How To Review Music: My Opinions On Music Journalism

 (A short essay I wrote around 2022 for a University assignment on what it means to be a music journalist. I read it through recently and think it's of acceptable quality and relavent enough to this blog to post.)

Album reviews have for many years been the bread and butter of music journalism. Although you will just as often see opinion pieces and retrospective articles being written about numerous bands both active and defunct, along with an interview if you’re lucky, it’s most likely that when the average person hears “music journalist”, the picture that comes to mind is listening to a new album and releasing their opinion in print to the general public.

Of course, there is a lot more to it than that, and it takes more than simply spilling your thoughts on a record onto paper, even if you are a respected critic.

In terms of an album review, in order to produce as fair and objective a review as possible, a reviewer would need to approach it from an unbiased mindset. Even if that reviewer personally preferred a certain genre of music and did not usually listen to whichever genre the album is a part of, they would need to put this preference aside and judge the record on its own merits, and not compared to what they might consider to be “better”.

As well as this, context about the record and its background is important as well. A record may not be well produced or performed technically, but in some cases this can either be intentional on the part of the artist or end up adding to the charm of the record. Knowing the circumstances that led up to the creation of the record (such as the sound of previous records and any personal events the musicians went through) can put certain aspects that may at first be questionable into perspective.

Subtext is important as well, especially with any hidden meanings the artist may have imparted in the sound or lyrics. A record can be an incredibly polished piece with impressive performances, but it can end up not holding up if there is nothing behind those performances. Of course, lyrics do not always need to have an important allegorical meaning, but it can help.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, a reviewer must make clear that their word is not law, and what they write is ultimately their opinion. While this may feel like a cop out to an outside observer, it is actually quite vital that a reviewer not put their opinion up on a pedestal too much because, in the end, reviewers aren’t always right. 

There are many instances historically of critics giving mixed or even negative reviews to albums that would become classics today (As an example, Lester Bangs savaged the MC5’s Kick Out The Jams when it was released in 1969, which grew to be considered a pivotal proto-punk record). Of course, context is important and can change with hindsight, but even in the moment a critic can end up going against the generally accepted curve and end up upsetting people who disagree with their opinion. Thus, it’s important to make clear that it’s all ultimately their takeaway from the record, and the audience is free to draw their own conclusions.