Beta Love feels too much like the band's token electronic record. [Feb 2013, p.92]

While electronic music fans are not always a lyrics-first bunch, the sentiments here will probably sound better shouted at Glastonbury or Coachella than examined via earbuds.

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

It feels a lot longer than it is, and that's a bad thing. [May 2009, p.115]

The tunes are instantly likeable.... What's missing are the immediate hooks that today's competitors from Katy Perry to Marina And The Diamonds, use to claim Madonna's now-vacant throne. [Jul 2014, p.98]

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]

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

Overlook has its moments. [Sep 2011, p.120]

If Euphoric has a weak spot, it's that Glasvegas' desperation can become overwrought. [May 2011, p.93]

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

He seems hell-bent on sabotaging his amiable, acoustic-guitar-based songs with the sort of distortion and static that drive most engineers up the soundproofed wall. [Jan 2005, p.114]

The band ultimately lose the pop craftsmanship and hook-filled bite that distinguished their debut. [Oct 2005, p.166]

Every successful band eventually put out a bloated album, and for Northern Ireland's Snow patrol, it's Fallen Empires. [Feb 2012, p.84]

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]

Frontman Chris Carrabba then shifts into the "Mature Artist" EP, showcasing critic-approved influences like U2 and the Cure ("Blame It On The Changes"), but goes too far with the acoustic mewl of "Even Now" (which is so personal, it's awkward) and "The Motions," a failed experiment in '80s pop. [Jan 2010, p. 92]

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

The album as a whole is scattershot; it's easy to appreciate the boundaries that Zion I are pushing, but the best authors have great editors. [Feb 2009, p.107]

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]

The band have thankfully corrected course for their self-titled sophomore full-length, but Forever The Sickest Kids is still a frustrating listen at times.

Even if this Boat doesn't always stay afloat, Cook's eager-to-please melodic sensibilities can still get jaws a-smilin'. [Mar 2009, p.116]

This isn’t a record to slap on for kicks or to challenge the bass response of your car stereo; this is the album that makes you want to scowl under gray skies as you slog to your day job.

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

For all of his wild swinging, Jones never fully connects. [May 2005, p.136]

Darker, glitchier and garage-punkier... a gamble that doesn't always strike gold. [Jan 2005, p.114]

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

The serious tone is a natural progression for the Sounds but Rubicon's downfall is that it's songs don't linger much after the music stops. [Jul 2009, p.128]

With its techno beats, yowling vocals and laughably cliched lyrics, "I Am Your Skin" fumbles at being a love song, while "She's So Bendable" (the band's vision of Lou Reed fronting the Jesus And Mary Chain) is beyond generic. [Jan 2010, p. 92]

Overall, The Boy With No Name has just enough personality to remind imitators like Coldplay and Keane from whence they came. [Jun 2007, p.151]