Album Reviews

[Nihilego]

Do you ever read them or do you prefer to just go on YouTube / Spotify / whatever and pick a few songs at random and see what you think of them?

I didn't used to like them at all since I thought music was always so subjective but I've read some lately and actually found it interesting to see someone else's point of view. I might even try writing some of my own. 8)

 

[Sydian]

I prefer to find out things for myself. I never read album reviews unless it was posted by a friend or someone that I know to have good musical knowledge (like if Klippy or Rest were to post a review, I'd read that). I like to write my own though, but I usually don't end up posting them often, haha.

 

[Squirrel]

I like reviews as in "x/10" ratings as a quick glance of whether or not the album's worth trying out but generally I prefer to listen to some songs myself and judge the album based on those. It's all well and good if someone else likes the album but without having listened myself there's no way to judge if it's worth buying. I read reviews before buying video games and usually before movies but considering how easy it is to sample the album before buying I don't see much point in reading the reviews.

 

[Crunch Punch]

I like reviews as in "x/10" ratings as a quick glance of whether or not the album's worth trying out but generally I prefer to listen to some songs myself and judge the album based on those. It's all well and good if someone else likes the album but without having listened myself there's no way to judge if it's worth buying. I read reviews before buying video games and usually before movies but considering how easy it is to sample the album before buying I don't see much point in reading the reviews.

I basically do this, nothing much else to say.

I would also love to write reviews myself, but I fear that I don't know enough or haven't listened to enough music in my life to make a fair judgement. :s

 

[Sydian]

Also want to come back and mention I'm not a fan of number ratings. I don't know. I need more depth than just a straight number, since they don't really mean much to me. Your 8 and my 8 may be different, idk!

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

I like reading music reviews the same way that I like reading film/TV/theatre reviews. In many cases, I'm not going to go out and buy the product upon a recommendation, and in many more cases, I'll normally have no intention of doing so. With music reviews especially, because I don't really know enough about the industry to discern what's good, I usually use reviews as a jumping off point for me to have a quick listen, upon which I'll make a proper judgment. As with any form of criticism, there are critics whom I agree with a lot of the time, so tend to trust their judgment over those that, while still excellent writers, seem to dovetail away from my sensibility. With regards to music reviews, I tend to like the peeps at Drowned in Sound the best, but because that place has a litany of writers I always try and use my own judgment accordingly when sampling new stuff.

 

[bobandbill]

I usually just go on my own opinion and listen to a song or few to make up my own mind. Sometimes it's on the recommendation of a friend, but with reviews I only read them if I have time and happen to encounter them. They're not something I go out to look for, although it's not something I'd mind doing and may be interesting to follow up on with a few albums. But that'd be probably something I'd do more after listening to an album, not before it.

 

[Esper]

I really don't care for album reviews. At least with the ones I've read. They're padded with a lot of nonsense and references to other artists (who more often than not I'm not familiar with) and other things that don't give me any idea of what the music is like. Plus, I get loaded with a lot of baggage if I do listen to the music, you know? Like if I read something that said "Oh, but this song isn't as good as their previous song" I'm gonna have that in mind when I listen to the song. I don't like getting someone else's opinion in my head before I can make my own.

 

[Trev]

Lol album reviews. I'm not a fan of other people's opinions so I could care less of what other people think about music/albums I like/dislike unless it agrees with mine.

 

[Nick]

The only time I read album reviews is after I've listened to the album and formed an opinion (which doesn't usually happen until at least four play throughs of the album and/or after I get/understand the album), to compare my opinion to someone else's. I never read them to dictate if I'll try an album out or buy one, and I never judge an album by the singles released from it (since singles are chosen to promote the album to the general public, so the most radio friendly and most mainstream sounding songs tend to get the singles treatment, even for some underground artists). I'm not a singles person, I'm an album person.

 

[pompayyy]

I usually spend, like, half an hour looking at itunes reviews on albums I intend on getting. My opinion is kinda mixed on it though: Some reviews are something like a real "Rolling Stone" review, while others are like "OMG, not as gud as Nicki Minaj!!". It's technically one of my guilty pleasures, but I love reading these things.

 

[Fire Flyy]

anthony fantano is my homeboy

read up on p4k too but only on BNMs or an album like MGMT or Kiss Land that i actually listen to and enjoy or was anticipating

o yea agree with nuke he pans the **** out of a lot of stuff or just mirrors pitchfork for the most part aside from that but it's nice to hear live commentary and theres no doubt he knows what hes talking about most of th etime

 

[Eruption]

I like to read reviews after I've heard an album to see if my opinion matches up with others, but I don't like to read beforehand as I know it will influence my opinion.

I particularly like to watch Anthony Fantano, I rarely even agree with his review scores, but his style interests me.

 

[Rest]

I like to read reviews after I've heard an album to see if my opinion matches up with others, but I don't like to read beforehand as I know it will influence my opinion.

I particularly like to watch Anthony Fantano, I rarely even agree with his review scores, but his style interests me.

What this guy said. And I love TheNeedleDrop's reviews. They're informative and succinct, and Anthony just seems like a cool guy who I would hang out with.

 

[François2]

I used to quite like reading reviews, but eventually I gave up on it. Primarily because well, what's the point? From the word go, music is subjective, so in reality there's hardly anything to be gleaned from reading what someone else thinks of something unless your taste is very similar. However, there's also the factor of reviewer bias and that's a huge thing. When you see something like Blackout by Britney Spears get slated upon release for name alone, only to end up on many a "Best of the Year" list at the end of the year, the only acceptable reaction is:

See also: Lana Del Rey getting terrible reviews at the peak of her hipster backlash.

Reviews lose all credibility when they're so readily influenced by what's in the media - what is the point of reading something that's more about the artist and what people currently think of them than the music they're currently putting out? I'd really rather listen to an album myself rather than read five paragraphs about why an artist is a terrible person, followed by three lines about the actual songs that are supposedly being reviewed.

 

[Mysonne]

i love you anthony fantano

re: above, britney and lana del rey are objectively horrible

the point of the album review is often mistaken. you're not supposed to listen to a reviewer, hear their opinion on an album and then copy it. you're supposed to listen to an album, form your own opinion, then look at reviews to see if there's another angle in which you can view the album. obviously there are some people who do the former (p4k drones like karpman, for example). for me, the music review is a chance to share in the musical experience. music is an art form made to be interpreted differently by different people. i look to reviews to see if i'm interpreting the music in the wrong way. essentially, the album review is just another perspective.

 

[Actor]

I don't really like music reviews and just prefer to go on music streaming services like Grooveshark and Youtube and just listen to random songs. The only music reviewers I look at is Todd in the Shadows and the Rap Critic, and those reviews are for comedic purposes rather than actual critiquing most of the time.

 

[Fire Flyy]

along with the music is an art form thing most people [especially those who are highly musically literate, or critics] will objectively agree that the mona lisa is better than my 3rd grade self portrait, same goes for a "classic" like Ok Computer, Animals, Illmatic, etc, compared to Kidz Bop 24

 

[Sydian]

Okay whoops, accidentally found some reviews of Kings of Leon's new album. Well. I use "reviews" because idk what else to call them and still sound civil. A good reason to avoid reviews for older artists right here: People cannot seem to get over the past and will compare the latest album to the first. That's so beyond irrelevant it's insane. The only artist that does the same thing they did ten years ago is like...Nickelback. lol I just can't take a review seriously if people are going to cling to old albums and hiss at the new(er) one(s) for being different in any way, shape, or form. Like, no, I will not respect your opinion, because you're just comparing it to old stuff and not giving the new album a chance to stand on its own two feet and be its own damn thing. Go away.

Can you tell I'm mad? :)

 

[droomph]

Basically, the only reviews I listen to are my own.

And I end up liking pretty much anything I listen to anyways :p