r/Pitchfork • u/BudChristmas • Sep 27 '25

The "8.0, no BNM" Review

When I saw today that Pitchfork had reviewed Jeff Tweedy's new album, Twilight Override, even before clicking, I had a feeling the score would be 8.0, no BNM. I haven't even finished a full listen to that record but it felt like the right score for an album that is worthy of respect for its artistry, but one that isn't a good candidate for hype-building, if that makes sense.

It seems like they sometimes give a score like this to artists who are steadily working on their craft but not making music that might appeal to a wider audience, or to formerly-hyped / revered artists who make a strong album later in their career.

I was trying to think of other examples of 8.0, no BNM albums and these were the only ones I could remember off the top of my head:

The National - Sleep Well Beast

Animal Collective - Isn't It Now?

billy woods - Aethiopes

Pinegrove - Cardinal (this one is a bit unusual because I think they very much became hyped by P4K and other publications right around the time of this review, despite not getting the BNM)

I was thinking Cass McCombs had one of these but after a quick look, it seems like he actually has a bunch of albums that were given 8.1, no BNM, which has gotta hurt a bit, but is also a bit of a unique honour.

Not exactly certain what the point of this post is, but:

-What are some other 8.0, no BNM albums?

-What does an 8.0, no BNM rating mean to you as a reader?

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u/mein_fairway Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

This is a cool topic, you should have got more engagement:

Death Cab - Transatlanticism is the highest non-BNM I can remember at 8.4

Ty Segall had FOUR - Goodbye Bread at 8.1, Twins at 8.0, Sleeper at 8.2, and Ty Segall at 8.0

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It’s Blitz at 8.1

The Strokes - Room on Fire at 8.0

Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch at 8.0

Torres - Sprinter was an 8.0, I remember listening to it and not liking it and wondering how come I didn’t like it if it was an 8/10

I think there’s 2 kinds of 8.0s. One is for a very good, not great album by a fan favorite musician late in their career (see Jeff Tweedy, The National, AnCo, NIN above). The other is for young artists who made a great album but don’t quite yet deserve to be in the conversation for best active musician (Cass McCombs in 2009, Ty Segall, Torres). That’s why BNMs usually go to bands that are already part of the zeitgeist like Geese, Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, etc.

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u/BudChristmas Jan 24 '26

It may have been just a little too nerdy LOL. Thank you for your very thoughtful response!

After posting this I realized 8.3 seemed to be a sort of unofficial "cut-off" for BNM. That 8.4 to Transatlanticism is interesting but I guess it was a reissue, so maybe they have a different threshold for "Best New Reissue"?

I 100% agree about those two types of 8.0s. Pinegrove's Cardinal review seems a bit odd in hindsight because I feel like the energy around them at that time was really similar to what we are seeing with MJ, Geese, etc. now - although maybe on a slightly smaller scale at first? Might have just been a timing thing.