Gutter Tactics is another collection on which fans of rap radicals Public Enemy and drone-metal heavies the Melvins can find common ground. [Mar 2009, p.116]

brand new eyes astonishes from start to finish. [Oct 2009, p.111]

This album is pure joy to listen to. [Mar 2011, p.96]

Murder By Death have created their most dramatic and symphonic work to date. [Oct 2012, p.90]

Featuring 14 songs that fly by in what feels like no time at all (32:47, to be exact), Rancid’s eighth album doesn’t sound forced, which for a traditional punk band is often very hard to pull off.

Cohesive and engaging throughout, this is the sound of a band at their most fearless. [Nov 2012, p.92]

The result is their most haunted and harrowing album to date. [May 2011, p.98]

Code Orange are riveting, the nihilistic horror of the whole thing at times overwhelming in the best possible way. [Oct 2014, p.98]

Childish Gambino is more than just a rapper, and Camp is more than just an album: It's a stone-cold classic.

The songs on Get Hurt do all the talking for him, loud and proud, crashing and bashing into the night, taking heartache and turning it into triumph. Pure rock ’n’ roll.

This is Godflesh at their coldest and most mechanistically assaultive. [Nov 2014. p,90]

More lively and consistent than 2006's "Rabbit Fur Coat," Lewis's second solo disc builds like a whisky buzz. [Nov 2008, p.155]

The Flatliners here transcend genre distinctions to make a great rock record, period. [Oct 2013, p.94]

It's rare to pull off an album this succint and not invite boredom; it's even rarer if it fucking rocks. [May 2008, p.135]

In no uncertain terms, Crash Love is an accomplishment that raises the bar for them as musicians and writers.

Exister serves as a reminder that the thousands of bands aping this style of punk will never be as great as Hot Water Music.

Perhaps the only surprise about Violent Waves is how strong and focused, creatively fierce and yet cohesive Circa Survive sound.

The Australian is a poet of common life, her almost-talked, observational tracks turn the mundane profound. [Apr 2015, p.90]

Didn't It Rain may be simplistic compared to its more eclectic and haunting predecessor ['Ghost Tropic'], but it evokes the world-weary tones of Neil Young's 1970 masterpiece After The Gold Rush. [Jun 2002, p.86]

The vocals are one of the duo's strongest points, but the entertaining and skillful guitar work is right up there, as is the songwriting dynamics and arrangement prowess. In other words, everything about this one is a winner.

The force of his personal aesthetics--coupled with the assistance of a similarly fearless group of friends-- has made for not only for one of the best albums of the year, but has produced evidence proving real artists simple don't settle, no matter how fast the calendar moves. [Dec 2011, p.122]

As powerful as the music is--and its strength is undeniable, as every muscle practically spasms in reaction to the desperate guttural screams that emanate from singer Jason Butler's mouth and to the violent and complex post-hardcore melodies produced by his four bandmates--as much weight is carried in the erudite, intelligent lyrics and themes that permeate these 14 songs.

Really, punk doesn't get much better than this. [Nov 2016, p.90]

Ritual reminds fans that these Michigan death-metal merchants are capable of greatness. [Jul 2011, p.107]

There are more detours, from austere acoustic avenues to vocodered pop to '80s disco, to fill you with hope for the next decade's offerings. [Feb 2010, p.94]

His bandmates give him one hell of a canvas on which to paint, with enormous hooks that pull from vintage Saves The Day and the Starting Line while still sounding fresh and exciting. [Jul 2011,p.112]

While the band do seem to reconcile something within by the conclusion of Odd Soul, the unpredictable, biting musical journey to get there makes for some powerful listening. [Nov 2011, p.96]

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