No Ripcord's Scores
- Music
For 2,725 reviews, this publication has graded:
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43% higher than the average critic
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3% same as the average critic
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54% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.8 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 70
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1,898 out of 2725
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Mixed: 751 out of 2725
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Negative: 76 out of 2725
2725
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
The first two tracks (two of the three singles from the album) are irritatingly underwhelming, and only Carrion (the third of the aforementioned singles) conveys any of the urgency and compactness required to really grab a listeners' attention.- No Ripcord
- Posted Apr 18, 2018
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It also formalizes some of the sensual spontaneity of Woman, as he puts forth a lavish, spotless output that also suffers from some seriously tasteless lyrical choices. On Blood, Rhye's fixation with style does get the best of him.- No Ripcord
- Posted Mar 26, 2018
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FRIGS half-convincingly communicate their agitation over piercing shards of noise. The band are at their best when the rhythm section takes charge.- No Ripcord
- Posted Mar 26, 2018
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Craft is an artist who values songcraft intensely, structuring his stanzas carefully but with an exuberant self-assuredness. The result of his work in the case of Full Circle Nightmare is a precession of songs that wear out their welcome in a brisk fashion.- No Ripcord
- Posted Mar 26, 2018
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Violence may make you roll your eyes as much as tap your feet, but when everything comes together, Editors manage to sound like a genuinely exciting prospect for the first time in years.- No Ripcord
- Posted Mar 21, 2018
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It’s as though Dacus’s best parts have been filtered through a focus group--just imagine what it could have been with the patina scraped off.- No Ripcord
- Posted Mar 14, 2018
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Like their past work, subpar filler holds the album back. It’s worth joining them for the climb, just know that it’s going to be an uneven ascent.- No Ripcord
- Posted Feb 20, 2018
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Repetition is considered their weakest strength, which isn't true at all--they introduce shrill synth textures and dub elements with a good understanding of technique. It does add the slightest variation to their acerbic post-punk, all rendered with a cheerful stance even if there’s an apparent loss of rage. Still, this party feels less exciting than the night before.- No Ripcord
- Posted Feb 14, 2018
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The nostalgia lacks anything close to the authenticity that Thunder, Lightning, Strike achieved, and the sound of the 2018 version of The Go! Team struggles to get anywhere far from persistent annoyance.- No Ripcord
- Posted Feb 14, 2018
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Ruins is an affecting, comforting listen, but not one that will imprint itself too vividly in the memory.- No Ripcord
- Posted Feb 14, 2018
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Ultimately, Marble Skies is a hopscotch of metamorphosizing sounds that can be rewarding for the most part, but only if you can muster the energy to make it so.- No Ripcord
- Posted Feb 14, 2018
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Palm do stand out from their contemporaries on Rock Island, especially since they equally embrace and rile against indie rock as a conservative movement. Their nonconformist aesthetic is imbued with an independent spirit, even if the sources they pull from prevents them from really taking off.- No Ripcord
- Posted Feb 12, 2018
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Wrong Creatures is an impeccably produced record that will undoubtedly appeal to any devout Black Rebel Motorcycle Club listener. Every charging, hard rock guitar and squelching feedback strikes with a sharpness that does not come at the price of distortion. Still, the marked contrasts in Creatures give the impression that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were aiming for a sweeping, meticulously-layered force of Be Here Now-like proportions.- No Ripcord
- Posted Jan 16, 2018
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Much of the album’s electro-lite flavoring does provide some hummable moments, but as the cringingly tricked out Mexican Fender and stomping chants of La Mancha Screwjob suggest, they’re most likely to suffer a slow and gradual death at your local Forever 21.- No Ripcord
- Posted Nov 27, 2017
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The third LP from Jessie Ware sees her bring her diva mode to the forefront of her sound, but the lack of the scarcity and minimalism that saw her emerge at the turn of the decade results in the finished product lacking the effectiveness of her earlier work.- No Ripcord
- Posted Nov 27, 2017
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Hints of regularity are often dropped before being snatched away from you in vaudevillian style. There’s an awful lot to be admired about Clementine’s approach, but it’s certainly not an easy listen.- No Ripcord
- Posted Nov 27, 2017
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Charging power-pop anthems like I’m So Free and Dear Life agree with his current stature as an elder statesman who can try to keep it cool, except that when he veers into strummy gloss pop (Up All Night, Square One) it makes him sound out of touch.- No Ripcord
- Posted Nov 27, 2017
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There’s the promise of another knockout. One that, unfortunately, takes the liberty of reshaping past half-baked ideas without really adding much flair to Clark’s otherwise intriguing exploration of fame and femininity.- No Ripcord
- Posted Oct 20, 2017
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At times it’s as if the band is still trying to figure out the right temperament to base off of for the extent of a full-length album. The result is an uneven pairing of drive and control, and the latter tends to push them towards worn-out novelty with greater force.- No Ripcord
- Posted Oct 6, 2017
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His lack of nuance from a lyrical standpoint is startling, to the point where it confuses one into thinking that it’s profound since everything else is so carefully considered. It comes from a genuine place, sure, but his overly labored Reagan-era balladry rekindles a musical period that still sounds entirely dated.- No Ripcord
- Posted Sep 25, 2017
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He has created such a strong, affecting soundscape that for the most part of the record it is uncomfortable to listen to. Whether that is by design or not, Ejimiwe has administered a macabre marriage of sound and speak that are made for each other.- No Ripcord
- Posted Sep 25, 2017
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For a band where constructing songs into rocket-fueled crescendos is their biggest strength, too often does A Black Mile to the Surface fail to take advantage of any momentum it builds, often taking the wrong fork on an ascent to a splendid finale.- No Ripcord
- Posted Aug 24, 2017
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Something to Tell You doesn’t attempt anything new and keeps it safe, though, and when your best track is yet another sanitized extract of Tango in the Night, well, that’s not saying much.- No Ripcord
- Posted Aug 24, 2017
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At times it can be strikingly absurdist, the benefit of a frontman who knows how to insert humor naturally into the dourest of settings. But Higgs also loses sight of his own lyrical virtuosity when keeping with the band’s regurgitated precision-playing. Everything Everything continue to convey their bottomless ideas effortlessly, chained to the rhythm, even if their dizzying dance is beginning to show signs of fatigue.- No Ripcord
- Posted Aug 18, 2017
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The difficulty here is that each volume is a separate entry, the band’s maiden two-album release a mere showcase of multiple outlets as opposed to something consistent or whole, making what should be a milestone for the band more of a missed opportunity. With that said, listen to it, anyway. There’s still at least one very good album here.- No Ripcord
- Posted Aug 7, 2017
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It’s their weakest album by far. But there are segments of radiant brilliance that will make you wonder what could have been. Going forward, the band needs to regain their balance and find that grounded perspective while reaching for the stars again.- No Ripcord
- Posted Jul 31, 2017
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Lust For Life may be a scattered, confusing record, but it's a beautiful ride--one worth repeated listens, even if Lana's intentions--like her enunciation--aren't always clear.- No Ripcord
- Posted Jul 26, 2017
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Some of Weather Diaries sounds a bit thin, as the album's vibrant singles come off as outdated recreations of old songs with some unnecessary polish. It isn’t short of ideas, though.- No Ripcord
- Posted Jul 19, 2017
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At once droll and melancholic, Cigarettes After Sex struggles to earn the aural beauty it desperately seeks.- No Ripcord
- Posted Jul 19, 2017
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Ooh La La sharpens that edge with a straight-up shot of soul rock revivalism followed by a chaser of electro-groove. Ditto is at her peak at these moments, where she finds a balance between creativity and sneering attitude, and it would have been great to see more of that, and less of the studio-slick professionalism of the album’s sound.- No Ripcord
- Posted Jul 19, 2017
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