Your job is to write a 500-750 word review of an album or live performance. We’ll read several examples of reviews like these, so you’ll see that writers adopt a range of styles, personae, and analytical techniques. In your review, you should do the following:

• Find an interesting angle. In a review, you’ll want to evaluate the album or performance, but you should do it with a particular focus–for example, on an album’s relation to others in the same genre or the artist’s other work; on a performance’s cultural or political implications; or on specific musical innovations.
• Integrate at least two terms from the Wikipedia Glossary of Musical Terms into your discussion. Own these terms. Make them an organic part of your vocabulary. Get really comfortable with them and then use them to show your readers something really interesting about the music you’re writing about.
• Make careful decisions about your voice or persona. Are you writing as a fan? A musician? A cultural critic? A music aficionado? Do you want your voice to feel analytical? Personal? Poetic? Political? Rebellious? Reverent? Grossan and Woodworth ask, “How do writers show up in their reviews?”
• Take another look at the various ways they describe reviewers “showing up” (in other words, creating a distinctive voice and persona).
• Be sure to describe at least two songs or moments in detail. Make it clear to readers why these songs or moments are exemplary. What do they help us understand about the album or performance as whole.

Advice

• Take a look at some reviews from publications like The Guardian, NME, Pitchfork, and Consequence of Sound, and the LA Times. I’ve included links to these on the main page of our site. Get a sense of the range of styles and techniques music reviewers use. Look for writers whose style you admire and try using some of their techniques.
• Think carefully about audience. Who are you writing for? Is it a particular age group or demographic? Is it fans of a particular genre? Is it people likely to be familiar with the music you’re writing about or people who won’t have heard it yet? How much cultural or musical context will they need?
• Use precise, vivid language. Avoid clichés. Aim to make your writing feel fresh and exciting
• If you choose to review a live performance, it could be anything from a stadium show to one at a tiny bar or at a festival or in a park. You can also review a televised or livestream performance, unless you want to write about pre-pandemic a live performance you remember well. Examples of televised performances include Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance or the series of performers at Aretha Franklin’s funeral.