Paste Magazine's Scores

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For 4,084 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 67% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 30% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 76
Highest review score: 100 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [50th Anniversary Edition Deluxe Version]
Lowest review score: 10 Songs From Black Mountain
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,648 out of 4084
  2. Mixed: 400 out of 4084
  3. Negative: 36 out of 4084
4084 music reviews
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    • 86 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    45:33
    45:33 is as much gallery-crawl as beach-run; purpose-built in gliding tempos and warm-down synth shimmers for iPod-strapped runners, yet appropriate for a cruise through the Whitney, too. [Review of UK release]
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ultraviolet
    The album is undeniably solid, so why does it feel faintly underwhelming? Context is key.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Backspacer
    Outside of a filmic context and stamped with the name Pearl Jam, several of the songs fall flat, dragging down an otherwise upbeat and enjoyable release.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Lasers
    So the political nails are hidden deeply enough in the candy that sometimes it's hard to tell whether the juxtaposition is truly bracingly subversive or oddly self-defeating. Depending on your mood or disposition, maybe it's neither, either or both. A musical Rorschach test if there ever was one.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tyranny
    Tyranny plays out like an album-length version of that epic song, stumbling upon moments of success in the way that a drunk dart player hits a bullseye every once in a while.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Making a Door Less Open
    Making a Door Less Open isn’t as memorable as its predecessors on its own: Toledo’s vision as a whole never feels truly fleshed out, representing the first legitimate misfire in the career of one of this generation’s most talented indie-rock songwriters.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Hold On Now, Youngster
    In terms of mere diversion, though, the perfectly titled Hold On Now, Youngster… is best administered in small amounts; otherwise, you run the risk of overdose.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Antics
    These songs feel heavy and significant enough--due to dynamic production and hooky choruses--even if we don’t know exactly what they mean.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Forget Tomorrow
    Wander[s] into engagingly curious sonic territory. [#13, p.125]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    A Blessing And A Curse
    Blessing is merely good, solid rock.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mission Bell
    "Violin," the lone track which seems to bare a hint of Calexico influence, is unsurprisingly the album's clear highlight: a swelling, sweeping slow-burner with wide-screen atmosphere, angelic harmonies and pedal steel aching over modest acoustic strums. More of this ilk and Mission Bell would have been a stunner.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Spell
    The wonderfully overdramatic Spell inspires imagery of the house band in a borderland casino. [Sep 2006, p.81]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    9
    While not as panoramic or varied as its predecessor, 9 is marked by a similar mix of poised control and impulsive gestures backed by dramatically arranged, lyrical instrumentation. [Dec 2006, p.92]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Adventures Of Ghosthorse And Stillborn
    The album suffers from a lack of focus. [May 2007, p.67]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Jim
    U.K. upstart Jamie Lidell’s latest is trapped squarely in this box, but the quality of his vocal performance generally keeps things from being stifling.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    On Leaving
    Her voice isn't a particularly versatile instrument, but it radiates a certain dignity and keeps the focus on her well-crafted songs. [Nov 2006, p.85]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 55 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Simpatico
    All in all, it's a strange but refreshing and likely unintentional throwback. [Sep 2006, p.81]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Fire Songs
    The Twins aren’t so compelling as songwriters, and too many of these fire songs sound merely serviceable, with mellow hooks and humdrum sentiments.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Headphones
    The mood of the disc is no less overcast than his usual material; it just makes more use of the celesta setting.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Release Therapy
    Release Therapy is solid; disappointing only when weighed against Luda's prodigious talent. [Dec 2006, p.89]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    9th Ward Pickin' Parlor
    [A] solid, satisfying effort. [Feb/Mar 2006, p.95]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Real Emotional Trash
    With Real Emotional Trash, he proves he can retain both, leaving behind the controlled one-man-band environment of 2005’s Face the Truth and issuing his most eclectic and unpredictable album yet.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Motion Sickness [Live]
    All the pros and cons of Bright Eyes present themselves here. [Feb/Mar 2006, p.110]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sing-Sing And I
    Call it Trip-Pop. [Apr/May 2006, p.117]
    • Paste Magazine
    • 67 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Heartbeat Radio
    Prodigiously talented but frustratingly inconsistent, Lerche gives Heartbeat Radio an unsteady pulse.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Hang
    The band’s latest is a slight improvement, though the self-indulgence and lack of focus are still in evidence.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Computers & Blues
    Overall, Skinner sounds bored and tired of himself-in short, ready to move on.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Death of a Decade
    It's a fine album that often lapses into anonymity, that never quite rocks as hard and as consistently as it should.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Further
    A few gems, sure, but Further doesn't fly far enough.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 59 Critic Score
    Magic Chairs
    The album struggles at times to raise its head from the multi-instrumental pack; textured as it is, there’s a muted quality to this collection that inevitably leaves ears slightly cold. It’s pretty, but not always gripping.
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