Interesting that the complaint seems to be focused on the lyrics, when I’d say the problem with Tennis is the music’s boring.
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I mean, even the name of the band sounds boring
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I’d find it really hard to find something I’d put a lot of my life into criticised… but also, that’s kinda the point.
Have virtually no opinion on Tennis at all, but just find it surprising when artists comment on mid reviews like this. The offence caused by the 0.0 hatchet jobs I get (although I don’t think they are all inaccurate!) but by the bands own admission they are trying to make nice music about normal stuff. That’s cool. But also that’s basically what the review reads like.
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And/or the P.R they hire, yes
I’m not sure it’s anybody’s job really
I know a handful of arty people and it seems like the way they get ‘useful’ critique is to find one or two people (friends/peers) whose taste they trust, and ask them to engage with their work and give them feedback
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It is label/P.R to an extent, but yes that’s a much healthier approach and as was noted above, if it simply doesn’t connect with the critic then that’s that really. I feel kinda bad giving Scowl’s new album a middling review recently because everything I’ve read about the record makes sense and is quite positive and seems genuine, but I just didn’t connect to what they were trying to do, despite being a band I like and respect, and doubled with a short word count, could only do so much about how it didn’t quite work for me, even though I had much more to say and am seeing them live next week and it will probably work much better in that context.
Then again, I’ve also been on the other side and totally relate that it’s not easy to read stuff that you’ve emotionally poured your soul into that you feel misses your point, but that’s ultimately the risk you take by putting something you’ve created out there for others to have opinions on in a professional sense. It’s complicated, it’s messy, it’s tough but it’s also all part of the process.
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Nothing to do with the Tennis situation directly, but it’s made me think of the review where Pitchfork trashed Silversun Pickups over the quality of specific lyrics, which would have been fair, except they’d entirely misheard them and were getting mad at something they’d invented in their own heads.
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Personally I can’t imagine being a reviewer forced to actually listen to lyrics. Sounds awful. I’d give everything a 2 most likely.
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Although I don’t get as annoyed as I used to about mediocre P4K reviews for albums I like…I can still feel a gnawing in my gut for the lukewarm Model/Actriz score. I absolutely know I shouldn’t care, not least because Pitchfork’s reach is not what it once was (I suspect a bad needle drop rating would be far more damaging in 2025). I guess I just don’t like the idea that some people, who would really enjoy the album, may be discouraged from hearing it now. However, if you’re opinion is fragile enough to be warped by a single music website then maybe you’re not the audience the band is seeking out, anyway.
TL:DR, Pitchfork did a classic lukewarm review for the new Model/Actriz album which I feel is a step up from their debut (which got BNM).
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Thought it was one of those reviews where the text sort implied a higher score than they actually gave it
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Yeah that’s true also. I’ve mentioned up thread that tastemaking remains the primary focus of Pitchfork…even to the point where they will avoid giving high scores/BNMs to albums that have already received praise in other reviews. They feel the need to get in there first, otherwise why bother, and I think that’s happened here tbh.
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Also it is a little unfair on listeners to want them to engage on a level where they read interviews, understand the backstory etc. This is always going to be a small % of listeners.
Ultimately a song is heard on the radio or streaming rather than needing a Marvel-esque homework exercise and more conscious decison to engage with it in that manner.
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Next to an 8.0 for PinkPantheress too. Nice.
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if I were Meshuggah, I would be so irked at the idea of having ‘pioneered’ every shit band who ripped them off with none of the tunes/wit/etc
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Deftones too
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Heard this album about five times in a day at work. Hated it at first. By the end of the day I was begrudgingly humming along.
Only heard a couple of their songs and don’t have very strong feelings on them, but ouch 