[Sammi]

Thread only for those reviews that count for Metacritic.
-

Consequence Of Sound 100

http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/0...hannel-orange/

-

The Guardian 100

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...?newsfeed=true

-

Telegraph 100

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...ge-review.html

-

Pitchfork 95

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/...hannel-orange/

-

SputnikMusic 95

http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/5...hannel-Orange/

-

Billboard 94

http://www.billboard.com/new-releases#/new-releases

-

Slant Magazine 90

http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/r...el-orange/2815

-

All Music Guide 90

http://www.allmusic.com/album/channe...e-mw0002394636

-

SputnikMusic 90

http://sputnikmusic.com/review/50783...hannel-Orange/

-

Spin 90

http://www.spin.com/reviews/frank-oc...orange-def-jam

-

BBC 80

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/h5pn

-

Pop Matters 80

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/...hannel-orange/

-

Rolling Stone 80

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/al...range-20120713

-

HipHop DX 80

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-...channel-orange

-

The Independent 80

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...m-7944233.html

-

Tiny Mixtapes 80

http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-re...channel-orange

-

The Guardian 80

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...-orange-review

-

[skyler]

[Miichael]

But there are no flaws on the album.

[Sammi]

Originally posted by Miichael

But there are no flaws on the album.

Maybe EW is saving better scores for those albums that deserve it the most. Who knows.

[Katamari]

Originally posted by Sammi

Maybe EW is saving better scores for those albums that deserve it most. Who knows.

I think he will get an 85+ score on Metacritic

[jj99]

Frankie Coming for that Album of The Year Grammy....

[crumprKID]

I usually don't read reviews but it'll be interesting hear everyone's perspectives on his album.

[Sammi]

Billboard 94/100

http://www.billboard.com/new-release...07539152.story

[StarStunning]

Originally posted by Sammi

Maybe EW is saving better scores for those albums that deserve it the most. Who knows.

EW specifically look at hit-factor when they're reviewing an album, which Planet Pit definitely has.

[caerbayn]

Right, EW is notorious for rating albums based on how "catchy" they sound. Don't know why they bother LOL

[Stepfon]

Does TIME Magazine count for Metacritic?

Frank Ocean isn’t a household name yet, but there are a few things you should know about him. He’s a member of one of hip-hop’s hottest and most controversial collectives Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, also known as OFWGKTA or, more succinctly, Odd Future. He was featured on Kanye West and Jay-Z’s critically acclaimed album Watch the Throne. He has written tracks for Justin Bieber, John Legend and Brandy under his given name of Christopher “Lonny” Breaux. He’s a poster child of the free music generation—he gave away his impressive debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, via his Tumblr after feeling ignored by his label, Island Def Jam.

He is gay, or perhaps bisexual—which might seem irrelevant except that he just came out on July 4, via his Tumblr, telling the world that his first love was a man. Afterward, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Russell Simmons all voiced their encouragement of the young star; even Tyler the Creator, the notoriously ersatz leader of Odd Future, gave his friend a tweet of support. In a hip-hop world that is not known for being particularly inclusive of homosexuality, this is big news.


Given that Ocean’s announcement came a week before his new album dropped, it could be viewed as a publicity stunt. It may well be. But by coming out, Ocean also gives Channel Orange a context in which his heart-wrenching lyrics and despondent songs draw attention to his struggle with identity, sexuality and encroaching fame. The lyrics elevate the album from being just another above-average R&B record to a brilliant release sure to top many “Best of” lists.

The highly anticipated new album features Ocean’s emotionally rich, hook-filled tracks along with clever collaborations with Earl Sweatshirt, John Mayer and André 3000, all topped off with his ten-minute R&B opus “Pyramids.” On Channel Orange Ocean crafts pure R&B, firmly distancing himself from the angry teenage hip-hop of Odd Future and even from his work on Watch the Throne. While R&B artists such as Usher and Chris Brown have started to incorporate the influence of electronic dance music into their songs, Ocean remains resolute in his idiosyncratic style, while still bringing to mind old Usher, The-Dream and even Maxwell. The tracks bounce between sultry slow jams like “White,” with John Mayer and “Pink Matter” (which puts André 3000 of OutKast fame to good use solidifying the chorus with his fast rhyming) to the poignant hymn “Bad Religion” to the whistle-laden track “Forrest Gump.” Ocean has a flair for crafting gripping songs and this album does not lack melodrama, featuring haunting melodies paired with driving beats and touching lyrics similar to the elusive brilliance of The-Dream’s Love Hate.


The album’s first single, “Pyramids,” is in and of itself a tour de force. The track is a ten-minute history of R&B, arcing from club thumping beats to a sultry drawn out jam with Ocean’s voice veering from a velvety croon to an endearingly creaky falsetto. The beats alternate between spacey and sexy; driving and drawn out. Despite the length of the song, the track easily holds your attention.

The album is a mature album, especially from one so young. The fact that no two songs sound alike show a virtuoso on the rise. The lyrics reveal a self-awareness that comes with maturity, but also show a young man in flux. On “The Sweet Life,” Ocean seemingly shakes his head at those tied to the fripperies of wealth, “Why see the world/ When you’ve got the beach?” he asks rhetorically, expressing his dismay with people living intentionally insulated lives. While the track was co-written with Pharrell Williams, it seems deeply personal to Ocean, who grew up in New Orleans and now lives in Beverly Hills, as the issue of the trappings of money and class disparities show up again and again on the album. On the bluntly named track “Super Rich Kids,” he sings, “Too many rich kids with nothing but fake friends,” exploring his discomfort around the titular rich kids. The track, which is his joint effort with his Odd Future bandmate Earl Sweatshirt, is a stand out, tying together the album’s two themes of class and love. Ocean chides, “The maids come around too much/
parents ain’t around enough” while the chorus pleads that he is “searching for a real love,” which can’t be found in a world of wealth. Ocean structures his narratives cleverly, tying together the album’s outros and intros with samples of organs, waves and tape deck sounds along with spoken interludes that focus on money and jobs. Ocean used a similar technique on Nostalgia, Ultra, but he’s mastered it here.


Debating class, money and love on an R&B album is heady stuff for a 24 year-old who is growing up in the spotlight and in the generation of Internet oversharers who live their lives on Tumblr and Twitter. The strain of finding fame and fortune at a young age seems to be taking a toll on Ocean, as many of the tracks on the album are infused with a deep melancholy. On “Bad Religion” Ocean sings, “Taxi driver
be my shrink for the hour/
leave the meter running
/ it’s rush hour
so take the streets if you wanna/ just outrun the demons could you.” In the context of Ocean’s recent statement about his sexuality, it’s hard not to read the lyrics as a young man struggling to find solace. Hopefully coming out about his sexuality and moving on, will free him. But as Elton John says, sad songs say so much. When Ocean sings, “I can never make them love me” it sounds like a challenge and it seems clear that he’s up to it.

http://entertainment.time.com/2012/0...#ixzz20IV82qSZ

[Sammi]

Originally posted by Stepfon

Does TIME Magazine count for Metacritic?

Nope.
-

These count for Metacritic:

All Music Guide
Absolute Punk
Alternative Press*
American Songwriter
Austin Chronicle
Billboard
BBC Music
Boston Globe
Chicago Tribune
Clash Music
CMJ
Cokemachineglow.com
Consequence of Sound
Country Weekly
Delusions of Adequacy
Dot Music
Drowned In Sound
Dusted Magazine
Entertainment Weekly
Filter*
The Guardian
Hartford Courant
HipHopDX
The Independent (UK)
Los Angeles Times
Lost At Sea
Mojo*
MSN Expert Witness (Robert Christgau)
musicOMH.com
New Musical Express
New York Magazine
The New York Times
No Ripcord
NOW Magazine (Toronto)
Okay Player
One Thirty BPM
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Paste Magazine
The Phoenix (Boston)
Pitchfork
Pop Matters
Prefix Magazine
Q Magazine*
Rock Sound
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
Spin*
Sputnikmusic
The Telegraph (UK)
Tiny Mix Tapes
Uncut*
Under The Radar*
Urb*
Village Voice
The Wire*
XLR8

[Twai]

Originally posted by Sammi

Nope.
-

These count for Metacritic:

TinyMixTapes

They ought to be disqualified for what they did to Gaga and Lana

[Peep Show]

This deserves at least 90 (if not more) tbh.

[Navin]

This needs to be acclaimed.

[Sammi]

Originally posted by Twai

TinyMixTapes

They ought to be disqualified for what they did to Gaga and Lana

Ikr? I don't get how can Metacritc use such a trashy site.

[RatedG²]

Originally posted by Twai

TinyMixTapes

They ought to be disqualified for what they did to Gaga and Lana

That 0 still stings

[Sammi]

The Guardian 100

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...?newsfeed=true

[eli's_rhythm]

Moar!

[Bandrew]

This better be at 90+ at the end