Keepers Updated September 16, 2026
Punching the Clown

Is it worth it?

Punching the Clown

Lambchop · Album · Aug 21, 2026

57Not yet

Skip it for now. It scores 57, well short of the 85 a Keeper needs. The weakest part is the audience score.

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We score it again October 1.

Where the 57 comes from

Critics23/40

Critic score 86. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience8/20

Audience score 76. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Track record15/15

Seventeenth album, from the band behind Nixon, Uncut's album of the year in 2000.

Staying power11/25

Touring the US and Europe this fall, but no chart run we could confirm and a small audience so far.

Image: Apple

Scores used: Metacritic 86 (11 reviews), Album of the Year user score 76 (203 ratings). Numbers checked September 16, 2026. See the main source.

Find it on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Keepers earns from qualifying purchases.

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How the score works

Albums, games, films and shows

  • Critics, 40. The published aggregate from Metacritic, OpenCritic, Album of the Year or Rotten Tomatoes. Almost everything reviewed lands between 70 and 98, so a 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40.
  • Audience, 20. What people who paid for it say, from user scores and Steam reviews. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20.
  • Track record, 15. Whether the people who made it have made things that lasted before. Debuts start lower on purpose.
  • Staying power, 25. What happens after launch week: chart runs, players who stick around, renewals, sales that keep going.

A Keeper is our bet on what lasts. Some releases show it right away: the reviews, the players and the people behind them all point the same way, the way they did for Elden Ring. For albums, games, films and shows, 85 or above is a Keeper and 75 to 84 is worth your time. Things need 80. We score everything again as time goes by, and a Keeper that fades loses the label. Nobody pays to be here or pays for a score. Every score links to where its numbers came from. Each one has a link to find it on Amazon, and as an Amazon Associate, Keepers earns from qualifying purchases.