private music by Deftones

Deftones private music

87
ChoruScore
11 reviews
Aug 22, 2025
Release Date
Reprise
Label

Deftones's private music arrives as a purposeful reunion that balances bruising heft with intimate lyricism, and across professional reviews it largely succeeds. Critics point to tension and restraint as the record's through-line, noting how producer influence and a return-to-form energy restore both atmosphere and bite. With a consensus score of 87.45/100 across 11 professional reviews, the critical consensus presents private music as a reinvigorated career moment rather than a radical reinvention.

Reviewers consistently name standout tracks that crystallize the album's aims: “milk of the madonna”, “souvenir”, “i think about you all the time” and “my mind is a mountain” recur as best songs on private music, praised for catchy choruses, textured shoegaze ambience and the band’s signature clash of beauty and brutality. Critics from Beats Per Minute and The Line of Best Fit highlight the record's replayability and cinematic scope, while Kerrang! and NME emphasize arena-scale relevance and vocal craftsmanship. Several reviews underline moments of nostalgic callback to early-aughts fury - especially on driving cuts like “ecdysis” and “locked club” - even as other tracks push measured experimentation and prog-tinged atmospherics.

Not all perspectives are identical: Pitchfork and The Quietus register a more ambivalent awe, admiring the album's control while suggesting certain textures recall slowed, reverb-drenched memories rather than outright novelty. Still, the majority of critics celebrate the blend of tenderness and aggression, the reunion-with-producer polish, and the clear sense of artistic control. As a result, private music reads in critics' estimation as a vital Deftones statement—one that answers questions about whether the record is worth listening to by delivering distinct best tracks and a cohesive, emotionally charged arc.

Below, detailed reviews unpack why specific songs emerge as the album's defining moments and how production choices steer its balance of nostalgia and forward motion.

Critics' Top Tracks

The standout songs that made critics take notice

1

souvenir

9 mentions

"when Chino purrs ' Keep warm here beside me holding you tightly / We gaze at the night, we own it, it’s divine ' amidst an atmospheric squall"
Kerrang!
2

i think about you all the time

8 mentions

"and yes, ‘Private Music’ is complete with one of those gorgeous Deftones love songs in the form of ‘I Think About You All The Time’."
New Musical Express (NME)
3

infinite source

8 mentions

"before the chugging Sleigh Bells riffery of ‘Infinite Source’"
New Musical Express (NME)
when Chino purrs ' Keep warm here beside me holding you tightly / We gaze at the night, we own it, it’s divine ' amidst an atmospheric squall
K
Kerrang!
about "souvenir"
Read full review
9 mentions
88% sentiment

Track Ratings

How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.

View:
1

my mind is a mountain

9 mentions
94
02:50
2

locked club

11 mentions
51
02:52
3

ecdysis

9 mentions
88
03:28
4

infinite source

8 mentions
100
03:32
5

souvenir

9 mentions
100
06:10
6

cXz

8 mentions
55
03:12
7

i think about you all the time

8 mentions
100
04:08
8

milk of the madonna

10 mentions
100
04:08
9

cut hands

10 mentions
35
03:01
10

~metal dream

7 mentions
70
03:02
11

departing the body

7 mentions
76
05:59

What Critics Are Saying

Deep insights from 13 critics who reviewed this album

Critic's Take

In a voice that measures decade-deep craft with affectionate scrutiny, Deftones' private music finds its best songs in the unsettling sweep of “departing the body” and the aching bloom of “i think about you all the time”. The reviewer praises “departing the body” as possibly the best track for its sinister tone, strange guitar experimentation and cryptic lyrics, and highlights “i think about you all the time” as a near-perfect ballad that erupts into a post-rock climax. Also singled out is the single “milk of the madonna”, an alt-rock banger hiding brilliant songwriting behind monumental guitars, making these three the best tracks on private music by merit of atmosphere, composition and replayability.

Key Points

  • The best song is "departing the body" for its eerie experimentation, sinister tone and unsettling lyricism.
  • The album’s core strengths are its nuanced mixing of atmosphere and heaviness and instant replayability across diverse styles.

Themes

nostalgia experimentation atmosphere juxtaposition of tenderness and heaviness replayability
Consequence logo

Consequence

Unknown
Aug 25, 2025
87

Critic's Take

Deftones’s private music reads like comfort food for long-time fans, and the best tracks on the album - especially “my mind is a mountain” and “milk of the madonna” - are barn-burners that revisit the band’s Around the Fur fury. The reviewer relishes the record’s heft and momentum, praising driving cuts like “ecdysis” while noting the appetizing brevity of the lead single. There’s also admiration for the band’s willingness to lean into nu-metal signifiers on songs such as “locked club” and “cut hands”, which make the album feel both familiar and tunefully vital.

Key Points

  • “milk of the madonna” and “my mind is a mountain” stand out as high-energy, arena-ready tracks that best capture the album’s heavy momentum.
  • The album’s core strength is balancing beloved Deftones heavy tropes with fresh ideas and confident nu-metal callbacks.

Themes

return to heavier sound nu-metal revival balance of familiarity and freshness stadium-scale relevance
The Quietus logo

The Quietus

Unknown
Aug 22, 2025
80

Critic's Take

I kept thinking about early-2010s nostalgia as I listened to Deftones and their new record private music. The reviewer's voice in the piece leans into that hazy recollection, praising tracks like “infinite source” as "one of the best tunes they’ve dished out in a while" while noting the whole album sounds like a slowed, reverbed memory. Best songs on private music include “infinite source”, “milk of the madonna” and “locked club”, each highlighted for huge riffs, soaring vocals and nocturnal atmosphere. It reads as admiration folded into unease - a vampiric, uncanny triumph that mourns what it fondly imitates.

Key Points

  • The best song is "infinite source" because it crystallizes Deftones' huge riffs, booming drums and soaring vocals while still fitting the album’s fuzzy nostalgia.
  • The album’s core strength is its evocative, nostalgia-soaked production that turns Deftones into a slowed, reverbed memory, creating a haunting, uncanny atmosphere.

Themes

nostalgia memory fuzzed production nu-metal revival distant/echoing sound

Critic's Take

Deftones’ return with private music feels like a long-awaited vindication, and the best songs on the album underline that claim. The opener “my mind is a mountain” and the ferocious “locked club” set the tone, while “ecdysis” and “departing the body” are the standout tracks that justify calling out the best tracks on private music. Moreno’s cryptic lyrics and the band’s blend of atmosphere and metal make these songs feel both intimate and colossal. Overall, the album’s highs — especially “ecdysis” and “departing the body” — mark it as one of their most vital returns.

Key Points

  • The best song is "ecdysis" because the reviewer calls it an early album standout and praises its avant-garde groove.
  • The album’s core strengths are its fusion of atmosphere and heavy aggression, and its ability to reference past eras without nostalgia.

Themes

return heavy/atmospheric fusion nostalgic callbacks intimacy vs aggression prog and experimental influences
100

Critic's Take

In a voice that savours detail and surge, Deftones's private music is framed as a returned hunger, and the best songs - notably “Souvenir” and “My Mind Is A Mountain” - are presented as proof. The reviewer relishes the six-minute-plus sweep of “Souvenir”, where Chino "purrs" lines amid an "atmospheric squall", and praises “My Mind Is A Mountain” as a languid revisionist cousin to "Rocket Skates", signalling how small tweaks make something mesmeric. Production and guitar heft are cited as engines that push tracks like “cXz” and “Milk Of The Madonna” into pacy, forward momentum, which the writer treats as a core reason these songs stand out. The tone is admiring and precise, pitching these songs as the best tracks on private music because they crystallise the album's renewed energy and expansive arrangements.

Key Points

  • The best song, "Souvenir", is best for its six-minute sweep and intimate, atmospheric vocal moment.
  • The album's core strengths are energized production, Stef Carpenter's guitar heft, and a renewed sense of abandon.

Themes

revival producer influence ethereal atmosphere romantic lyricism career resurgence

Critic's Take

Deftones return on private music with a record that balances bruising riffs and lush orchestration, and the best songs - “I Think About You All The Time”, “Milk Of The Madonna” and “Ecdysis” - show why. Joshua Mills writes with affection for their ability to be both heavy and heavenly, praising the swooning slow-burn of “I Think About You All The Time” as the album's emotional apex. He also highlights the anthemic swagger of “Milk Of The Madonna” and the poppy, earworm synths of “Ecdysis”, which together answer any question about the best tracks on private music. The review reads like a celebration of consistency - another very good Deftones LP that mixes rousing choruses with textured production.

Key Points

  • The best song is "I Think About You All The Time" for its emotional, swooning production and big chorus.
  • The album's core strengths are blending heavy guitar work with lush textures and anthemic, rousing choruses.

Themes

blend of heaviness and melody nostalgia and early-aughts influence textural shoegaze elements anthemic choruses
Sputnikmusic logo

Sputnikmusic

Unknown
Aug 21, 2025
88

Critic's Take

Deftones return with private music, an album that revels in comfort while still delivering the best songs on the record. The review insists that “infinite source” is irresistibly catchy and stakes a claim as one of the band’s best songs, while “~metal dream” and “ecdysis” supply towering choruses and earworms that lodge themselves immediately. The voice here is admiring and assured, noting Carpenter’s guitar work and Chino’s dreamier vocals as central to why these tracks stand out. Overall, the record is praised as a reassertion of greatness rather than a radical reinvention, making the best tracks feel like all-timers.

Key Points

  • “infinite source” is singled out as the catchiest and strongest contender for one of Deftones’ best songs.
  • The album’s core strengths are memorable choruses, Carpenter’s guitar tones, and Chino’s more pivotal vocals within familiar, confident songwriting.

Themes

comfort and familiarity catchy choruses production choices vocals prominence measured experimentation

Critic's Take

Deftones’s private music finds the band luxuriating in tension, and the best songs - notably “cXz” and “cut hands” - make that tug feel deliberate and thrilling. Sadie Sartini Garner’s measured admiration surfaces in descriptions that praise both the band’s command of heaviness and their softer textures, explaining why listeners search for the best tracks on private music. The review highlights “cXz” as a dreamy chorus undone by itchy momentum, and crowns “cut hands” an honest-to-god highlight for its swagger and rap-metal bite. This is an album where control and menace combine, which is precisely why fans ask which are the best songs on private music and point to these standouts.

Key Points

  • The best song is best because it balances dreamy chorus writing with tension-shifting momentum.
  • The album’s core strengths are control of texture and the interplay between heaviness and prettiness.

Themes

heaviness vs prettiness artistic control nostalgia and influence tension and restraint

Critic's Take

Deftones sound feral and tender in equal measure on private music, and the best songs - notably “My Mind Is A Mountain” and “I Think About You All The Time” - confirm why they still lead the pack. Andrew Trendell’s voice revels in the band’s mixture of swooning romance and bruising riffcraft, calling out the opener’s monolithic punch and the record’s gorgeously gothic love song moments. He frames the album as both a stadium-ready barrage and an intimate fever dream, which makes clear the best tracks are those that balance brutality with beauty. This is a reunion that sounds like a continuation - the songs that marry Moreno’s croon with cinematic riffs stand tallest as the best tracks on private music.

Key Points

  • The best song is the monolithic opener “My Mind Is A Mountain” because it lands as a commanding lead single that showcases Moreno's vocal punch.
  • The album's core strengths are its balance of beauty and brutality, genre-fluid textures, and cinematic romantic songwriting.

Themes

beauty and brutality genre-fluidity romantic intimacy doom and cinematic scope reunion with producer

Critic's Take

Deftones's Private Music reads like a reinvigoration, balancing ferocity and experimental melody with clear conviction. The reviewer's eye lingers on “my mind is a mountain” as a brisk opener and on the visceral impact of “Milk of the Madonna” as a standout, both emblematic of the album's soft-to-heavy architecture. He praises the band for leaning into gentler moments to amplify the heavy, and singles out the closing turns around “Souvenir” and “cXz” as proof the band still push themselves creatively. It is presented as a confident, clear-sighted record that cements the band at the top of their game.

Key Points

  • ‘Milk of the Madonna’ is best for its chugging guitars and affecting vocals that mark it as a clear standout.
  • The album's core strength is its balance of softer moments and heavier payoffs, yielding a cohesive, reinvigorated Deftones record.

Themes

reinvigoration old vs new production ebb and flow of soft and heavy dynamics vocal craftsmanship

Critic's Take

Paul Weedon hears Deftones as a band at once reverent and restless on private music, and he singles out a handful of true highs. From the opening surge of “my mind is a mountain” to the arena-ready sweep of “souvenir”, the record marries serrated riffs with moments of pensive quiet. He praises the tenderness of “i think about you all the time” as one of Moreno’s most beautiful commitments to tape, while noting how heavier cuts like “cXz” still deliver unfiltered aggression. The result reads as a culmination of past glories and a confident step forward - the best tracks on private music feel both inevitable and surprising.

Key Points

  • ‘Souvenir’ is the best song for its sprawling, arena-ready sweep and thunderous guitar work.
  • The album’s core strength is balancing serrated, heavy riffs with quiet, introspective moments, making the songs feel both familiar and new.

Themes

balance of brutality and grace shoegaze ambience introspection and transcendence sonic evolution