The album runs a tad long--and it's difficult to suss out the band's individual voice from underneath the weight of their influences. [Mar 2011, p.92]

Gay For Johnny Depp succeed because they don't take themselves seriously and they know how to write a crushingly good hardcore song. [Mar 2011, p.93]

For a young, non-jaded Pantha Du Prince fan, though, this could resonate yet.

This 18-song, one-hour compilation is a spawling, hit-or-miss affair. [Jan 2011, p.90]

It's a great album to have on hand for a wild party, but piping it through your headphones will have you skipping tracks. [Feb 2011, p.89]

Red Barked Tree is something of a letdown, oddly placid and even soothing. [Feb 2011, p.90]

III/IV is the director's cut of a moment in Ryan Adams' all-too-prolific career. It adds dimension in some areas, but may be too much information for causal fans of the singer/songwriter.

Matt and Kim deserve albums that sound clean and ambitious, but in all of Sidewalk's studio processing, their endearing personalities--decidedly brash, raw and awesome--unfortunately aren't well-represented. [Jan 2011, p.93]

Instead of building on their strengths, frontman Jaz Coleman & Co. have backslid into subdued sogginess of the band's mid-period. [Jan 2010, p.91]

Choosing to keep the songs dark and dreary bogs down Mini Mansions. That criticism aside, the band know how to craft a song, letting it build and drop when necessary. [Dec 2010, p.114]

This is strictly a headphone listen--or, more likely, non-listen. [Nov 2010, p.108]

Face Tat demands remarkable attention from its listeners; if only Hill would have challenged himself as much during its creation. [Nov 2010, p.112]

Anyone wishing to reminisce about the golden age that was the third wave of ska-punk will find plenty to like, though, as by its very nature, TV/EP sounds like something straight outta '97.

Most of the songs are brutal, chugga-chugga workouts, with Phil Labonte barking like a roid-raging Masshole spoiling for a fight while the band riffs away behind him. [Nov 2010, p.108]

In Many ways, No Age have successfully distilled the pop essence of early-90s Sonic Youth: no mean feat, just not as memorable as last time. [Oct 2010, p.116]

On paper the choice of Jon Brion, a musician and engineer best known for his work in film seemed perfect, but unfortunately it didn't temper Barnes' misguided vision to be the indie-rock Prince. [Oct 2010, p.116]

Sleep Forever is a fine album, but you get the sense that if the band focused on their pop sensibilities as much as they do their more seemingly aesthetic inclinations, it would have been a great album.

Even if Banks sticks to the "I've got two secrets but I only told you one" songwriting approach, hopefully a band shakeup will spark the soulfulness only occasionally heard in his contributions. [Oct 2010, p.118]

Like many trilogies, though, the third one stumbles to reach the bar set by its predecessors. However, Morning certainly doesn't suck, and fans will appreciate its place in the evolution of Eels. [Sep 2010, p.109]

Why does Warp Riders feel so lacking? The root cause could be that the songs on this album are stripped of the sexy strut that marked the Sword's earlier efforts. [Sep 2010, p.113]

Though the album gets too repetitive, the uniformity of Acolyte still serves the band's purpose: Make the floor move.

Against Me! were great because of their flaws, not in spite of them--White Crosses just isn't that much fun to listen to. [Jun 2010, p.102]

At its best, Arms is a pleasant album, one that sounds good on the surface or as background music. For most bands, that's perfectly acceptable. But for a group like Band Of Horses--whose ambitions have always intersected with being meaningful and transcendent, too--somehow just being acceptable makes Arms fall short.

Overall, Keane's efforts to move beyond pigeonholing succeed more than they fail. [Jun 2010, p.107]

Li(f)e's musical concept is great, but he's been better on the mic. [Jun 2010, p.105]

On Fever, it's all about the harmonized riffs and the high-flying melodies interlocking with the type of rhythmic thud that feels like it could move the earth--and the pop charts. [May 2010, p.104]

Considering how much it costs to get Rick Rubin in the producer's chair, it's no surprise Gogol Bordello aim for something beyond full-throttle drunken mayhem on Trans-Continental Hustle. Those worried the party is officially over can rest easy, as "Break The Spell" and "We Comin' Rougher (Immigraniada)" show Gogol Bordello haven't completely forsaken four-on-the-floor folk punk. [June 2010, p.105]

Thnakfully, as the album continues, the songs grow more developed as orchestrally augmented tracks "Right Place" and "LA Rain" showcase Burhenn's distinct vocal abilities. [May 2010, p.108]