The Independent (UK)'s Scores
- Music
For 2,194 reviews, this publication has graded:
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47% higher than the average critic
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4% same as the average critic
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49% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 70
Highest review score: | Hit Me Hard and Soft | |
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Lowest review score: | Donda |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1,177 out of 2194
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Mixed: 988 out of 2194
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Negative: 29 out of 2194
2194
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
In its commitment to euphoria, Dance Fever is an album that looks forward to the release of all the pandemic’s pent-up energy at this summer’s festivals. ... I hope she never learns to keep a lid on her wonderful wildness.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted May 12, 2022
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The synth-pop duo were hardly upbeat to begin with, but this is downright miserable. ... Still, it’s not all hopeless – at least the music is good.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted May 6, 2022
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- Critic Score
Overall Sigrid achieves exactly what she’s set out to do: add some grit to her previously pristine pop.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted May 6, 2022
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- Critic Score
Rebooting the euphoria of their 2004 debut, Funeral, WE is a big old blast of an album. One destined to lift the spirit, inflate the soul and get fans dancing giddily through the carnage of 2022.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted May 5, 2022
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The 13 songs on Blue Water Road roll out in warm, slow-rolling waves of sensuous R&B.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Apr 28, 2022
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On Skinty Fia, Fontaines DC have nailed their themes of urban decay and defiant immigrant soul. They just need to find the courage to fully emerge from the chrysalis of their indie and post-punk influences.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Apr 21, 2022
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- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Apr 7, 2022
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- Critic Score
The proof is in the pudding; that pudding being a deliciously prickly collection of songs as lyrically bawdy as ever.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Apr 7, 2022
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Chlöe and the Next 20th Century is another shocking left-turn from indie-rock’s chief provocateur: a charming (huh?!), innocuous (gasp!) sojourn into lovely baroque-pop.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Apr 7, 2022
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Jack White’s new solo album Fear of the Dawn is basically one long jam session. Which is fine, if that’s what makes him happy. For the rest of us, it’s a bit of a slog.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Apr 4, 2022
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It’s safely on-brand. It’s just smoother, and slower, and sloppier than before.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Apr 1, 2022
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Two Ribbons is another milestone for the duo. Their third record finds the inseparable pair separated. Written mostly individually, it explores the small fissures beginning to show in their friendship as they’ve grown up and grown apart. The result is remarkable.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 31, 2022
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The riffs throughout this album are catchy enough to keep the beanie heads nodding along. But producer Travis Barker (Blink 182) repeatedly fills out the sound to the extent that the exposing angularity required to express true anxiety is lost.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 25, 2022
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Never Let Me Go expands on the disassociation Molko encapsulated for so many misunderstood Nineties teens, applying it now to the entire human species.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 24, 2022
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- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 24, 2022
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Cypress Hill demonstrates across the record, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The Cheech and Chong of hip-hop are back – and are as clear-headed on hazy-eyed matters as ever.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 18, 2022
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- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 18, 2022
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Crash is a terrifically structured album, designed to get you up and shimmying off the lockdown pounds as tracks slot sleekly together. ... Crash is a top-down, foot-down trip.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 17, 2022
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- Critic Score
Sweet and frothy. Probably still a little coffee shop. But not Starbucks, more the soundtrack to your local quirky independent caffeinator.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 11, 2022
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- Critic Score
Despite the record’s immersive qualities, the overwhelming effect is as satisfying as a plaster being ripped right off.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 4, 2022
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As ever, you’re left marvelling at Parton’s ability to capitalise on her slick professionalism without ever compromising her huge heart and sparkling spirit.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Mar 4, 2022
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- Critic Score
By the time you reach the angelic post-rock “Rubicon”, you’ve given up looking for any cohesive thread in Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 and given in to its hazy momentum. Like the post-pandemic age, you never know what’s coming next.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 24, 2022
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- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 24, 2022
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- Critic Score
Across the next nine tracks they deliver pounding pop thrills and arena-sized catharsis, in a style that refines their distinctive sound instead of pimping it up, Noughties style.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 24, 2022
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- Critic Score
It’s crafted to slot neatly into the 6 Music playlist. Smart and friendly. Tasteful and tuneful. Just a little unsurprising.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 17, 2022
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- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 11, 2022
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It’s an album fuelled by southern heat, with plenty of grit to boot. Their best yet.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 10, 2022
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I’m pretty sure that Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is going to be one of my albums of the year. Because few records managed to be this soothing, and interesting too.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 10, 2022
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The Dream sees the band moving briskly through sensations, their heads stuck out the window of a speeding car, tongues wagging, sticking to whatever comes their way.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 10, 2022
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- Critic Score
The record itself functions like an escape pod. When confined within Bastille’s catchy hooks and imaginative, era-spanning production, what lies ahead suddenly isn’t so terrible. The future is bright – for 30 minutes’ worth of bops, at least.- The Independent (UK)
- Posted Feb 3, 2022
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