As is the case whenever [Kurt] Wagner's velvet croon wraps itself around a night that ends so late it's already morning... there really isn't a critic in the world who can touch him. [combined review of both discs; Mar 2003, p.94]

As is the case whenever [Kurt] Wagner's velvet croon wraps itself around a night that ends so late it's already morning... there really isn't a critic in the world who can touch him. [combined review of both discs; Mar 2003, p.94]

Blixa Bargeld's singing voice lacks distinction, but Mobile's emotional intensity, cinematic grandeur and eerie beauty render that a moot point. [Mar 2004, p.110]

Medicine is certainly a cohesive and mature outing, but it isn't nearly as fun as the band's previous shenanigans. [May 2004, p.102]

For better or for worse, Grohl replicates each band's musical style with remarkable accuracy. [Mar 2004, p.98]

The Church's languid melancholy sedates rather than seduces. [Feb 2004, p.88]

At times their odes to the long-gone era of '60s psychedelia get lost in their lofty ambitions. [Apr 2004, p.84]

Full of hopelessness and destructive defiance. [Mar 2004, p.94]

Unlike more polished bands with little to say after two releases, the Walkmen sound like they're gradually striding into some big shoes. [Mar 2004, p.106]

It's a thing of subversive beauty, a striking debut that's self-assured and captivating. [Mar 2004, p.104]

This is a seminar in how to age gracefully and still rock like demons. [Mar 2004, p.106]

Air's most song-oriented effort yet. [Feb 2004, p.92]

Patton's latest fantasy-headache is a one-song, 55-minute conceptual misfire that careens from acid-casualty chamber music to high-velocity cartoon metal. [Feb 2004, p.82]

A nuanced masterpiece. [Feb 2004, p.88]

James Walsh does have a beautiful voice, but unfortunately, it's not enough to illuminate Starsailor from the shadow of British bands like Travis and Coldplay. [Feb 2004, p.90]

Stereolab continue to elevate breezy retro pop to luxurious new heights of spac-age swank and bilingual bliss. [Mar 2004, p.94]

A frenetic, opaque masterpiece that ranks in the upper echelons of post-rock primacy. [Apr 2004, p.96]

The recording quality is awful, but the glee with which these legends dust off forgotten gems like "Never Been In A Riot" easily makes up for it. [Feb 2004, p.76]

[Dalley] repeatedly dilutes Leave Your Name with empty atmospheric exercises in barely-there vocals and shimmery keys. [Feb 2004, p.80]

Inventive and highly improvised. [Feb 2004, p.88]

Cellar Door is clearly the work of a musical mastermind who has never met an instrument he didn't like--or a song he couldn't ruin with it. [Mar 2004, p.96]

Like vintage B&S, this Glasgow group's sound ranges from full-blown orchestration to tunes on which a lot of musicians make very little noise. [Mar 2004, p.94]

As full of empty bluster as its title. [Mar 2004, p.110]

Phantom Planet are shooting for something a bit less sunny here than their last outing. [Mar 2004, p.106]

Granted, the Offspring have always dabbled in lyrical goofiness, but on Splinter, this approach seeps into the music as well. [Jan 2004, p.93]

Atlas may lack the overall inventiveness of Kinky's self-titled debut, but the album still finds the Mexican electro-funk rockers in fine form. [Feb 2004, p.88]

These eight songs are as strangely catchy as they are desperate. [Feb 2004, p.92]

Hit or miss. [Dec 2003, p.154]