Critics give Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent a B-Side Breakdown of 60 (D-), from 8 reviews at outlets we track. Scores run 40 to 80.
By the numbers: Lewis Capaldi's best-reviewed album here since Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent (2019). Scores ran from 40 (Pitchfork) to 80 (The Line of Best Fit).
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Line of Best Fit via Wikipediaby Caitlin Chatterton | 8/10 | 80 | 2023 | “Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent is a triumphant return from Capaldi.” |
| Rolling Stone UK via Wikipediaby Nick Reilly | 3/5 | 60 | 2023 | “Capaldi's second album largely sticks to the if it ain't broke don't fix it formula, but this is largely at the expense of its most interesting moments” |
| NME via Wikipediaby Thomas Smith | 3/5 | 60 | 2023 | “The break-up ballads sound tired, but when he turns inwards there’s clear growth in Lewis Capaldi’s capabilities” |
| The Guardian via Wikipediaby Alexis Petridis | 3/5 | 60 | 2023 | “The follow-up to one of this century’s most successful albums offers more of the same – a powerful voice and insight into heartbreak. But the wounded choruses can merge into…” |
| The Independent via Wikipediaby Annabel Nugent | 3/5 | 60 | 2023 | “Listened to one after the other, these gorgeously sung laments turn into a ballad soup of sorts” |
| Clash via Wikipediaby Robin Murray | 6/10 | 60 | 2023 | “Everything about Lewis Capaldi’s rise is incongruous. Looking en masse at the pop landscape, its endless cavalcade of BRIT School kids, with their model” |
| AllMusic via Wikipedia | 6.0/10 | 60 | ||
| Pitchfork via Wikipediaby Laura Snapes | 4.0/10 | 40 | 2023 |
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How the Breakdown works
Every outlet’s score is converted to 0–100 (2/5 is 40, 5.9/10 is 59, a B+ is 88) and averaged. Grades follow the B-Side scale: A is 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60. Approval is the share of critics who scored it 75 or higher; the Breakdown shows green at 75 and up, red below. Divisiveness asks a different question: not how many critics liked it, but how close their scores are to each other. Five critics who all give it 50 are Unanimous, even though none of them liked it. The labels run Unanimous, Broad agreement, Some debate, Divided, and Contentious. Replay rate comes from listeners, not critics: yes counts fully, a few tracks counts half, no counts zero. The gist quotes each outlet’s own summary of its review. Published is the date on the review itself, read from the outlet’s page, so you can see whether an album’s reputation came at release or years later. Scores marked est. come from reviews that publish no number. Scores marked via Wikipedia are archive ratings, mostly for older albums, taken from the “Professional ratings” box on the album’s Wikipedia page (published openly through Wikidata); each links to the original review when we can find it online, and to that Wikipedia entry when we can’t. When an outlet reviewed an album twice, years apart (often for a reissue), both scores count, each labeled with its year.
A-Side marks the critics’ top tier. An album earns it automatically, from its numbers alone: a Breakdown of 90 or higher, from at least 5 reviews, with at least 75% approval. Nobody hands it out and nobody can buy it; if new reviews pull an album below the line, it loses the badge.
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