Steal a Critic’s Ears

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You might’ve seen the ripples of blog posts and media stating there is a lack of ‘old-style’ music critics. And what they mean by that is a lack of critics who are willing to face the backlash by dropping bad reviews. Even when warranted. The benefit we have as armchair critics is that we can say what we want (to an extent), and the ‘fans’ aren’t going to dox us.

What we don’t all have, that many (but not all) music critics have, is that ear. The discipline it takes not only to hear but to listen.

Their opinions hold weight because this is what they do. They listen to a phenomenal amount of music and, over time, become a trusted voice in the music industry. But they didn’t just wake up one day and spew out 900 three-sentence reviews. They have a personal framework that enables them to delve deeper into the music. They don’t take Beyonce, Taylor, or Justin at face value; they’re in the middle of the music somewhere listening to more. You can be too.

Think of context as the frame around the painting. Same art, different frame, totally different impact. Was this written in a tour van at 2.30 am, or in a luxury studio with three producers, 40 writers, to hear ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ 95 times? Is it new and raw, it is overly polished? Is it from a has-been trying to claw their way back to fame?
Context doesn’t tell you what to think, but it changes what you hear.

Critics don’t just skim for quotable lines. They ask: why these words, in this order, at this time? A lyric can be clunky and still cut through if it’s honest, or it can be technically sharp but drier than the bottom of your flip-flop in the summer. Don’t outsource your brain to Genius footnotes (or Reddit lyric breakdowns); half of those are written by people chasing upvotes, not listening.

Sit with the lyrics without looking for other opinions until you have formed your own. Then feast upon the ideas and feelings of others, see where you landed.

Most listeners stop at ‘nice beat’ or ‘catchy’. Critics get forensic, razor-sharp, and clinical with it. How does the bassline sit with the vocal? Why does the reverb tail last just half a beat too long? A three-second pause before the chorus isn’t filler, it’s a calculated move to build tension, but why? Once you tune into that way of thinking, even the choice of hi-hat feels like something worth unpacking. Every decision that was made will make a significant difference. And it is the why behind it that counts.

No song exists in isolation; even if you think there is nothing like it out there, there is. Every track is in dialogue with the past. That ‘new’ synth line? Probably (almost 100%) an echo of an ‘80s record. That folk track? Borrowing phrasing from Dylan or Fleetwood Mac, whether it admits it or not. Spotting influences doesn’t cheapen a song (far from it). It’s the fun of tracing its family tree and flexing your own mental music catalog. Let’s say music is an endless conversation; music critics are the ones who remember the information sprinkled throughout and match it all up.

The slipperiest part of criticism, and the only part that really matters. Throw streaming numbers, social engagement numbers, and everything else out the window. What did it do to you? Did it grab you by the face and make you hear it on your first listen? Did you need to go back to it a few times to work out why the middle wasn’t sitting right? Impact isn’t about good or bad, and that is the beauty of it. It’s about whether the song is living in your head rent-free. That’s where critics always end up, no matter how clinical the breakdown. What does it DO to you?

Here are some examples to get you started. For lyrics, take a look at Olivia Rodrigo's “Drivers License”. It is so simple, but it is the context within the simplicity that lands it.

Lyrically, Kendrick Lamar is worth more than a few hours of your time, as he typically crafts a single lyric that can mean five or more things (a reason he has a Pulitzer Prize). Musical DNA, or influence, “Seventeen Going Under” by Sam Fender screams Springsteen. With a new UK working-class context, it has the lineage without outright theft.

Production? Billie Eilish is known for beautifully created spaces, clean layers, and vocals that rarely sit at the forefront. Also see Tyler, The Creator and Bon Iver. Context and impact, Adele’s Someone Like You. The exact structure ten years later wouldn’t land the same way; we had her life as the context in those moments.

Sit with work from SOPHIE, Wet Leg, Johnny Cash, NIN, St. Vincent, and sit for extra time with Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit.

P.S. When listening, use your best headphones, make sure they are wired in, and set your streaming service to the highest quality. Try reading up on the artists after you’ve listened, and see what changes. Do it again, and again until it becomes your natural process.

Until next time,