XS Noize’s album reviews that count toward B-Side Breakdowns: 49 reviews of 49 albums, going back to 2015, each next to the album’s Breakdown.
Top critics
- Stuart Evans 1 review
- Thomas S. Day 1 review
- Landon Murray 1 review
- Lori Gava 1 review
- Chris Snoddon 1 review
42 reviews with no named critic yet.
What it reviews
- Indie & Alternative 44%
- Rock 23%
- Metal & Punk 13%
- Electronic 8%
- Pop 6%
Find XS Noize
By the numbers
81average score it gives, on the 0 to 100 scale (49 reviews)
82%of its reviews score an album 75 or higher
12points: how far a typical review lands from its own average score
5albums given a perfect score (10.2% of its reviews)
3A-Sides reviewed, the albums the critics rate highest
7different critics with a byline on its reviews here
55%of its scores landed within 10 points of the other critics’ average for the same album (49 albums)
How its scores spread
- 0–491
- 50s0
- 60s5
- 70s3
- 80s22
- 90+18
Its top scores
KornThe Serenity of Suffering 100 Thomas S. Day
RadioheadA Moon Shaped Pool 100 
Harry StylesKiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. 100 
Paul McCartneyMcCartney III 100 
The CureSongs of a Lost World 100 
Florence + the MachineHow Big, How Blue, How Beautiful 90 Lori Gava
Courtney BarnettSometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit 90 Jamie Gibson
Thom YorkeANIMA 90
Every review
| Critic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 WaxahatcheeTigers Blood“Building on from that, Crutchfield slowly but surely began to build her solo career, and her debut under the moniker Waxahatchee (the name is taken from” | Stuart Evans Read the review | 80 4.0/5 | 88 | 2024 |
| KornThe Serenity of Suffering“After 3 years the illustrious Korn return with their 12th studio album The Serenity of Suffering. The band has always been well received and in spite of” | Thomas S. Day Read the review | 100 10/10 | 75 | 2016 |
 Nick Cave and the Bad SeedsSkeleton Tree“It’s rare for a musician, or group of musicians to still have noteworthy things to say on their sixteenth album, but for perennial avant rock and rollers Nick” | Landon Murray Read the review | 80 8/10 | 94 | 2016 |
| Florence + the MachineHow Big, How Blue, How Beautiful“Florence Welch front woman for Florence and the Machine is the latest in a line of storied powerfully bewitching songstresses in Rock music. Florence and the Machine’s latest release, How…” | Lori Gava Read the review | 90 9/10 | 76 | 2015 |
 The ProdigyThe Day Is My Enemy“The Day Is My Enemy follows on the usual Prodigy traits of hyperactive drum patterns and explosive bass crashes intertwined with electronics reminiscent of that pioneered during the early 90's…” | Chris Snoddon Read the review | 80 8/10 | 72 | 2015 |
| Courtney BarnettSometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit“It’s been fascinating watching Courtney Barnett’s journey over the past few years, in the way that it’s grown in such an organic way that I don’t think I’ve seen in…” | Jamie Gibson Read the review | 90 9/10 | 90 | 2015 |
 Imagine DragonsSmoke + Mirrors“Las Vegas alt-rockers Imagine Dragons are back with Smoke + Mirrors — the follow-up to their double platinum debut album Night Visions.” | Tillie Elvrum Read the review | 80 8/10 | 65 | 2015 |
 Metallica72 Seasons“Metallica aren't some band". 72 Seasons opens up with a punch to the face and a go fuck yourself for good measure. It's a relentless opening that doesn't” | not named Read the review | 80 4.0/5 | 74 | |
 The 1975A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships“The eagerly-anticipated third album from pop-rock foursome The 1975 has been advertised since 1st June in a series of cryptic messages on Twitter, Facebook” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 83 | |
| RadioheadA Moon Shaped Pool“This review is a continuation of the first impression review published earlier this week on the site. The intent is to dig deep into the latest Radiohead” | not named Read the review | 100 10/10 | 88 | |
| Thom YorkeANIMA“Thom Yorke in every manifestation of his musical creativity has learned to build mystery and extract anticipation from his fans each time a new release is in” | not named Read the review | 90 9/10 | 82 | |
 Robert PlantCarry Fire“What can you write about Robert Plant that hasn’t already been said? His career has spanned an impressive almost 50 years beginning life as rock icon in Led” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 79 | |
 Amyl and the SniffersCartoon Darkness“Honest – perhaps the best way to define this Melbourne four-piece, which grew from the city's pub-rock scene. There's no flannel, no pretences, just good” | not named Read the review | 80 4.0/5 | 81 | |
 Noel Gallagher's High Flying BirdsChasing Yesterday“Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds has pulled out another ten tracks from his endless bag of songs to bring us his second solo album, Chasing Yesterday.” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 69 | |
 BeckColors“Beck has always been one of the ultimate musical genre chameleons, swerving from genre to genre from album to album while making it all looks so effortless.” | not named Read the review | 90 9/10 | 79 | |
 Tame ImpalaCurrents“Having refined psychedelic rock for a new generation with his previous culminating in 2012's riff laden Lonerism , Kevin Parker a.k.a Tame Impala has taken something of a surprise step…” | not named Read the review | 70 7/10 | 82 | |
 Pearl JamDark Matter“When Pearl Jam premiered Dark Matter at an exclusive listening event in January, frontman Eddie Vedder made a big claim – “this is our best work yet”. The” | not named Read the review | 90 4.5/5 | 83 | |
 MuseDrones“Muse release Drones, their much anticipated follow up to 2012's 2nd Law on 8th June. Their previous 2 releases were a marked departure from their known and loved style leaving…” | not named Read the review | 90 9/10 | 68 | |
 ColdplayEveryday Life“Clocking in at a shade under 53 minutes, the eighth studio album from Coldplay subverts expectations of typical double album excess and marks a sharp left turn for a band…” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 75 | |
 The Last Shadow PuppetsEverything You’ve Come To Expect“Many people came to know of the Last Shadow Puppets from the early success of Alex Turner’s other band the Arctic Monkeys. While it’s always good to have some” | not named Read the review | 85 8.5/10 | 71 | |
 Manic Street PreachersFuturology“Let me start with a rhetorical question, why is it American music lovers do not know more about Manic Street Preachers? This is a band that has been around” | not named Read the review | 90 9/10 | 84 | |
 Lana Del ReyHoneymoon“Much has been written about the singer/songwriter Lana del Rey (born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant) since the much acclaimed release of her second album “Born to Die” in 2012. (She had…” | not named Read the review | 60 6/10 | 75 | |
 GorillazHumanz“It is safe to say that Gorillaz are back. After 7 years since their previous album The Fall, it is safe to say that Humanz provides us with the same…” | not named Read the review | 70 7/10 | 75 | |
 The 1975I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it“A second album is always a challenge, especially after near universal love for your debut. Some bands wilt under the pressure and present a near carbon copy” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 75 | |
| Harry StylesKiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.“The moment has arrived at last for Harry Styles fans. Cool haircuts, ballet pumps, marathons, Italian cookery and an impeccably trousered appearance at the” | not named Read the review | 100 5.0/5 | 75 | |
 Bruce SpringsteenLetter to You“As well as being the first time since Born in the U.S.A. that Springsteen and the E Street Band recorded live in the studio; Letter To You is "the only…” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 83 | |
| Paul McCartneyMcCartney III“The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 meant that many of us had to spend a lot of time indoors. Definitely a bummer in most cases, but one of the few silver…” | not named Read the review | 100 10/10 | 79 | |
 Depeche ModeMemento Mori“A thing that is overlooked about Depeche Mode is their constant need to keep moving, innovating, and recording new material, something their contemporaries” | not named Read the review | 90 4.5/5 | 82 | |
 EminemMusic to Be Murdered By“Opening with “Premonition – Intro” – Eminem cuts to the chase concerning his bitterness over his previous LP, his tenth, Kamikaze not getting the reviews he expected. We see Slim…” | not named Read the review | 60 6/10 | 66 | |
 The ProdigyNo Tourists“I wasn't expecting much from the new album by The Prodigy. Ever since the Essex group revolutionised both dance music and rock with their seminal 1997 album” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 64 | |
 Brock DavisNothing Lasts Forever“For this, Teenage Fanclub's eleventh LP, the now quintet, returned to Rockfield Studios in the Welsh countryside, where they recorded Howdy! in the late” | not named Read the review | 80 4.0/5 | 83 | |
 DeftonesOhms“In some aspects, Ohms finds Deftones going back to their roots. Perhaps not musically – there’s as much of Adrenaline and Around the Fur’s DNA present here as there is…” | not named Read the review | 90 9/10 | 84 | |
 Ozzy OsbourneOrdinary Man“With Ordinary Man, Ozzy Osbourne reminds us that he’s anything but. A difficult 2019 for the Prince of Darkness resulted in the cancellation of all his tour dates and in…” | not named Read the review | 60 6/10 | 73 | |
 Duran DuranPaper Gods“Today marks the release of Duran Duran’s fourteenth studio album, Paper Gods on Warner Bros. records. It has been five years since All You Need Is Now, the album that…” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 70 | |
 Iggy PopPost Pop Depression“Iggy Pop has now been at large in the music business for well over half a century. In that time he has become a household name and brought the likes…” | not named Read the review | 90 9/10 | 79 | |
 Red Hot Chili PeppersReturn of the Dream Canteen“Just six months after the release of their twelfth studio album, the lengthy Unlimited Love, the Red Hot Chili Peppers return with their thirteenth effort,” | not named Read the review | 60 6/10 | 71 | |
 Green DayRevolution Radio“In the 4 years since Green Day's last release, Billie Joe has become sober, Jason White and Brittney Dirnt have flipped off cancer, and social and racial” | not named Read the review | 90 9/10 | 72 | |
| The CureSongs of a Lost World“After a sixteen-year wait, Songs of a Lost World, The Cure's highly anticipated fourteenth studio album, has finally arrived. Rumours about the release date” | not named Read the review | 100 5.0/5 | 90 | |
 Foo FightersSonic Highways“Amidst the rubble of Nirvana’s ruin, multi-instrumentalist and world’s coolest dude, Dave Grohl emerged from the drum set to form the Foo Fighters in 1995. Many a heated discussion has…” | not named Read the review | 70 7/10 | 67 | |
 BlurThe Ballad of Darren“When Blur released their last LP, The Magic Whip, there was much joy since it was their first album since 1999's 13, where each track featured all of the” | not named Read the review | 90 4.5/5 | 83 | |
 EvanescenceThe Bitter Truth“The Bitter Truth is an album that Evanescence fans have been waiting on for almost a decade, and it doesn't disappoint. The album was planned to be released” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 74 | |
 Red Hot Chili PeppersThe Getaway“Having released 11 albums in 33 years Red Hot Chili Peppers need little introduction. Very Few bands survive such a long tenure but Kiedis and Co. Have been” | not named Read the review | 40 4/10 | 64 | |
 The StrokesThe New Abnormal“Native New Yorkers, The Strokes are back with their best album since Room on Fire. Coincidental or not, The New Abnormal could be one of the most apt and timely…” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 73 | |
 Napalm DeathThroes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism“After five years pause, grindcore pioneers are finally going to present their newest LP. As always, Napalm Death making it was a degree of entrapment. Not only within the lyrics.…” | not named Read the review | 90 9/10 | 85 | |
 Lana Del ReyUltraviolence“Ultraviolence is the third studio album from New York’s queen of sadcore – Lana Del Rey.” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 75 | |
 Red Hot Chili PeppersUnlimited Love“Nearly 40 years into their career, the twelfth studio album Unlimited Love sees the Red Hot Chili Peppers once again hone their trademark funk-rock sound.” | not named Read the review | 60 6/10 | 70 | |
 BjörkUtopia“On November 24, 2017, Bjork, the trailblazing musical icon, releases her ninth studio album “Utopia”. “Utopia” is the follow up to her cathartic 2015 release” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 82 | |
 BjörkVulnicura“Rush released due to stupid arses leaking the album, Bjork's Vulnicura arrived suddenly on Thursday 22 January, immediately plunging the listener into a world of orchestral pain and suffering. Written…” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 83 | |
 The AvalanchesWildflower“Holy shit so this is what the world looks like when hell freezes over. If you’ve been living under a mainstream rock for the last 16 years or so, you…” | not named Read the review | 80 8/10 | 78 |