, experimental, laid back 11 tracks, and we can only hope this isn’t the last solo work from him.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    While some might mourn the loss of their one-time raucousness, ‘Gigi’s Recovery’ shows that their momentum swings only forwards.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    While the album may find itself guilty of treading the line of pretty-but-unassuming at times - the sheer beauty of every detail is impressive, if not a little tiring - ‘Time’s Arrow’ remains a sumptuous listen.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    ‘Mercy’ provides another delicious example of an esteemed old-timer triumphantly pushing his creative frontiers into a much-shifted modern age.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    There is a surety to ‘Permanent Damage’, however, in the sheer force of lyricism at play. With soulful, silk-like vocals, Joesef weaves this narrative, deftly dealing the blows of this world in absolute destruction, before showing that ultimately, some marks never fade and that’s OK.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    While the off-kilter rhythms and cowbells of ‘This Love’ give way to a central chorus line that’s almost Bowie-esque. They’re big reference points but ‘Turn The Car Around’ uses them masterfully to drive down its own sonic motorway.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    There’s still that personable rawness to her production – the synthetic drums and often sparse arrangement mirroring her frequently despondent lyrical themes (“The death of everything real has happened…” begins ‘apathy is wild’). But her vocal offers warmth.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    By embracing all sides of his 50 years in the game, ‘Every Loser’ is Iggy throwing out the late-career rulebook and having a whole bunch of fun. Which is, of course, what made him so brilliant in the first place.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The drought may be over, but SZA left no crumbs.