we try to be mindful of negative coverage. it’s not that criticism, sometimes sharp criticism, isn’t necessary for honest art critique. but likewise in a world of SUBSTANTIALLY MORE music than we could EVER cover, it generally seems more prudent to turn the eye to those works

especially considering we don’t even get to cover all the stuff we DO like. and we do try!

there’s also always the question of whether we as critics, journalists, artists or even just lay listeners are always meeting a work or a group or a sub genre on its own terms or whether our judgments come from asking things of it it’s not interested in pursuing anyway

likewise it seems condescending to tell people what is good and what isn’t good. none of you are fools; you have ears and know what you like. it seems generally more fruitful to examine how something works, why it works the way it does, rather than sneer at people