MTV.com's Scores

  • Music
Select another publication »
For 75 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 74% higher than the average critic
  • 1% same as the average critic
  • 25% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.2 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 73
Highest review score: 100 XTRMNTR
Lowest review score: 20 Songs From an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 75
  3. Negative: 6 out of 75
75 music reviews
view
per page
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    NakedSelf
    Gone is the sweeping piano and oozing horns of previous albums. Gone too is the pop sensibility that permeated Dusk, Mind Bomb, Soul Mining, and others. Matt Johnson has never been a pop artist, but he can craft amazing melodies. However, Johnson has hit a new level of menace here, like he's become a subterranean dweller since 1993. It's musically more free form and grittier. This takes some adjustment.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Original Motion Picture Score for The Virgin Suicides
    It's clear that Air didn't spend a whole lot of time on these tracks, since most of the music here revolves around a couple of musical motifs and none are as densely complex as their previous work. However, this reductionist approach serves its purpose and, although conceptually a far cry from Moon Safari -- for obvious reasons -- The Virgin Suicides nonetheless fits well within Air's modus operandi.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    MACHINA/the machines of God
    Rather than highbrow art-rock, we just get a really pretentious heavy metal album.... the Pumpkins' worst album to date.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Pieces In A Modern Style
    A beautifully seamless ambient work full of lullabies and dreamscapes?
    • 83 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
    A too-long, languid mess of Hoboken groove.... a thoroughly disappointing affair.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Night
    The Night could very well be Morphine's best work to date. Sandman and company finish the thoughts of 1997's Like Swimming by adding rich, subtle layers to their trio's thick sonic weave without diluting the band's strengths.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Disco and The Half Way To Discontent
    With a heavier emphasis on funky bottom end and infectious loops, it could be said that Disco is a much more dancefloor-oriented record, and, to that end, it may very well be. However, resting atop these funky beats is some refreshingly insightful lyricism.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Midnite Vultures
    Think of this sultry record as the night to Odelay's day.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    So...How's Your Girl?
    So ... How's Your Girl? ... mental infomercial, fashion Trojan horse, soundtrack to a movie we may never see, sheer genius ... uh huh, it's all that and so much more. Handsome Boy Modeling School is your ticket to a better quality of life.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    One Part Lullaby
    Thickly constructed, melodically rich, and thoroughly well-conceived, Barlow and fellow Implosionist John Davis have concocted a true '90s guitar pop album.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Remedy
    Word had already gotten out about this debut LP: that for its genre, it's as seminal as London Calling and as well rounded as Sign of the Times; it avoids the monotony and facelessness of 99% of house records; and it's as funky as anything out there, past or present. Guess what: it's all true.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Play
    It's a well-thought-out, catchy, and complex body-rocker of a record from beginning to end, with only one or two minor missteps.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    13
    Despite all this experimentation, Blur still sneaks in perfect pop nuggets such as "Coffee & TV," where cheery harmonies share space with a squealing guitar.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Beaucoup Fish
    Beaucoup Fish is 74 non-stop minutes-worth of next level disco inferno.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Keep It Like A Secret
    Somehow these fragments instantly assemble themselves into a gorgeous whole, and there's not a piece you could imagine replacing.
next
Page: