Based on 14 reviews from outlets we track. Scores run 40 to 100.
By the numbers: Scores ran from 40 (NME) to 100 (The Independent). The fifth best-reviewed Hip-Hop & Rap album of 2016 we've tracked.
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Independent via Wikipediaby Andy Gill | 5/5 | 100 | 2016 | “Download this: 'Because I’m Me', 'Frankie Sinatra', 'Colours', 'The Noisy Eater', 'Kaleidoscopic Lovers', 'Saturday Night Inside Out” |
| The A.V. Club via Wikipediaby Oliver Sava | B+ | 88 | 2022 | “The A.V. Club digs deep into film, TV, music, games, books and more.” |
| Pitchfork via Wikipediaby Mark Richardson | 8.5/10 | 85 | 2016 | “The Avalanches return with their first new album in 16 years.” |
| Q via Wikipediaby Dorian Lynskey | 4/5 | 80 | 2016 | |
| Spin via Wikipediaby Brad Shoup | 8/10 | 80 | 2016 | “8SPIN Rating: 8 of 10Release Date: July 08, 2016Label: XLSo many ways to counter the sophomore slump, and the Avalanches chose the most difficult one. It” |
| Mojo via Wikipediaby Paul Stokes | 4/5 | 80 | 2016 | |
| The Guardian via Wikipediaby Tim Jonze | 4/5 | 80 | 2016 | |
| musicOMHby John Murphy | 4/5 | 80 | 2016 | “Fully 16 years since their debut comes the follow-up, a record that threatens to fall apart under the weight of its own ambition” |
| PopMatters | 8/10 | 80 | ||
| Slant | 4/5 | 80 | “After waiting so many years, it’s worth the extra patience to let the Avalanches’s Wildflower sink in.” | |
| XS Noize | 8/10 | 80 | “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…” | |
| Rolling Stone via Wikipediaby Will Hermes | 3.5/5 | 70 | 2016 | “Check out our album review of Artist's Wildflower on Rolling Stone.com.” |
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby Tim Sendra | 3.5/5 | 70 | ||
| NME via Wikipediaby Emily Mackay | 2/5 | 40 | 2016 | “In a way, it’s not The Avalanches’ fault that they couldn’t live up to 16 years of myth-making. Musical zeitgeist is fleeting and their 2000 debut ‘Since I Left You’…” |
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.
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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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