Magnet's Scores
- Music
For 2,325 reviews, this publication has graded:
-
60% higher than the average critic
-
3% same as the average critic
-
37% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.1 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 73
| Highest review score: | Comicopera | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest review score: | Sound-Dust |
Score distribution:
-
Positive: 1,874 out of 2325
-
Mixed: 380 out of 2325
-
Negative: 71 out of 2325
2325
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
-
- Critic Score
Classical/new-age strains mash against underlying funk beats with this record's favorite motif being sophisticated Europop twisted around throbbing rhythms sourced from sound sample slices, giving it a feel that falls somewhere between Mike Patton's Lovage, Peeping Tom and the pseudo-highbrow commercials that Chanel and Lindor use to hawk fragrance and milk chocolate. [No. 112, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Aug 6, 2014 -
- Critic Score
The good (and bad) news for people who love bad (and good) news: Both groups will be delighted and appalled by this record. [No. 112, p.51]- Magnet
Posted Aug 6, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Bossy's reformation seems based in penning the dullest platitudes imaginable. [No. 112, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Aug 6, 2014 -
- Critic Score
The fact that two 19-year-old players--drummer Evan Laffer and guitarist Matt Pulos--generate this crushing wall of sound makes it even more impressive. [No. 111, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Jul 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
An uneven record, though one that may ultimately prove a warm-up for a more interesting one. [No. 111, p.61]- Magnet
Posted Jul 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
There are plenty of vocal effects and a seductive use of harmonies, but they're seldom more than pleasant. [No. 111, p.61]- Magnet
Posted Jul 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Though No Coast possesses its vivifying moments. It's pretty clear not all the organs made it back after the post-Frame And Canvas autopsy. [No. 111, p.52]- Magnet
Posted Jul 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Their new album A Thousand Thoughts, featuring mostly unreleased tracks of music from 14 countries, does suggest that in this expanded universe Kronos have come to resemble sentimental tourists rather then intrepid explorers. [May 2014, p.65]- Magnet
Posted Jul 17, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Turn Blue is a soft pack of post-coital smokes, and Marlboro Lights 100's at that. [No. 110, p.51]- Magnet
Posted Jun 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
With Rented World, the Menzingers aren't doing anything new; they're simply coasting from where Impossible Past left them. [No. 109, p.57]- Magnet
Posted May 19, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Diploid probably has some ace songs, but you'll need an industrial belt sander to uncover them. [No. 109, p.55]- Magnet
Posted May 19, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Albarn aficionados will, of course, lap it up, but for the rest of us, think of it more along the lines of a faintly beguiling curio in an otherwise fascinating career. [No. 109, p.52]- Magnet
Posted May 19, 2014 -
- Critic Score
'War Cry," the album's longest track at more than 11 minutes, sums up the band's problem with its blend of barely audible vocals and meandering guitar solos that go from metallic shredding to simple repeated clusters of notes without building much tension or release. [No. 109, p.59]- Magnet
Posted May 19, 2014 -
- Critic Score
For possibly the first time ever, it's hard to tell if he's trying too hard or not trying hard enough. [No. 109, p.56]- Magnet
Posted May 19, 2014 -
- Critic Score
This LP does little to propel her anywhere near the ranks of the big-name women of contemporary pop/rock. [No. 108, p.61]- Magnet
Posted Apr 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
The Take Off is not all that remarkable the first few times around, but it nonetheless hints at rewarding repeat visits. [No. 108, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Apr 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Their stinging, smart wordplay is dependably knotted and sneered, and even though it's difficult to separate their cadences, the collective passion present is undeniable. [No. 108, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Apr 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
An enticing record emerges, boasting intricate instrumental latticework with the smoldering focus of slow jams. [No. 108, p.57]- Magnet
Posted Apr 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Beyond often rings with the bumbling awkwardness of a band taking itself too seriously for the first time. [No. 108, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Apr 18, 2014 -
- Critic Score
The Private World Of Paradise does have a somewhat rustic, indie-rock feel, though augmented with a greater wealth of instrumentation. [No. 107, p.61]- Magnet
Posted Mar 13, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Sadie Dupuis' sweet voice offers very little respite from her defiantly uncatchy band. [No. 107, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Mar 12, 2014 -
- Critic Score
An eight-song album that flounders too much in mid-tempo purgatory. [No. 107, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Mar 12, 2014 -
- Critic Score
The album's got its share of earnest torchers, but the upbeat "Salt Of The Earth" is the standout--spooky, yearning, bluesy, almost trip-hoppy and a little bit weird. [No. 106, p.54]- Magnet
Posted Feb 26, 2014 -
- Critic Score
The effect is rather like Post-Super ae Boredoms, which is a great sound to achieve, but they only nail it sporadically. [No. 106, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Feb 21, 2014 -
- Critic Score
It helps that the androgynous vocals carry a hook here and there.... Otherwise, it's hard to pull any other redeeming qualities out of Galore. [No. 106, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Feb 21, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Jamaica Plain feels fittingly tentative and exploratory. [No. 105, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Dec 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Lightning Bolt is only more competent than Foo Fighters, Vedder and Co.'s rival for the planet's straightest rock band. [No. 105, p.57]- Magnet
Posted Dec 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Fantasy would be far more appetizing as a photo-negative of itself, with a dearth of feedback and studio obfuscation and Ambrogio's poetry as front-and-center spoken word. [No. 105, p.57]- Magnet
Posted Dec 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
After a few tracks, you may find yourself seeking relief with your favorite method of self-obliteration. [No. 105, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Dec 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Their grandiose mini-operas and stadium-size choruses can thrill. But to hear the relentless string of outsized anthems in a row is exhausting. [No. 105, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Dec 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Sonically, it's all pretty enough, but the songs rely too much on goofy valentines and cliches. [No. 104, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Nov 27, 2013 -
- Magnet
Posted Nov 27, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The bulk of the album feels much more controlled, and though it's technically accomplished record--as well it might be given the lineup--there's more brain than heart in the final mix. [No. 104, p.60]- Magnet
Posted Nov 27, 2013 -
- Critic Score
It boasts riveting tempos, gripping atmospheres, imaginative chopped 'n' screwed vocal tracks and a vague sense of currency via a bass drop or two. But it also feels incredibly rote and through-the-motions. [No. 103, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Oct 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The Speed Of Things has no teeth.... But the choruses are strong and the melodies catchy enough. [No. 103, p.54]- Magnet
Posted Oct 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Ultimately, this is really only of interest to random member of Teenage Fanclub and die-hard obsessives alike. [No. 103, p.52]- Magnet
Posted Oct 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
May's singing is the unifying thread, a balmy, melancholy-drenched tenor that brings a touch of sunshine to every word uttered. [No. 102, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Sep 19, 2013 -
- Magnet
Posted Sep 19, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Overall, this still feels very much on the level Placebo was at with 1999 single "Every You Every Me," minus more artfully constructed, impressive instrumental compositions and lyricism. [No. 102, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Sep 19, 2013 -
- Critic Score
AM's wheel-spinning is a bit of a letdown, but a handful of tracks keep it from being a total throwaway. [No. 102, p.52]- Magnet
Posted Sep 19, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Those looking for Kaufman's brand of gleefully absurd fin will surely be disappointed, as these tapes are strictly for completist diehards. [No. 101, p.57]- Magnet
Posted Aug 16, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The album's most obvious failing is the way in which the vocals are presented and mixed. [No. 101, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Aug 16, 2013 -
- Critic Score
"Does this make this more or less weird than what I've come to expect from JOA?" the answer is yes. [No. 101, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Aug 16, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The Style Council-style blue-eyed soul and precise power pop of the debut now have some company that doesn't work, like the '70s Nashville countrypolitan exercise of the title track. [No. 100, p.51]- Magnet
Posted Jul 17, 2013 -
- Critic Score
It's not an overall disaster, it's certainly never dull, and there's plenty to keep the loyalists happy. [No. 100, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Jul 17, 2013 -
- Critic Score
While Femi's flame doesn't burn quite as strong as his dad's, the Kuti family still holds the belt as reigning champs of Afrobeat. [No. 100, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Jul 17, 2013 -
- Critic Score
A few more tracks like ["Chicks, Man"] would have made Elvis Club great, rather than good. [No.99, p.54]- Magnet
Posted Jun 26, 2013 -
- Critic Score
This somnambulant slice of dreamy, low-key synth rock is a logical follow-up to Weekends. [No.99, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Jun 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
From a fan's point of view, this [playing the same songs for years] rarely works. And it rarely works here. [No.99, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Jun 18, 2013 -
- Critic Score
It's hard to keep this album from simply asking why over and over again. [No.99, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Jun 17, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The results are gorgeous, but frustratingly circumspect: twitchy, mournful, would-be futuristic dark pop that's almost comforting in its claustrophobia. [No.99, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Jun 17, 2013 -
- Critic Score
A concept where every title is a different animal should've wielded funnier, more songful results. [No.98, p.55]- Magnet
Posted May 17, 2013 -
- Critic Score
There's no shortage of pretty sounds, but it's too easy to drift into the reliable ebb and flow of this album's amniotic dynamic. [No. 98, p.54]- Magnet
Posted May 10, 2013 -
- Magnet
Posted May 10, 2013 -
- Critic Score
It is, for the most part, a distant shadow of former glories. [No. 98, p.56]- Magnet
Posted May 10, 2013 -
- Critic Score
There's no real depth allowed in the themes, of course, and it bears no small resemblance to most other post-LCD Soundsystem fare. But it's beyond pointless to fault another person's idea of goodtime music. [No. 98, p.52]- Magnet
Posted May 10, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Shook Me offers little that doesn't sound like any one of those bands [Vampire Weekend, the Kooks, and fun.] sanded down to their blandest core. [No. 97, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Apr 23, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The band's largely understated interpretation of punk offers a fresh and relatable perspective, mostly free of melodrama or righteous indignation. [No. 97, p.61]- Magnet
Posted Apr 16, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Stygian Stride may officially be divided into six differently titled pieces, but it actually exists best as a start-to-finish totality. [No. 97, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Apr 16, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Tales From Terra Firma takes them to a more generic realm of sing-along indie rock, which is too bad. [No. 97, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Apr 16, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Structurally stripped-down and bulked up by Randall Dunn's satisfyingly solid production, too many of these songs fall short of memorability. [No. 97, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Apr 16, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The album's numerous ballads meander at times, but Stories Don't End is an overall solid effort. [No. 97, p.54]- Magnet
Posted Apr 16, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Savor Luke Lalonde's chirpy blurts on "Needle" and "Ocean's Deep;" they're soon replaced by increasingly ironed-out dance pop that goes through unfortunate puberty over 12 tracks, from good to bad to worse. [No. 97, p.53]- Magnet
Posted Apr 16, 2013 -
- Magnet
Posted Mar 19, 2013 -
- Critic Score
It boasts Wembley-sized sound and a few huge singles that aspire to confuse Stockholm for a UK colony. [No. 96, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Shapiro's singing is as wispy and wafer-thin as ever, her limp, lovelorn lamentations just as piteously plaintive. Your call whether that's charming or cloying, but it's not exactly the most versatile approach. [No. 96, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
He's perfectly adequate as a singer and melody writer, but he doesn't have the indelible personality of a Morrissey or Isaac Brock. [No. 96, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The musicianship is smart and faultless, but also too subtle. [No. 96, p.54]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Their fourth full-length has the band members grabbing snippets of musical influence from all over the Pitchfork-approved map. [No. 96, p.54]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Love From London could use more of those surprising or insightfully startling juxtapositions that define his best labors. [No. 96, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Lady gets high marks for nostalgic soul--with all the trappings of horns and strings--but ultimately the album recalls everything that was great about '60s soul, past-tense. [No. 96, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The instrumentals, which mix grainy field recordings with more forthright electronic melodies, assert a strong presence, but not enough to rescue Hymnal from a state of irresolute inbetween-ness. [No. 96, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
The superficial snarl and by-the-numbers rawk in the middle on tracks like "Haste The Taste" and "Teenage Disease" never find equal footing with the album's inspired bookends. [No. 96, p.53]- Magnet
Posted Mar 15, 2013 -
- Critic Score
It's bright and shiny and perky.... But it also risks being faceless--it's Tegan and Sara's least personable, most superficial record. [No. 95, p.60]- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Overall, Electric is another consistent yet unsurprising recent Thompson album. [No. 95, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Unwilling or unable to ascend the vertiginous heights of 2009 debut Gorilla Manor, Hummingbird instead buries its beak in the sand. [No. 95, p.58]- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Flute and saxophone abound on this record, employed with a degree of schmaltz that works against the songs more often then not. [No. 95, p.57]- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Critic Score
He seeks to boldly chase his pop-music idols, which hits the mark only about half the time. But when he doesn't, at least it's a glorious miss. [No. 95, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Critic Score
[Her high-pitched vocals] restricts her melodies a bit too much for their own good, and some more dynamic performances near the album's end can't save it from fading in a poof of uneasy effervescence. [No. 95, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Critic Score
As with all impressive novelty albums, it's hard to imagine getting to a sixth play of these nonetheless flawless interpretations, and even those would mostly be for friends and neighbors. [No. 95, p.54]- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Critic Score
These guys do so many things well--now if they could only find their weird again. [No. 95, p.52]- Magnet
Posted Feb 11, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Mostly, the remix collection works in this vein, mutating the originals by further accentuating the brooding atmosphere and driving the beat harder. [No. 94, p.61]- Magnet
Posted Jan 4, 2013 -
- Magnet
Posted Jan 4, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Much of Synthesized sounds like a rather bland concentrate of whatever musical style Holkenborg has chosen to upgrade. [No.94, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Jan 4, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Too often the tracks meander aimlessly, never building enough momentum to culminate into any kind of climax. [No. 94, p.54]- Magnet
Posted Jan 4, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Fans of either Glass or the remixers won't be too disappointed, but they won't be blown away, either. [No. 93, p.60]- Magnet
Posted Dec 4, 2012 -
- Critic Score
At its worst (most of it), it's layered synth sounds with beats and vocals smacking of a manufactured sexiness, all designed to hide the gaping void where memorable songwriting should be. [No. 93, p.59]- Magnet
Posted Dec 4, 2012 -
- Critic Score
Opening slog, "Heaven Is A Gated Community" plods hopelessly beneath its titular destination, setting the pace for a record-long limp. [No. 93, p.57]- Magnet
Posted Dec 4, 2012 -
- Critic Score
They too often edge into Meat Loaf/Jim Steinman territory, where every detail becomes a cause for operatic exaggeration and any clunky line or cliche sounds ridiculous. [No. 93, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Dec 4, 2012 -
- Critic Score
The odd, sublime nod to the blues is a pleasant shock in what registers as a 45-track hour-long lark--the latest in a long, winding series of digressions from the auteur's core competency. [No. 93, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Dec 4, 2012 -
- Critic Score
We still find this trio a little yawn-worthy. [No. 93, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Dec 4, 2012 -
- Critic Score
Good-natured, utterly accessible dance pop with meta-awareness of its own shallowness and disposability. [No.92 p.58]- Magnet
Posted Oct 29, 2012 -
- Critic Score
When it's not pounding out overly mechanical drum patterns, the band is crowding the better moments with unnecessary noise. A friendly suggestion for Sea Wolf LP number four: solo acoustic. [No.92 p.58]- Magnet
Posted Oct 26, 2012 -
- Critic Score
The sound is more lush than usual and has clearly matured, but it does come across a lot like indie new age music. [No. 92, p.55]- Magnet
Posted Oct 17, 2012 -
- Critic Score
Lightening returns to the tried-and-true formula that has worked so well for them. [No. 92, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Oct 10, 2012 -
- Critic Score
It sounds like a fun, energetic performance but it downplays his sophisticated charms. [#91, p.56]- Magnet
Posted Oct 10, 2012 -
- Critic Score
Though not everything in the limper, bloatier back half hits the mark, they're mostly aiming in the right direction. [No.91 p.59]- Magnet
Posted Oct 4, 2012 -
- Critic Score
Orbserver is the latest chapter in that legend's [Lee Perry's] ever-lengthening history, and it works ok in that sense. But it's barely an Orb album. [No.91 p.58]- Magnet
Posted Oct 1, 2012