The Telegraph (UK)'s Scores
- Music
For 1,238 reviews, this publication has graded:
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63% higher than the average critic
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4% same as the average critic
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33% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4 points higher than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 77
Highest review score: | Hit Me Hard and Soft | |
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Lowest review score: | Killer Sounds |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 882 out of 1238
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Mixed: 354 out of 1238
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Negative: 2 out of 1238
1238
music
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
The overall impression is of a super-slick exercise in generic, glossy, team-built, uber-commercial RnB-pop. Still, Anne-Marie has the kind of voice and presence that could make anybody’s day better.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Jul 26, 2021
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The infuriating thing is that there is a great album lurking here, one that a disciplined editor and more sonically adventurous producer might have uncorked.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted May 6, 2021
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Her crisis of faith provides a sharp edge to Evanescence’s formulaic grandstanding.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Mar 25, 2021
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The problem with Justice is that Bieber thinks his music is more powerful than it actually is.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Mar 19, 2021
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There are 11 songs on When You See Yourself, filled with pretty words and lovely tunes, but I would struggle to tell you what any of them are about. Although blessed with a raw, raspy tone that could make a shopping list sound sexy, Followill’s vocals are buried in a bass-heavy mix.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Mar 4, 2021
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There are striking contributions from an eclectic range of guests, including veteran British rapper Skepta, sound wizard James Blake and singer-songwriter Deb Never, and it all sounds intriguingly modern, with a pleasingly discombobulating bent. Yet, when stripped of political context, it exposes the emptiness of Slowthai’s wordplay, all sound and fury, signifying nothing much at all.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Feb 11, 2021
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Though the materials accompanying Nobody is Listening insist that it’s Zayn’s most personal record to date, and the one over which he’s had the most personal control, it’s hard to find much trace of him here.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Jan 15, 2021
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Pick-n-mixing sounds and being savvy about who they work with has paid off beyond trying to maintain quality from track one to track 13. So take it for what it is: a collection of songs that happen to be next to each other, some of which are glorious (most of the singles) and some of which are a bit cringe (Gloves Up, A Mess).- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Nov 6, 2020
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Disco offers a set of familiar grooves. ... Her comfort zone is effervescence and escapism, in the pursuit of which Disco stays light on its feet and easy on the ear. We’ve heard it all before, but Kylie has the floor, and, honestly, she sounds like she’s having a (glitter)ball.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Nov 5, 2020
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Positions is not as immediate as the work Grande is known for, though it will find many fans. There are no tentpole hits, no obvious hooks and far too many words crammed into 14 relatively short and sometimes samey songs. But it explores new territory for the singer: new relationships, a new sound, a new sense of self.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Oct 30, 2020
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Its 14 overloaded songs jostle awkwardly together in a cornucopia of conflicting impulses, shifting from beatboxing punk to beatnik poetry, ambient moodiness to sophisticated showtunes, peppered with snappy couplets and gilded with gorgeous melodies.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Oct 29, 2020
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Rap has been around for four decades now, and you might have hoped it would have evolved beyond this kind of backwards, deeply misogynist, abusively macho, greed- and status-obsessed posturing.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Sep 9, 2020
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You don’t come to Katy Perry for depth. What’s made her special in the past is that lightning jolt of emotion that rushes through the layers of sugary-sweet pop; that’s what made lusty adolescent hormones surge as you listen to Teenage Dream, what made donning a leopard print two-piece seem like an empowering move on Roar. It’s there on Smile but you have to work for it.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Aug 25, 2020
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A string section and gospel choir barely add nuance to straight-ahead karaoke versions of Oasis classics and a few of Liam’s solo songs.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Jun 16, 2020
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An atmospheric ode to the anxieties and rewards of new fatherhood on his debut solo album.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Jun 16, 2020
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Garratt still has a tendency to overelaboration, compressing armchair techno, James Blake-like digital manipulations and McCartney-esque flair into lush, shapeshifting tracks replete with pushy synths and layers of harmonies, where every sonic space is stuffed with activity. The effect is quite prog rock, reminiscent of such busy 1980’s synth songwriters as Nick Kershaw and Thomas Dolby.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Jun 16, 2020
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As it shifts from the McCartneyesque soft rock of Sweetheart Mercury to the psychedelic mantra of The Warhol Me and very Sparks-like piano chamber pop of Comme D’Habitude, everything tends to sound a bit like something you might have heard before being lovingly recontextualized.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted May 22, 2020
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When they're playing to their strengths, the 1975 provide a robust platform for Healey’s witty, romantic, confused yet always committed interrogation of the essential artifice of his role as reluctant rock star with a conscience, shouting into a void already filled with the echoes of other voices. Like many double albums, there is a fine single album here fighting to get out. If only.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted May 22, 2020
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It may not be his most cohesive collection but when it comes to concocting sad bangers artfully combining bittersweet emotion with mesmeric dance grooves, Moby is too good to dismiss.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted May 18, 2020
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Whilst Paramore's music tends to be all rage and release, solo Williams offers something much more quirky and cerebral, delving poetically and occasionally combatively into her insecurities. The elaborate intricacy of writing and production may be a lot to take in for all but devoted fans.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted May 11, 2020
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The full band arrangements are tastefully understated, and the 47-year-old sustains a mood of gentle sorrow and hard-earned wisdom that is easy on the ear. It is well trodden territory but Jurado is a class act.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted May 1, 2020
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Seven-minute mantra There Must Be More Than Blood is the standout, where Toledo’s vocals are absorbed into a motorik groove, his quest for meaning somehow dissolving into an act of musical surrender. Not all the songs reach these heights, however; too many run out of ideas very quickly. But at their very best, Car Seat Headrest are reminiscent of such fantastic bands as The The, LCD Soundsystem and Talking Heads.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted May 1, 2020
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There are interesting multi-part song structures and deft modern production quirks, with touches of autotune and sampling that don’t overwhelm the more classic guitar and keyboard arrangements. Melodies are big and bright and everything is encased in walls of harmonies.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Apr 24, 2020
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It may be just another Ron Sexsmith album about the romance of the everyday but that could be just the balm your spirits need in troubled times.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Apr 17, 2020
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It is an ambitious and technically impressive album grappling with big themes of love in a time of disaster. Lyrically, though, it is all a bit prosaic, whilst O’Brien’s voice is pleasant but lacking the kind of distinctive tone and delivery that makes you want to pay attention.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Apr 17, 2020
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It is not unappealing, but such portmanteau pop really needs strong guiding principles to add up to more than the sum of its individual parts.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Apr 10, 2020
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This is not an album that will make The Strokes new friends, but it might satisfy the faithful. Sometimes it is enough just to sound great.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Apr 9, 2020
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At its best, the grooves have the funky plasticity of an electro-Prince, sprinkled with baffling but thought-provoking lyrics. At its laziest, it sounds like a mumble rapper warming up over a jam whilst doing throat exercises. It's got groove though, and enough mysterious depths to warrant further investigation if you should somehow find yourself stuck at home with nothing better to do.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Mar 31, 2020
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It is edgy fun with pitch-black humour masking real emotional content, although the tension between the darkness of the lyrics and sweetness of the vocals wears thin over a whole album.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Mar 31, 2020
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The glossy results lack any particular character. Peppered with hooks and catchy melodies, everything sounds like something you might have heard somewhere before, which in the case of Ed Sheeran soundalike single No Judgement you almost certainly have.- The Telegraph (UK)
- Posted Mar 12, 2020
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