The Observer (UK)'s Scores
- Movies
- Music
For 2,616 reviews, this publication has graded:
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37% higher than the average critic
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4% same as the average critic
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59% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.9 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 68
Highest review score: | Gold-Diggers Sound | |
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Lowest review score: | Collections |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1,230 out of 2616
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Mixed: 1,368 out of 2616
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Negative: 18 out of 2616
2616
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
Bereavements and recent fatherhood have led Washington to ponder mortality. But there is little dread in these 12 rich and versatile tracks, which touch sensually on Zapp’s Computer Love and examine the Road to Self via a 13-minute workout.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted May 3, 2024
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Chinouriri is an accomplished songwriter. Ideas spill out of every crammed corner of this collection. Her often hushed husky voice, developed when trying to practise without annoying her Zimbabwean parents, isn’t for everyone. Yet there’s range to her delivery, whether dropping punchy barbs during Dumb Bitch Juice or self-excoriating on My Blood and I Hate Myself.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted May 3, 2024
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted May 3, 2024
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Congo Funk! Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982)A beautifully packaged time capsule.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted May 1, 2024
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From the noisy low end of lead track Broken Man, through Flea’s prowling industrial pop and the superlative goth jazz, Bond-like theme of Violent Times, it’s a loud and unapologetically varied work.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 29, 2024
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 29, 2024
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Justice are still capable of raw-edged excitement, but on Hyperdrama they find themselves too polished and bright.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 26, 2024
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Essentially, there are three types of Pet Shop Boys albums: life-changing, great and OK. This one’s great.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 26, 2024
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The overall sound may seem too polished and wary of explosive emotion, but it’s nonetheless a consistent and confident foundation – one primed to launch Blue Lab Beats into the spotlight as formidable producers and performers.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 22, 2024
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Ultimately, this may be Swift’s most Swiftian album: the unhappiness profound, the details generous, the lessons absorbed.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 22, 2024
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There are no cathartic singalongs in the album’s downbeat cello or swelling drones. Its relatability stems from somehow managing to recreate the specific texture of loneliness.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 19, 2024
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By now, most listeners will know where they stand on Vedder’s distinctive holler and the band’s beefiness; little on Dark Matter is likely to enchant gen Z away from their own heroes. But the faithful will rejoice.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 19, 2024
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While the heavier, distorted guitars of Tower and Love We Had feel somewhat jarring in the ebullient context of the album, Sun Without the Heat is a freewheeling and joyous listen, with McCalla employing her knowledge of musical traditions to produce fresh combinations.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 15, 2024
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Bodega Bait or ATM don’t bring anything to the kids v commerce discourse that you couldn’t get from a jpeg of Nirvana’s Nevermind. Much better is GND Deity, a punchy metallic funk side-eye at the “girl next door” online sex industry, electrifying despite dated references to the long-gone web pages.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 15, 2024
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The emphatic playing of Hutchings’ more exhortatory bands (chiefly Sons of Kemet) has given way to a more impressionistic delicacy.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 15, 2024
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Nothing as pretty as 2019’s Debold, but it feels like his most accessible project so far – far more engaging than Headache, his recent AI-performed side hustle.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 8, 2024
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Khruangbin’s strengths exist in relative quietude, making their intricate music sound so gentle that it lulls the listener into a newly imaginative state.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 8, 2024
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It feels like a feast at a time when pop is offering up scraps. As she mentioned herself when announcing the album to a mix of anger, intrigue and confusion: “This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” It’s also her fourth classic in a row.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 8, 2024
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The greatest satisfaction is that she does not jump the shark: everything here is possible-sounding, humanistic and full of emotion; only slightly uncanny.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 1, 2024
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Apr 1, 2024
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There are inevitable longueurs as well, mind: Pure Poor gives dirges a bad name, and closer Hey Lou Reid fancies itself as an epic but instead just feels like an extraordinarily slow six minutes. Still, the fact that Glasgow Eyes is three-quarters of a good record is reason for celebration.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 25, 2024
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Crutchfield rides a middle road here. Same producer yet different band; same sprightly Americana vibe yet more emotionally placid than its predecessor, which recounted a troubled reckoning with her newfound sobriety.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 25, 2024
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These highs could have been more musically vertiginous and the lows more chasmic. It is a privilege to have them back, but you wish their music had the courage of Gossip’s convictions. Don’t Be Afraid is an epic intentionally trapped in a cheap Casio keyboard: underpowered.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 25, 2024
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Vocally, the “queen of Latin music” isn’t particularly distinctive, but she ranges from seductive to strident in a single line and makes both equally appealing. Her Majesty’s moods are despondent (rare), thirsty (much less rare) or proudly powerful (nearly always) and she ensures you’re buffeted by every emotion billowing past.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 25, 2024
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A plethora of found sounds and jazz inflections keep everything compelling. But the hovering, sustained and gliding elements miss the brave sensory overload of Aviary and the pop nous of Wilderness. The best track is the simplest: Meyou, a warped, minimal vocal meditation.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 25, 2024
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The record’s dreamlike atmosphere is seductive and disquieting; a moving tribute to Albion’s troubled soul.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 19, 2024
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It all makes for a multi-textured, multi-hued portrait of an artist who playfully seeks out the primary colours but remains very frank about the shade.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 18, 2024
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Songs such as Jade Green are so focused on the minutiae of her life as to feel tedious. She finds a delicate balance between the two, though, on Anime Eyes, a dizzying, almost comically lovestruck track that finds Musgraves eschewing the tasteful zen of the rest of the album in favour of all-out lyrical maximalism. It’s a flavour Deeper Well could have used more of.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 18, 2024
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Refined and subtle, but with the right amount of bite (see the darkly hued True Story), Eternal Sunshine feels like a clearing of the emotional decks.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 18, 2024
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Unfortunately, Gordon’s spiky, staccato delivery is too often drowned in distortion and diminished by tune-dodging cacophony. So many songs, such as Trophies, are tense yet torpid, and when the airless intensity clears briefly on Shelf Warmer it’s too late.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Mar 11, 2024
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