I am a Wildlife Ecology Masters student studying at the University of Maine with dual bachelor's degrees in Zoology and Ecology & Environmental Sciences also from UMaine. I'm a fan of many genres of music and I play guitar. I prefer to buy CDs, however I denote music I have that was burned from friends' CDs as digital since I do not own the physical CD.



In the following (and somewhat lengthy) introduction, I will discuss my album rating system and what to expect in my reviews. This is intended to be in depth and very comprehensive so you, as a reader of my album reviews, can understand the process and why albums receive the ratings they do from me. Do I want you to read through this whole thing? Yes. Do I expect you to? Absolutely not. In fact, if you’re reading this right now, you’re already in the minority. But, I know that there are other people like me who would be interested in the intricacies of my musical evaluation and this is for you. Enjoy.

I will rate albums on a scale of 1-10. If you want to translate this to a 5 star scale, simply divide the number by two. Here is a basic overview of what each rating means:


1: Terrible. I would not recommend this album under any circumstances. It is not worth anyone's time.
2: Very bad. I would not recommend this album under any usual circumstance. Very few redeemable qualities.
3: Bad. I would only recommend this album to fans of the artist or discography completists.
4: Okay. I might recommend this album to certain people. Not bad, but definitely forgettable.
5: Decent. I would recommend this album to some people. Some redeeming qualities, but doesn't stand out from the crowd.
6: Good. I would recommend this album. Give it a listen if you like the artist or genre.
7: Solid. I would recommend this album to many people. Warrants repeat listenings.
8: Great. I would recommend this album to most people. Many redeeming qualities for the average listener and a must for fans of the artist.
9: Excellent. Definitely worth a listen, no matter who you are and what your tastes may be.
10: The absolute best. You must listen to this album. Period.



How do I determine this album rating? I have a formula which I will go into detail about later, but here is the basic rating guide:

- Average song rating: 70%
- Instruments: 10%
- Vocals: 5%
- Lyrics: 5%
- Fluidity: 5%
- Album Cover: 5%


Everybody listens to music differently and for different reasons. Similarly, people read music critique for different reasons. I want to make it clear that my reviews are album reviews (unless otherwise stated) and not simply a review of a band or their music. This is because I believe that artists create albums with the intention of people listening to them the way they were released: all the way through, in order, and in one sitting. Don’t get me wrong, I love shuffle just as much as the next audiophile, but I have come to appreciate the album and the concept it encompasses.

So what can you expect to find in my reviews? I will give basic information about the album up front, followed by a standard written review. As I said before, everybody interprets reviews differently so I will try to include as much information as possible in as many ways as I can, from the bare technical aspects to emotional vibes with a personal touch. Hopefully everybody will be able to relate to and connect with at least some parts of this section and come away with a better understanding of an album. After this, I will highlight what I believe to be key tracks from the album. Following this section, I will provide the track listing and track length along with an individual rating for each song, once again on a 1-10 scale. There is no specific formula for these individual ratings other than my own tastes. Here is a short list of things I like to hear in songs, but please keep in mind that there are songs and entire albums that I enjoy that contradict with each and every one of these criteria, so it’s merely a guideline to give you an idea of why songs will receive the ratings they do:

- limited studio production
- electric instrumentation
- standard rock instrumentation (guitar, bass, drums, and vocals)
- fast, up-tempo songs
- catchy hooks or riffs
- minor key tonality
- well-balanced volume of all instrument and vocal components
- male or deep female vocals
- somewhat aggressive vocals
- antiphony (call and answer vocal harmony)
- vocal harmonies
- prominent, rhythmic drumming or beat
- snare drums
- well-placed cymbals
- prominent bass riffs
- walking bass lines
- short or non-existent solos
- layered guitars
- power chords
- some guitar effects (overdrive, distortion, slight reverb, chorus)
- non-ear piercing feedback


These individual song ratings will be averaged and are worth 70% of the total album rating. The next 10% of the rating comes from the quality of the instruments (on a scale of 1-10) over the course of the entire album. Again, there is no set formula for this. Similarly, the vocals and lyrics over the entire album are each worth 5% of the total. For instrumental albums that have neither vocals or lyrics, the 5% attributed to vocals will be reallocated to the instrument rating, giving it a total of 15% and the 5% attributed to lyrics will be reallocated to the average song rating, giving it a total of 75%.

The next 5% of the rating come from the album’s “fluidity” and is rated on a scale of 1-10, once again. To me, fluidity comes in two parts. The first, and most obvious, is the flow of the album from song to song. The second component is consistency. Of course both of these pieces need to be taken in the context of genre and situation. Artists vary just as much as their listeners do. Some believe the concept of an album is very important and strive to produce a solid, cohesive work. This concept is less important to other artists who simply want to make their music available to people in a convenient format.

The final 5% of the album rating comes from my rating of the album art, on a scale of 1-10. While this doesn’t directly have to do with the music, it is still an important component of an album as a whole. Back in the days before digital media when people would spend hours browsing record stores for something new to listen to, what would initially draw them to an album by a band they’d never heard of? What the album cover looked like. The final rating will be rounded to the nearest whole number.

You may be thinking: Why use a set formula? Why make it so complex? Music should be about feel, not about calculations. Well, the short answer is that I’m a very analytical person. The formula helps me make accurate ratings without the innate bias that comes from having favorite bands. In other words, this helps me fend off the common urge to rate albums by my favorite artists with automatic 10’s, arbitrarily. They need to work for it, just like every other band that I don’t know or don’t like as much. If this is too mathematical for you, just read the written part of the review to get a sense of the “ear-feel” of an album and then judge the other stuff for yourself. In fact, please never let my thoughts on an album be the end all be all. Always judge for yourself. As much as other critics might try to convince you otherwise, our input is simply a guideline to help you find music that you want to listen to and avoid music that you don’t. And perhaps we have different tastes. Maybe you’re reading about something that I consider “horrible” about an album and you think to yourself, “Hey, that’s not horrible. That’s exactly what I love!” Then you already know this album has something you’re going to like. You may disagree with my rating or thoughts on an album, but if my review helps you in some way, then I will be satisfied.

Due to this strict rating system, most of the albums I rate will end up getting a middle of the road grade. And this, in general, is lower than most raters and reviewers, who tend to rate with an average of just under 4 out of 5 stars. In other words, it is really hard for an album to get a rating of 1 from me, but it’s just as hard for an album to get a 10. If an album has a really low or really high rating, trust me, there is a reason for it. And it’s not something arbitrary like “I love [Insert Band]!”

I won’t say the bands that I like here, though if you’re crafty (and have actually read this far) you can just go check out my last.fm profile to get an idea of what I like. I will, however, give you a list of genres and styles that I enjoy (in alphabetical order) so you can get a sense of whether or not we have similar tastes, and along with my “criteria” for an ideal song, help you judge how best to interpret my reviews:

- 60's Bubblegum Pop
- Alternative Rock
- Baroque Pop
- Britpop
- British Invasion
- Cowpunk
- Dance-Punk
- Dance-Rock
- Desert Rock
- Freakbeat
- Garage Punk
- Garage Rock
- Garage Rock Revival
- Grunge
- Hard Rock
- Horror Punk
- Indie Rock
- Merseybeat
- Metal
- Oi!
- Psychobilly
- Pop Punk
- Post-Grunge
- Power Pop
- Psychedelic Pop
- Psychedelic Rock
- Punk
- Punk Rock
- Rock
- Rock & Roll
- Rockabilly
- Ska
- Ska Punk
- Skater Punk
- Stoner Rock
- Sunshine Pop
- Surf Rock

If I review something outside of these genres, which is possible and in fact quite likely, don’t necessarily attribute any possible low ratings to the fact that I “hate [Insert genre]”. If there is a genre that I’m not already a fan of, it doesn’t mean I can’t give it a fair chance. I may not have the experience and expertise with it that I do other genres, and thus, may not be as well-versed in the styles and sensibilities of it, but I promise to do my part and research both the genre and the artist beforehand. If a certain genre consistently receives low ratings by me, it is because the songs do not fulfill my “criteria” from the above list.

So why am I trying to do so much to dispel bias, especially as a critic? It’s because my main target audience is you. I want you to be able to get something useful out of my review to help you decide whether or not you are going to like an album, no matter what bands or genres you like.

Also, keep in mind that my rating/reviewing numbers may be lower than most people's on this site. This is because I only rate an album when I write a review and I only review an album after listening to it at least three times with the review in mind.