Whether you like Pitchfork or detest it, you can't argue that the site (and the world of music journalism more broadly) took a blow when it was absorbed by GQ early this year. Now, a team of five ex-Pitchfork writers are starting a new site: Hearing Things.

The project will be an attempt to revitalize music criticism for the TikTok generation. The site will aim to do away with Pitchfork's holier-than-thou tone it can sometimes lay on thick, making album reviews sound more like think pieces at times. That, and the 0.0-10.0 review scale are gone.

The site, which launched today, is subscription-based, so no ads will clutter the interface. That said, most of the site will be free to read, with optional tiers of subscribing. These options range from $70 to a staggering $1,000 a year (the latter includes a handmade mix CD or tape, plus the opportunity to hang out with the staff several times a year).

"After the Pitchfork layoffs, there was like this real sense of despair," says Andy Cush, one of the site's founders, "about ever having a place to do the kind of work you feel like you're good at and that you're interested in again." Whether Hearing Things succeeds remains to be seen, but here's hoping their gamble in music journalism pays off.