Slant Magazine's Scores

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For 3,122 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 35% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 62% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 7.7 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 65
Highest review score: 100 Who Kill
Lowest review score: 0 Fireflies
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,692 out of 3122
  2. Mixed: 1,319 out of 3122
  3. Negative: 111 out of 3122
3122 music reviews
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    • 78 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Parc Avenue
    It is their failure to do little beyond noodle energetically and evoke the work of others that dooms Parc Avenue to mediocrity.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Trouble In Dreams
    Trouble in Dreams is full of complex and sophisticated songs, so it's probably unfair to focus on one to the exclusion of others, but 'Shooting Rockets' deserves a little more attention, since it's the best evidence of the fact that, when it comes to proggy indie rock, Bejar's really in a league of his own right now.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Mail On Sunday
    He joylessly repeats all the tired tropes of Southern party rap (brand-name fetishizing, drug-trade mythologizing, stripper-bitch glorifying), and the album's best track has already been let out of the bag.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Odd Couple
    Needless to say, though, Odd Couple doesn't conjure the same immediate wow-factor as "St. Elsewhere."
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Volume One
    Volume One ought to provide plenty of replays for fans of either artist.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Crystal Castles
    Crystal Castles' most rockist moments seem to wish to appear arty by being as annoying as possible. It's a tricky maneuver, and the fact that the group doesn't quite pull it off screws up the coherence of this otherwise strong record, but that doesn’t make them any less promising.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Welcome To The Dollhouse
    Dollhouse is a solid collection of appropriately vacant party jams, slinky come-ons, and modern, urban balladry.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Visiter
    And speaking of nervous systems, if Visiter doesn't make you tap, nod, shake, or just plain move, then you don't have one.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ego Trippin'
    While the Neptunes' 'Sets Up' fits nicely alongside tracks like a nearly note-for-note cover of the Time's 'Cool,' the album ultimately suffers from both sonic and lyrical inconsistency--to say nothing of the misleadingly dark cover art.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Trilla
    If Ross spouts myriad clunkers, his cadence is at least smooth and his voice cushiony, and so if it's possible to ignore the rapper and focus on the production, Trilla becomes an enjoyable listen.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Real Emotional Trash
    The joy of listening to Malkmus's songs has always been the involvement the listener takes in separating the "truth" from the "spoof" (much like with other oddball geniuses like Robyn Hitchcock or Tom Waits). There's plenty of both here, but more importantly, there's enough interplay between the two to keep things interesting and delightful.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Good Time
    Good Time, however, too often finds Jackson adopting unfortunate trends in modern country music in place of the thoughtful songwriting that characterizes his earlier work.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Saturnalia
    They were probably aiming for hypnotic or dreamy, but except for the cinematic bookends 'The Stations' and 'Front Street,' the slow dances mostly crash-land in Snoresville
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Asking For Flowers
    That Edwards has written a collection that includes both great individual lines and some spectacular songs makes Asking for Flowers by far her most accomplished work.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Seventh Tree
    Seventh Tree is most compelling for the way in which the band's regained austerity and naturalism contrasts with their more recent hedonism.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Discipline
    At 22 tracks, Discipline is anything but disciplined, but it's also Janet's most cohesive album in a while.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War)
    Badu's spare, pointillist lyrics are almost constantly folded deep within dense, heavy arrangements
    • 73 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Devotion
    Devotion includes all of the same essential ingredients as its predecessor, but a ratcheting-up of intensity makes this album shine even brighter.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Another Country
    Another Country is never less than an effortless, inviting listen by an artist who fully deserves to be a major star within her genre.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Lust Lust Lust
    These songs don't sound like love songs because they aren't love songs. That the Raveonettes understand why that's an important distinction makes Lust Lust Lust a sleazy pop masterpiece.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Heretic Pride
    The lack of the sort of overarching theme that powered previous discography standouts 'Tallahassee' and 'The Sunset Tree' through their dull bits means that these moments rob the record of a lot of momentum and goodwill.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Flock
    Beyond their catchy pop arrangements and well-composed melodies, the songs on Flock are just a good deal meatier and more likable than those of, say, Starsailor.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
    The psychiatric exercise of creating the album may have done him some good, but fans of Deerhunter's transcendent rock will have to wait for the band's next album if they want the kind of catharsis that is only hinted at here.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Golden Delicious
    Golden Delicious as a whole, feels like it has the potential to be great but falls short.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Mockingbird
    Whether or not it works as a testament to "the feminine voice" is debatable, but Mockingbird reasserts that Moorer's is an artistic voice worth hearing.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Strange Folk
    Even if Kula Shaker never transcend their vintage influences, it's on the dreamier songs like the title track and 'Persephone' (billed as a bonus track, a move that's antiquated in its own right) that Strange Folk stands as an unexpectedly welcome comeback.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Do You Like Rock Music?
    For all the strength of the variously loud and soft moments throughout Do You Like Rock Music?, the record is at its best when the band attempts to holistically integrate the two.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Made In The Dark
    Hot Chip boldly expand and louden up their sound significantly here, while admirably retaining full command of the forms they've already mastered.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Detours
    Crow has managed the nearly impossible: recording an album that's as intensely personal as it is fiercely political.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lucky
    Nada Surf have matured into a strong enough band to make an album like Lucky, which is full of such existential hand-wringing and one of the year's first great pop records.
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