Critics give Double Negative a B-Side Breakdown of 86 (B), from 10 reviews at outlets we track. Scores run 60 to 100.
The verdict on Double Negative
Most critics loved it: 9 of 10 liked it.
- Highest 100 Record Collector and The Guardian
- Outlier 60 Mojo, 20 points below the next-lowest score
- By the numbers The best-reviewed album of Low's career on B-Side Breakdowns, ahead of Things We Lost in the Fire (86). The sixth best-reviewed album of 2018 we've tracked.
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record Collector via Wikipediaby Peter Barry | 5/5 | 100 | 2018 | “Twenty-five years is, as the cliché goes, a long time in rock – even the quiet kind that Low so beautifully peddle. A quarter of a century… That’s three” |
| The Guardian via Wikipediaby Ben Beaumont-Thomas | 5/5 | 100 | 2018 | |
| Uncut via Wikipediaby Stephen Deusner | 9/10 | 90 | 2018 | |
| PopMatters via Wikipediaby Spyro Stasis | 9/10 | 90 | 2018 | |
| Clash via Wikipediaby Gareth James | 9/10 | 90 | 2018 | |
| Pitchfork via Wikipediaby Rich Juzwiak | 8.7/10 | 87 | 2018 | |
| The A.V. Club via Wikipediaby Adam McLevy | B- | 81 | 2018 | |
| Q via Wikipediaby James Oldham | 4/5 | 80 | 2018 | |
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby Mark Deming | 4/5 | 80 | ||
| Mojo via Wikipediaby John Mulvey | 3/5 | 60 | 2018 |
Every Sunday: the week's new albums, scored by the critics. Plus our own reviews when we post them. Free, and one click to leave.
Double Negative in Low's catalog
How these critics usually treat Low
- Mojo Harsher than usual29 points below the other critics here. Usually 4 points above on Low's other albums (7).
- The A.V. Club Harsher than usual5 points below the other critics here. Usually 11 points above on Low's other albums (4).
- The Guardian Kinder than usual16 points above the other critics here. Usually 1 point above on Low's other albums (5).
- PopMatters Kinder than usual5 points above the other critics here. Usually 8 points below on Low's other albums (3).
- AllMusic About usual for them6 points below the other critics here. Usually level with the others on Low's other albums (12).
- Q About usual for them6 points below the other critics here. Usually 1 point below on Low's other albums (8).
More from Low
More Indie & Alternative from around 2018
Would you spin it again?
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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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