I try not to read music reviews. For several reasons.

First, the review is generally about some obscure band I have never heard mentioned before. Second, if I recognize the band name, nine times out of ten they are playing some genre of music that does not appeal to me. Thirdly, in the rare event of it being about a band I do know and, even more unlikely, enjoy, then the review is sure to be tremendously negative. Why is that?

Do music critics have something against...