The Observer (UK)'s Scores
- Movies
- Music
For 2,608 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: 1,223 out of 2608
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Mixed: 1,367 out of 2608
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Negative: 18 out of 2608
2608
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
Although Monét is still finding her voice, her production, overflowing with euphoric horns and silky melodies, fits her soft cadence and carefree lyrics like a bespoke suit.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 28, 2023
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 21, 2023
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- Critic Score
Strengths lie in Eat Your Young’s supple funk, a light-footed take on Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, and the itchy urgency of De Selby (Part 2). There’s a chilling, unforgettable beauty to closing pair Unknown/Nth and First Light.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 21, 2023
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 21, 2023
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- Critic Score
There are gestures towards something deeper – rapper Roots Manuva rattling his baritone at the end of You Ain’t No Celebrity, or the harsh, thumping bass of Holding On – but largely, Volcano trades on Jungle’s same, safe formula. There is little new in the nostalgia of these 14 tracks.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 14, 2023
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- Critic Score
End of World is frustratingly hit and miss – the staccato glam-rock stylings of The Do That are particularly annoying – but then you suspect that the arch contrarian Lydon wouldn’t have it any other way.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 14, 2023
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- Critic Score
Central City bears the hallmarks of all this success, in its own vintage guest list (Ciara, Faith Evans, Lil Wayne), high production values and songcraft.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 8, 2023
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- Critic Score
The result is a full-length debut that is acerbic, vulnerable and swaggering all at the same time.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 7, 2023
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- Critic Score
While it’s a little repetitive in places, Prestige is a sumptuous collection that finds a polished band leaning into the joys of being playful.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 7, 2023
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- Critic Score
Songs such as Waves may offer up intriguing oscillations, and some unforeseen guitar riffs ambush The Weeks, but more variety and definition would transform a very promising mood piece into a truly memorable one.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 7, 2023
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Aug 7, 2023
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- Critic Score
Perhaps the slightly stentorian tone of Cosentino’s vocals is at odds with the fragility of some lyrics – she sounds pretty much invulnerable whether celebrating love, or admitting she never thought she’d be worthy of it. Still, when she stretches herself, as on piano ballad Easy or the moody alt-country of Real Life, it feels as if she has a real future on her own.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 31, 2023
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- Critic Score
The catch is that some passages here feel featherlight and unmemorable; a record about such transformational jubilation deserves to sound more characterful. A surprise sitar solo on Keep On isn’t quite enough.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 31, 2023
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- Critic Score
It’s no surprise that Barbie World, the song she shares with her protege Ice Spice, is 109 seconds of pure plastic bliss. Like much of the soundtrack, it fizzes with moreish, sugary filth, simultaneously R-rated and child-friendly.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 24, 2023
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[The Ballad Of Darren] finds late-life Blur on eloquent, emotional form. It’s an album that often looks back, while summoning textures and nuances that only add to their toolkit.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 24, 2023
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 17, 2023
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- Critic Score
When unaccompanied, it’s clear that her 12 years in the industry have given the singer ample voice and a formidable ear. On IRL, there was little need for big names, since Mahalia is star enough to hold her own.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 17, 2023
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- Critic Score
While masterfully engineered as always, the album is too polite, lacking the monstrous, alien menace of the band’s bassier efforts. It’s an album that could do with a dub treatment.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 12, 2023
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- Critic Score
Every song is a wonder. It is unlikely Angels & Queens will inspire many imitators of its retro-future soul, its damaged doo-wop. It’s simply too good to be copied.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 10, 2023
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- Critic Score
This might not be Harvey’s most immediate collection, but it’s as fascinating and rewarding as ever.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 10, 2023
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- Critic Score
Recorded quickly, with most of the 10 songs featuring Anohni’s original vocal takes, it’s an album that manages to wear its heaviness lightly and quickly buries its way under your skin.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 10, 2023
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- Critic Score
Chatten’s vocals and writerly voice are instantly recognisable – declamatory on the three-legged wooze of Last Time Every Time Forever, or folk-adjacent on The Score. All of the People, meanwhile, is a bitter broadside against the kind of false friends the singer in a successful rock band might have to contend with.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 3, 2023
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- Critic Score
It’s a relief to find Williams as thought-provoking and moving as ever.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jul 3, 2023
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- Critic Score
The group maintain control throughout, making this a flawless and packed debut – one that has been worth the wait.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jun 20, 2023
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jun 20, 2023
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- Critic Score
As a whole, it’s a confident imagining of her infectious future funk sound.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jun 20, 2023
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- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jun 20, 2023
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- Critic Score
Its songs, by southerner Randall Bramlett, don’t have the heft of Dylan or Simone, but prove a good fit for Lavette’s heart-on-sleeve vocals.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jun 20, 2023
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- Critic Score
Having parked her dystopian allegories, it follows that Monáe now feels a little more like an artist in a crowded partying field. But she has earned this mainstream place. Moreover, she remains distinctive.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jun 12, 2023
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- Critic Score
This is a sexy, sparkling snapshot of borderless youth in 2023, with Amaarae emerging as an ascendant star.- The Observer (UK)
- Posted Jun 12, 2023
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