John Murphy

John Murphy’s album reviews that count toward B-Side Breakdowns: 63 reviews, going back to 2005, each next to the album’s Breakdown.

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Writes for

What they review

  • Pop 33%
  • Indie & Alternative 31%
  • Rock 13%
  • R&B & Soul 8%

Find John Murphy

By the numbers

1A-Sides reviewed, the albums the critics rate highest
5albums given a perfect score
22years of their reviews we track, 2005 to 2026
How their scores spread
  • 0–495
  • 50s4
  • 60s11
  • 70s8
  • 80s23
  • 90+12

Their favorites

  1. RosalíaLux 100 musicOMH
  2. Fontaines D.C.Skinty Fia 100 musicOMH
  3. David BowieThe Next Day 100 musicOMH
  4. Bon IverFor Emma, Forever Ago 100 musicOMH
  5. Lily AllenWest End Girl 100 musicOMH

Artists they keep coming back to

Their scores for each artist, in release order.

A-Sides they reviewed

1 album that earned an A-Side, the critics’ top tier; they scored 1 of them 75 or higher.

Every review

Outlet
Queens of the Stone AgePerfecth“John Homme and co's ninth album marks a move away from their signature blunt riffs and opens the door to a mood far more reflective and wistful”musicOMH80 4/578Oct 28, 2026
RayeThis Music May Contain Hope.“A certain contender for end of the year lists, this is an album of rare scale and energy, one that's been designed to come back to time and time again”musicOMH via Wikipedia90 4.5/585Mar 27, 2026
Charli XCXWuthering Heights“Thrillingly modern while staying true to its source material, the soundtrack to Emerald Fennell's Brontë adaptation is a huge about-turn from Brat”musicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/579Feb 13, 2026
Robbie WilliamsBritpop“Some of the tonal shifts may cause whiplash, but on this throwback to the carefree days of the mid-1990s there's no denying its author's way with a memorable tune”musicOMH via Wikipedia70 3.5/573Jan 20, 2026
RosalíaLuxmusicOMH via Wikipedia100 5/592Nov 8, 2025
Florence + the MachineEverybody Scream“An urgent and vital testimony to survival and rebirth, Florence Welch's sixth album is a defiant middle finger to doubters”musicOMH via Wikipedia90 4.5/583Nov 2, 2025
Manic Street PreachersCritical ThinkingmusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/5792025
Gwen StefaniBouquet (Gwen Stefani album)musicOMH via Wikipedia40 2/5572024
WaxahatcheeTigers Blood“Katie Crutchfield's reflective, wistful follow-up to 2020's Saint Cloud is imbued with a sense of warm familiarity”musicOMH90 4.5/5882024
Kacey MusgravesDeeper Well“The Texan's latest album is one to wallow in, one for those rainy days inside where you just want to sit and find comfort in music”musicOMH80 4/5762024
FutureFuture“The music on Samuel T Herring and co's seventh album is as affecting and impassioned as ever”musicOMH80 4/5722024
Iggy PopEvery Loser“This short, sharp blast of refreshing energy finds James Newell Osterberg Jr as compelling as ever”musicOMH80 4/5802023
Bloc PartyAlpha GamesmusicOMH via Wikipedia70 3.5/5702022
Fontaines D.C.Skinty Fia“A magnificent third album which serves as the crowning point of a career that is, excitingly, still in its infancy”musicOMH via Wikipedia100 5/5892022
Roger WatersThe Lockdown Sessions“An album that could have easily come off as a millionaire's vanity project with his rich mates is actually a surprising, creatively rich endeavour”musicOMH70 3.5/5752021
WaxahatcheeSaint Cloud“Katie Crutchfield's fifth album under the Waxahatchee moniker feels a bit like a rebirth, which is appropriate as it's her first album since giving up”musicOMH80 4/5832020
Manic Street PreachersResistance Is Futile“Considering they initially promised to just release one album and then split up in a blaze of glory, Manic Street Preachers have endured as one of the”musicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/5762018
The AvalanchesWildflower“Fully 16 years since their debut comes the follow-up, a record that threatens to fall apart under the weight of its own ambition”musicOMH80 4/5782016
Lucinda WilliamsThe Ghosts of Highway 20“When most people reach the age of 60, thought of retirement may beckon and the idea of slowing down a gear and taking things a bit easier may start to”musicOMH80 4/5822016
David BowieBlackstar“When David Bowie suddenly broke his decade-long musical silence – in 2013, with The Next Day – it was with an album that was very much 'traditional”musicOMH90 4.5/5862016
PrinceHITnRUN Phase Two“To paraphrase Miley Cyrus, he can't stop and he won't stop. Just three months after the surprise release of HiTNRUN Phase One in September, here comes”musicOMH via Wikipedia60 3/5702015
PrinceHITnRUN phase one (Prince album)“There was something undeniably thrilling about the 'guerilla gigs' that Prince played in London and Manchester early last year. The prospect of spending”musicOMH via Wikipedia70 3.5/5592015
MadonnaRebel Heart“Thirty years after dancing around Venice dressed in a wedding dress with only a lion for company, Madonna is still making the headlines. For proof, you”musicOMH70 3.5/5662015
Robbie WilliamsSwings Both WaysmusicOMH via Wikipedia60 3/5602013
David BowieThe Next Day“So THAT'S how you stage a comeback. The last time we heard from David Bowie was in September 2003 – a world, lest we forget, with no Twitter, no Facebook,”musicOMH100 5/5832013
Ellie GouldingHalcyon“First things first. Ellie Goulding has not "gone dubstep". There were more than a few rumours, or rather slightly sexist assumptions, that Goulding would”musicOMH60 3/5702012
No DoubtPush and Shove“The reunion money train keeps on rolling along. When No Doubt released their last album, the rubble of the Twin Towers was still smouldering, Michael”musicOMH50 2.5/5642012
PinkThe Truth About Love“It's been 12 years since Alecia 'Pink' Moore first appeared on the scene. Although never quite achieving the cultural impact (and infamy) of”musicOMH60 3/5732012
Lana Del ReyBorn to Die“In the eight months or so since the video for Lana Del Rey's single Video Games slipped onto YouTube, she's undergone an entire career in fast-forward”musicOMH60 3/5622012
Tom WaitsBad as Me“It starts with a full-throated roar of "All Aboard!" and ends with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. In between there's gin-soaked ballads, swampy blues,”musicOMH90 4.5/5842011
RadioheadThe King of Limbs“No alarms and no surprises then? Except when it comes to album release schedules, of course. On Valentine's Day, Radiohead sent the social networks into”musicOMH80 4/5792011
Kate NashMy Best Friend Is You“Hope you enjoy our new direction!" In one of many perfectly observed scenes in This Is Spinal Tap, those six words viciously skewered every artist who”musicOMH80 4/5742010
Take ThatThe Circus“At the time, Take That's decision to reform two years ago didn't look the smartest move. With former colleague Robbie Williams selling out stadiums, the”musicOMH60 3/5602008
Bon IverFor Emma, Forever Ago“Sometimes, an album's back story is almost as intriguing as the music which is held within. Take Justin Vernon for instance, or Bon Iver as he”musicOMH100 5/5892008
Angels & AirwavesI-Empire“There are times when you think that maybe ex-Blink 182 man Tom DeLonge is trying a bit too hard to distance himself from his past. A quick read of the”musicOMH40 2/5542007
The Chemical BrothersWe Are the Night“There seemed to be a certain consensus forming upon the release of The Chemical Brothers' last album that Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands were past it,”musicOMH60 3/5692007
Kings of LeonBecause of the Times“At first glance, it would appear that not much has changed in the world of Kings Of Leon. The bizarre haircuts and facial hair combinations are present”musicOMH80 4/5802007
Joss StoneIntroducing Joss Stone“Introducing Joss Stone may seem a weird title for the singer's third album, but not according to Ms Stone herself. See, she wasn't much of a fan of her”musicOMH40 2/5552007
SiaSome People Have Real Problems“With some artists, a great song can be both a blessing and a curse. Of course, it can make your name and reputation, but it can also act as an…”musicOMH50 2.5/5602007
Amy WinehouseBack to Black“Why, if you were of a cynical bent, you'd swear it was a publicity stunt. Almost exactly three years after her well received debut Frank, Amy Winehouse”musicOMH90 4.5/5842006
BeckThe Information“Coming just 18 months after his last album, Guero, and produced by Nigel Godrich, you'd think you'd know what to expect from The Information – that is, if”musicOMH80 4/5812006
Snow PatrolEyes Open“A few years back, 'indie' meant small, slightly scratchy, a bit raw and challenging. Never particularly commercially successful, but much beloved by the”musicOMH60 3/5692006
Fiona AppleExtraordinary Machine“No matter what marvellous things the internet has given us over the last few years, it has to be said that it's robbed the music industry of its mystique”musicOMH90 4.5/5832005
AURORAAll My Demons Greeting Me as a FriendmusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/578
Tori AmosAmerican Doll PossemusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/579
Kelly ClarksonChemistrymusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/570
Sheryl CrowDetoursmusicOMH via Wikipedia70 3.5/578
Justin TimberlakeEverything I Thought It WasmusicOMH via Wikipedia40 2/554
Amy WinehouseFrankmusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/574
KeshaGag OrdermusicOMH via Wikipedia60 3/573
Barry GibbGreenfieldsmusicOMH via Wikipedia70 3.5/576
LenkaLenkamusicOMH via Wikipedia40 2/561
Amy MacdonaldLife in a Beautiful LightmusicOMH via Wikipedia60 3/560
Marina DiamandisLove + FearmusicOMH via Wikipedia60 3/562
SiaMusic – Songs from and Inspired by the Motion PicturemusicOMH via Wikipedia50 2.5/555
Vampire WeekendOnly God Was Above UsmusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/583
Girls AloudOut of ControlmusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/566
GoldfrappSeventh TreemusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/573
Snow PatrolThe Forest Is the PathmusicOMH via Wikipedia50 2.5/563
InterpolThis Mirror Weighs a TonmusicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/580
Lily AllenWest End GirlmusicOMH via Wikipedia100 5/583
Elton JohnWho Believes in Angels?musicOMH via Wikipedia80 4/578
Foo FightersYour Favorite ToymusicOMH via Wikipedia70 3.5/579

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