A few weeks back, we began working on an overhaul of The Wild Honey Pie. While these changes will become way more obvious in the coming months, there were a few small tweaks that we felt needed attention now. The first of these was our ratings system for album reviews. At the end of the day, we simply didn’t see the point of using a 100 point scale — it’s typically completely arbitrary for our readers and a pain for us. To bring things back to a more basic level, we’ve decided to simplify this and use a 5 point scale (10 when you include the halves). While these will obviously still be subjective to the author of the review, the results should be much more uniform and consistent.
Here’s a breakdown of what they mean:
5 — This is the pinnacle. The best of the best! Brilliant, moving, groundbreaking or simply indescribable, these are the releases that we’ll be listening to not only this year, but in years to come.
4 — While they still have many striking qualities, these albums fall short of the standards for a timeless record. Several tracks or elements may still be amazing, but the release as a whole is missing something.
3 — Though a few good songs may carry these records, overall they seem to have missed the mark. Without removing any room for potential, this rating implies that, while the album was enjoyable, it didn’t inspire much past a couple casual listens.
2 — Albums with this rating likely have one or two passable tracks hidden behind others that do little more than disappoint. If an album receives this score, it’s safe to say that the writer didn’t really enjoy their experience.
1 — We’ll rarely give out this rating, because we don’t waste out time reviewing albums we aren’t at all interested in, but it simply means that the album isn’t worth your time. Having virtually nothing to redeem itself, the release is likely best kept in back catalogues and un-used libraries.
0 — See here.
