Injury Reserve (album)

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album earned a score of 75, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2]

Much of the praise was directed at Corey's production. In a positive review for the album, Chris Dart of Exclaim! called him 'Injury Reserve's real driving force',[4] and Kyle Kohner of The 405 wrote that Corey 'mix[es] things up with some of the most wonky-sounding production you will hear outside of Death Grips' [5] in another positive review. Giving the album a 6.8/10, Pitchfork's Sheldon Pearce wrote that while the album feels 'remarkably fresh and singular' when Corey is at his best.[1]

Critics were more measured in their assessment of the record's vocal performances, with many stating that frontmen Stepa J. Groggs and Ritchie with a T were outshone by their guests on some tracks. Pearce wrote that 'neither Ritchie nor Stepa are particularly groundbreaking MCs' and that they are both 'regularly shown up by their guests'. Dart, however, wrote that while the duo 'are solid, if not remarkable, rappers', their lack of pretension is what 'sets them apart'. In his review, Pearce concluded that Injury Reserve 'gets stuck between its experimental urges and its pop ambitions' too often, calling the album 'never quite noisy enough or quite catchy enough'.[1]

Adapted from Apple Music.[6]