The Arts Desk’s album reviews that count toward B-Side Breakdowns: 43 reviews of 43 albums, each next to the album’s Breakdown. 43 of them come from Wikipedia ratings boxes, mostly for older albums.
Top critics
- Tom Carr 7 reviews
- Joe Muggs 7 reviews
- Thomas H. Green 6 reviews
- Mark Kidel 3 reviews
- Thomas H Green 2 reviews
8 reviews with no named critic yet.
What it reviews
- Indie & Alternative 30%
- Pop 28%
- Rock 19%
- Metal & Punk 9%
- Hip-Hop & Rap 5%
Find The Arts Desk
By the numbers
68average score it gives, on the 0 to 100 scale (43 reviews)
56%of its reviews score an album 75 or higher
20points: how far a typical review lands from its own average score
4albums given a perfect score (9.3% of its reviews)
15different critics with a byline on its reviews here
49%of its scores landed within 10 points of the other critics’ average for the same album (43 albums)
How its scores spread
- 0–499
- 50s0
- 60s10
- 70s0
- 80s20
- 90+4
Its top scores
The Chemical BrothersFor That Beautiful Feeling 100 Thomas H Green
Depeche ModeMemento Mori 100 Joe Muggs
MuseThe Wow! Signal 100 Joe Muggs
Sigur RósÁtta 100 Joe Muggs
Metallica72 Seasons 80 Tom Carr
Marina DiamandisAncient Dreams In A Modern Land 80 Thomas H. Green
Twenty One PilotsBreach 80 Tom Carr
Ellie GouldingBrightest Blue 80 Mark Kidel
Every review
| Critic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metallica72 Seasons“This year marks 40 years since the release of Metallica’s debut Kill ‘Em All and their heralding of a new era in metal. With countless worldwide, headlining tours, hundreds of…” | Tom Carr Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 74 | |
| Marina DiamandisAncient Dreams In A Modern Land“The latest album from Marina Diamandis, her fifth, is a startling explosion of vim and attitude. It mingles speeding, wordy, indie-tinted dance-pop bangers, tilting at all manner of contemporary ills,…” | Thomas H. Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 75 | |
 BlackpinkBorn Pink“This album – and its already multi-100 million stream single “Pink Venom” – starts off with a twang of Korean traditional instruments, a background chant of “blaaaackpink”, a monumentally crunching…” | Joe Muggs Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 68 | |
| Twenty One PilotsBreach | Tom Carr Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 74 | |
| Ellie GouldingBrightest Blue“Everything Ellie Goulding touches turns to pop gold: her first three albums were big hits. She is yet another of those miracles bred in the British provinces, in this case…” | Mark Kidel Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 72 | |
 KeaneCause and Effect | Nick Hasted Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 72 | |
 DrakeCertified Lover Boy“Certified Lover Boy is not a mixtape, a playlist or a collection of loosies, but an Album. With a capital A. This is a distinction Drake makes when it’s time…” | Harry Thorfinn-George Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 54 | |
 Twenty One PilotsClancy“If there is one positive of the past decade, it must be the growing openness with mental health and wellbeing. Whether in the films we watch or music we listen…” | Tom Carr Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 78 | |
 MadonnaConfessions II | Thomas H. Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 76 | |
 Duran DuranDanse Macabre | Guy Oddy Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 2/5 | 66 | |
 Norah JonesDay Breaks | Peter Quinn Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 82 | |
 Def LeppardDef Leppard | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 2/5 | 66 | |
 Camila CabelloFamilia | Joe Muggs Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 70 | |
| The Chemical BrothersFor That Beautiful Feeling | Thomas H Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 100 5/5 | 83 | |
 The Rolling StonesForeign Tongues | Tim Cumming Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 73 | |
 KeshaGag Order | Thomas H Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 73 | |
 KasabianHappenings | Thomas Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 2/5 | 64 | |
 Sum 41Heaven :x: Hell | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 79 | |
 Mariah CareyHere for It All | Joe Muggs Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 70 | |
 Demi LovatoHoly Fvck“Demi Lovato doesn’t do things by halves. She has one of the most powerful voices around, as suited to the yang of punchy hard rock as it is to the…” | Mark Kidel Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 76 | |
 Norah JonesI Dream of Christmas | Liz Thomson Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 77 | |
 DrakeIceman | Thomas H. Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 2/5 | 55 | |
 Imagine DragonsLoom“Having propelled to stardom with their debut album Night Visions back in 2012, the Nevada pop-rock giants Imagine Dragons have reigned supreme on charts and airwaves.” | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 60 | |
| Depeche ModeMemento Mori“Depeche Mode’s Andy “Fletch” Fletcher, who died in May last year, was generally held to contribute to the dynamic of the band more than the music. The only member of…” | Joe Muggs Read the review via Wikipedia | 100 5/5 | 82 | |
 SiaMusic – Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture | Lisa-Marie Ferla Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 2/5 | 55 | |
 The Black KeysNo Rain, No Flowers | Tom Carr Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 65 | |
 Linkin ParkOne More Light“On its release, Linkin Park's recent single, the ironically titled "Heavy", caused outrage among fans. It wasn't so much the warbling vocals, as much as the total reversal of the…” | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 20 1/5 | 48 | |
 John CalePOPtical Illusion | Mark Kidel Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 84 | |
 Ozzy OsbournePatient Number 9 | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 76 | |
 KeshaPeriod | Thomas H. Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 66 | |
 Marina DiamandisPrincess of Power | Thomas H. Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 70 | |
 SkrillexQuest for Fire | Joe Muggs Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 71 | |
 The StrokesReality Awaits | Ibi Keita Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 2/5 | 69 | |
 SiaReasonable Woman“Sia has well and truly stepped into her power. Gone are the days of releasing songs that were pitched to megastars but turned down (“This Is Acting”), or hiding behind…” | Katie Colombus Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 61 | |
 Red Hot Chili PeppersReturn of the Dream Canteen“Does the world need to hear more from Red Hot Chili Peppers? Outside the bouncin’ bro’ fanbase, a regular consensus is that, despite being one of the biggest bands in…” | Thomas H. Green Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 71 | |
 ScorpionsReturn to Forever | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 2/5 | 62 | |
 EvanescenceSanctuary | Tom Carr Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 83 | |
 The OffspringSupercharged“With Warped Tour anniversary rumours in the air, Green Day and blink-182 touring the world, and 20 huge new tracks from Sum 41, The Offspring’s latest contribution to the thriving…” | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 4/5 | 69 | |
 EvanescenceSynthesis“Evanescence have been away for a while, and fans looking for a whole album of new material will be disappointed. There are only two proper new songs on Synthesis (plus…” | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 20 1/5 | 58 | |
 KasabianThe Alchemist’s Euphoria“With a title like The Alchemist’s Euphoria, Kasabian set senses tingling; anticipating something trippy with this seventh album, their first in five years. But the context behind it is all…” | Tom Carr Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 70 | |
| MuseThe Wow! Signal“Muse are one of the best advertisements in the world for silliness. When the Devon trio came along in the late Nineties, they found a niche for people who wished…” | Joe Muggs Read the review via Wikipedia | 100 5/5 | 76 | |
 Foo FightersYour Favorite Toy | Tom Carr Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 3/5 | 79 | |
| Sigur RósÁtta“It’s easy to take Sigur Rós’s emotive force for granted. So ubiquitous has their 2005 “Hoppípolla” been on everything from talent shows to apocalyptic environmental collapse documentaries to lyrical scenes…” | Joe Muggs Read the review via Wikipedia | 100 5/5 | 79 |