An album that hangs together surprisingly well. [Oct 2002, p.90]

The feeling isn't sucked out yet, but the focus is. [Sep 2002, p.92]

If helium-filled kitsch 'n' synth tunes float your boat, this CD will satisfy. [Sep 2002, p.87]

One-dimensional and full of tired tunes. [Sep 2002, p.81]

Noel Gallagher's songwriting is more derivative than ever. [Aug 2002, p.78]

It's meticulously arranged and inoffensive, but well-played enough to keep you from falling asleep. [Aug 2002, p.80]

It was probably inevitable, but having raised the bar so high for cut-and-paste music, Shadow spends a little too long here looking up at it. [Jul 2002, p.96]

Title TK isn't awful, but it's too zoned out to draw you in. [Jun 2002, p.71]

Breezy, flashy, and fun, but emotionally bereft as well. [Jul 2002, p.81]

Packed with earnest but impotent stadium rock. [Jul. 2002, p.82]

Costello clutters many fine compositions with kitchen-sink arrangements and cacophonous production that bring into focus how sorely missed estranged Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas is throughout. [Jun 2002, p.75]

A disheveled collection.... Westerberg's muse seems to switch on and off, from inspired to bored. [Jun 2002, p.90]

They focus too little on well-made songs and too much on creating an angst-ridden atmosphere. [Jul 2002, p.78]

Unfortunately, the pretentious spoken-word ramblings, corny hooks and unremarkable trance put Maas, along with Paul Van Dyk and BT, in a less illustrious category: top-notch DJs with second-rate albums under their belts. [May 2002, p.90]

Sadly, Modulate comes off as a former punk's clumsy and unsuccessful attempt at diving into a genre that relies less on the organic than it does on the synthetic. [May 2002, p.96]

What could have been a second coming of Stone Roses or even a newer New Order comes off like one big Spiritualized remix, light on the hooks, numbed by its own beats. [Apr 2002, p.82]

Buffalo Daughter seem more concerned with emulating others than with creating their own niche. [Apr 2002, p.66]

Has an infectious energy that keeps things from growing stale. [May 2002, p.84]

This disc contains some intriguing moments. [Apr 2002, p.74]

South are at their most compelling when they apply the aesthetics and methodology of dance music to their epic rock music. [Mar 2002, p.88]

An album full of songs so lethargic, it sounds like it needs a nap halfway through. [Apr 2002, p.71]

The collaborations produce some occasional gems, but midway through the disc one gets the impression the X-men are no longer "in their own session." [Feb 2002, p.82]

With this soft-spoken and delicate record of almost-drawling songs, he's moved his work one step closer to Nashville. [Mar 2002, p.81]

There are few hooks to grab the ear or inspire repeat listening. [Apr 2002, p.86]

A middle-of-the-road OTC record heavy on angelic vocal harmonies and light on innovation. [Apr 2002, p.84]

Though there's little here to entice newcomers, fans should rejoice. [Mar 2002, p.77]

The only problem is that in making way for all the MCs, Dilated's tracks seem too peripheral, keeping Expansion from sustaining the momentum its MCs command. [Jan 2002, p.80]

There is very little here that makes any sort of meaningful connection. [Dec 2001, p.85]

Marks a slight improvement from 1999's Bury The Hatchet. [Nov 2001, p.79]

There is little on Golden State to differentiate it from its predecessors. [Dec 2001, p.76]

Multicultural rage is all well and good, but when you cop your flow from Vanilla Ice, it undermines your underground cred. [Jan 2002, p.98]

The abundance of derivative electronic tricks diminishes Beautiful's successful updates of Garbage's sound. [Nov 2001, p.73]

An ambitious record that pays skillful tribute to teachers like Pink Floyd, but shows off its ambition too much. [Nov 2001, p.94]

Sadly, one can hear decent tunes struggling to get out of this mess. [Nov 2001, p.78]

They haven't lost any of their quirky cool mojo. [Nov 2001, p.97]

The sample-based backing tracks, hard-hitting but plain, don't have much choice but to play second-best. [Jan 2002, p.74]

The absence of Paul Leary's drug-fried guitar is unconscionable. [Nov 2001, p.78]

The 13 tracks here are improbably edgeless, all love-me-do/love-me-don't plaints that evaporate on impact. [Sep 2001, p.91]

With Ancient Melodies, Built To Spill are concentrating more on developing a single idea rather than worrying about the patchworking of the past. This fails to play to Built To Spill's strength: their firm handle on alt-guitar dynamics. [Aug 2001, p.78]

Occasional missteps keep X.O. Experience from being a bottle of the top-drawer stuff, though it'll still leave you with a good buzz. [Aug 2001, p.91]

Lacking the hyperbole of, say, Chemical Brothers or the musicality of more band-like fare like Crystal Method, he finds a middle ground of giving-and-taking frequencies between his twos and fours, as if mixing it live. [Sep 2001, p.104]

A feel-good collection of (mostly) poppy songcraft. [Aug 2001, p.103]

Boasts a sort of steady, creeping beauty, like a slower, groggier Failure without the loud arena bombast. [Nov 2001, p.97]

The Invisible Band has more layers, more moods than ever before, and more tunes as well. [July 2001, p.88]

But under the ill-fitting vocals, Deep Down & Dirty has some dubby, dark tracks that work if only because they don't try so hard to be "Connected" sequels. [Jul 2001, p.85]

It's ultimately Costa's expressive, bluesy vocals that set her apart from other singers and make Something such a promising debut. [Jul 2001, p.63]

In comparison with many imitators, Tanaka does what he does well... [Aug 2001, p.88]

There's no trace of the zany sass that made the Go-Go's an institution to begin with. [Jul 2001, p.68]

The subject matter may be a bit heavy, but the beats keep it bouncing along. [Jul 2001, p.73]

A perfectly pleasant background score for pasta-making, garden work, and other stuff 40-something yuppies waste their time on. Which makes it my definition of hell, actually. [Jul 2001, p.60]

A precious orch-pop labyrinth that unfolds with sudden melodic left turns and zany shifts in dynamics and instrumentation. [Aug 2001, p.94]

If 1987-era U2 is your bag, you'll dig it. [Jul 2001, p.74]

This batch of cobbled-together love songs and lullabies makes for instantly likable pop regardless of its source material. [#155, p.77]

The Sneak Attack proves this pioneer and innovator's run is far from over. [Aug 2001, p.90]

Like Creeper's previous albums, Take Back The Universe is a delicate piece of criss-crossing jangles and loose-limbed riffs, but the shimmery sprawl never coalesces into anything concrete. [#154, p.73]

Though the music on Revelling/Reckoning ranges from brilliant to mediocre, DiFranco's bold, descriptive lyrics (as usual) redeem any shortcomings. [#155, p.75]

Occasionally he resembles a Pakistani Bryan Ferry. Is this a good thing? It is if you like Pakistani Bryan Ferrys. [#155, p.70]

Although a less consistent effort as a whole, Time Bomb is a lot more fun than its predecessor and suggests capacity for songcraft not evident on the band's debut. [#154, p.66]

God Says No is the sound of a band heading toward the charts, full-speed.... This is a disappointing record for longitme fans; maybe new ears will dig it. [#153, p.81]

Stag for the most part rocks with biting fierceness and vibrant energy. [#155, p.81]

At times, the disc trades solid shoegazing for a slip into blase modern rock, with songs that beg for broadcast next to STP and Third Eye Blind; ultimately, however, Gwenmars' recasting of the dark British sounds that lent depth to sunny American movies is intense and compelling. [#153, p.75]

Though this is limp-wristed stuff, it's also undeniably beautiful, often recalling Nick Drake and Belle & Sebastian. [#154, p.82]

The best songs... are the ones heavily influened by the Posies' Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer. [#154, p.98]

The crossbreeding makes for a difficult listen, even thought it sharpens the Oscar Wilde-like wit Momus brings to the endeavor. [#155, p.86]

Five years later, it's easy to be blasé about [Aidan] Moffat's disgruntled first-person narratives. [#154, p.68]

Uninspired goofiness... [#154, p.98]

Seems like a tarted-up version of 1986's Raising Hell.... This is for diehard fans only. [#154, p.87]

Admittedly, this kinder, gentler Half Japanese lack the shambling brilliance of earlier incarnations, but, hey, we all lose a step with age. [#155, p.76]

They weave simple, childlike melodies that slowly grow into full-blown opuses.... A surprisingly innovative album that sees them swimming forward instead of treading water. [#153, p.76]

Pleasant, if not very gripping... [March 2001, p.70]

There's not much sonic discovery or eviscerating emotion here to elevate godhead outside the Pro-Tools realm of co-headlining tours with Stabbing Westward. [#151, p.82]

Building on the same base that made his early material brilliant (a love for both odd sounds and cheesy pop), Warren has painted himself into a musical corner: knowing its hard to get any listener to swallow the same thing repeatedly outside the mainstream market, but also wanting to indulge his muse. [#151, p.78]

Tracks like "Terra Firma" evoke every new-age-groove cliche imaginable, from Gregorian chants to pan flutes to politely understated hip-hop beats. [#152, p.74]

The Offspring once again demonstrate this knack for incorporating flavor-of-the-month flourishes into their sound in tongue-in-cheek fashion.... These embellishments aside, the Offspring hone in on the dyed-in-the-wool cheetah-paced punk that is their true bread and butter. [Jan 2001, p.81]

Records like this deliver atmosphere and little else, and most of Pelo's 10 tracks make a point of ending two minutes later than they logically should, but still, feel-good artsy pop has never felt bubblier or more confident. [#151, p.72]

With a deeper, more mature sound, Halfway sounds like the work of a producer in mid-career crisis making music inspired by the dancefloor, but not shackled to it. [12/2000, p.89]

Not much on Magnetophone's debut really distinguishes them from the legion of bedroom-based nerds playing with the same breakbeats and software as they do. [March 2001, p.83]

High Llamas make the trendy retreat into their parents' soundtrack-filled record collection, and on Buzzle Bee, they use a film editor's aesthetic to cut, splice and dissolve their Pet Sounds-based pop into scenes from the celluloid past. The result is as atmospheric as Air, but not as danceably substantial. [#152, p.81]

More Light... burns with a raw intensity, albeit sandwiched between moments that recall Mascis' acoustic and goofy backwoods major-label work. [Jan 2001, p.94]

On Disco Volante, [David Gedge] sometimes becomes as tedious as a typical pick-up line. [Jan 2001, p.86]

Everlast hints at a hip-hop amalgam of Johnny Cash and Howlin' Wolf, but only when being chased. [Jan 2001, p.88]

Only the blindly in love will fully appreciate Suitcase, which is chock-full of bruised and blemished tracks, though it's not all throwaways. [#147, p.94]

Dominated by sparse instrumentation and lyrics that are merely good... relatively lifeless tunes. [12/2000, p.115]

Decidedly mellow and acoustic in nature, 'Excuses' continues [Neil] Halstead's love affair with country, folk, and pop.... masterfully written, recorded, and played. [#147, p.103]

The best songs are, as usual, the weirder ones... Elsewhere, Balls spends too much time riding the same quirky-dance autopilot that has fascinated Sparks since the late '70s. [Jan. 2001, p.102]

The first De La Soul full-length lacking a consistent vibe throughout... [#147, p.81]

In place of Morcheeba's poetic brooding is a poppy, chorus-hook-chorus songwriting style that will probably irk a lot of their fans.... From the sounds of it, Morcheeba are going for the teen-pop market... [#146, p.104]

[Stephin] Merritt likes to sing about dancing--'I'm Lonely' gives us good reason to join him on the floor. [#147, p.92]

You may be surprised to learn that the roadside corpse does more than twitch; it gets up and positively rumbas in places ("Girls of Summer"), while "New Birds" heaves with the same fidgety agitation that occasionally made Joy Division seem special. [#147, p.83]

La Luna's overall style is ambient industrial, with a hypnotic, grinding pulse and pounding kick drum, embellished by sporadic rhythmic tappic, guitar growls and strange electronic squiqqles... and while Czukay's industrial groove is righteous, 47 minutes of it is excessive. [Jan 2001, p.87]

The album sounds, not surprisingly, overproduced, lacking even a hint of the earthy quality of 'I Do Not Want...' and leaving little space for O'Connor to stretch out vocally. [#146, p.96]