Loose continually festers with a blistering intensity and creativity that's not for the closed-minded or faint of heart. [Feb 2004, p.88]

Sonically, Knopf has never sounded more confident. [Jun 2012, p.82]

It's still early to see if they'll transcend the hype, but Dying In Stereo bodes well by keeping it real over simple old-school beats. [Aug 2003, p.108]

Loudboxer revisits stark, pounding techno at a moment when the genre's fallen from favor, in the process revitalizing the form. [Aug 2002, p.84]

The songs, though we've heard them many times before, take on a surprisingly fresh and delicate new identity. [Feb 2006, p.122]

What Apollo Sunshine may lack in cohesion, it more than makes up for in spirit. [Nov 2005, p.218]

How they were able to construct an entire multi-layered universe (sonically, lyrically and with narration!) for listeners to get lost in-while writing some of the strongest and catchiest songs of their career-is anyone's guess. For the cookie-cutter bands and haters out there, that's what we call sweet revenge.

Pierce's vocals and playing reach higher and push farther forward than they did on previous albums. [Apr 2012, p.98]

Besides a few corny riffs and dated moments, this is far and away the album Saosin's cheesy imitators have been attempting for the last 13 years. [Jun 2016, p.102]

PUP is 10 songs of irreverent party jams for buds and their gals and their bros.

The album doesn't stary too far from what made MUTEMATH such an enjoyable listen, but it's nuances cement Armistice as the band's best work to date. [Sep 2009, p.99]

This is the best Foetus record in about 12 years. [Aug 2001, p.88]

If anything, the quality of Stevens' B-sides further validates the folk-hero legacy he's begun. [Sep 2006, p.212]

Off! is ferocious and unforgiving. [Jun 2012, p.76]

Mondo Cane is surprising considering how engaging a listen these visits into grandiose operatic profundity really are. [Jul 2010, p.127]

[Andrew Kenny] The Austin native has never sounded so loose and assured as he does on Matchsticks. [Jul 2011, p.112]

Back with album No. 2, Beak> feel more purposeful somehow.

Shows LaValle exploring new and exciting sonic territory with mostly positive results. [Oct 2006, p.200]

Singer Ricky Wilson holds it together with his charismatic personality, demanding you sit up and listen the second he opens his mouth to kick things off. [Dec 2008, p.146]

The big hooks are fewer and further between, but the meat in the middle is where the real magic lies.

Lacing together 15 tracks this tight is nothing short of a rap lifetime accomplishment. [Aug 2012, p.84]

AFI bassist Hunter Burgan and My Chemical Romance touring drummer Jarrod Alexander lend their talent making for a textured record that combines Skiba's trademark dark-tiged punk sensibilities with an electronic edge inspired by '80s new wave. [Jun 2012, p.83]

Hone[s] his twangy, hip-hop Americana to pitchfork sharpness. [Jan 2005, p.114]

The British band's frothy, fun mix of samples from public domain educational films and their spunky electronic-infused art pop is taken to new heights on this live album. [Jan 2017, p.83]

This album absolutely stands on its own, never requiring visual accompaniment; for Air fans, it's a vital addition to their catalog. [Mar 2012, p.94]

There's confidence in the slower tempos and meatier hooks that add as sense of foreboding to these 11 songs. [Apr 2016, p.99]

Gosling and Shields play all the instruments on the disc and sing along with the kids choir--which sounds like a recipe for disaster but in actuality it's both compelling and surprising well-rendered.

Andy Stack's accompaniments are dynamic, elusive and overflowing with heart. [May 2014, p.94]

There's nothing here as flat-out beautiful as "Tired Climb" from 2010's Spiral Shadow, but Ultraviolet is both expansive and rockin' in equal measure. [Jun 2013, p.96]

It's possibly the band's most poignant work to date. [Jun 2011, p.107]

Overall, Plowing is an artistic, unique and rather enjoyable step few probably expected Iceage to make, and quite easily the band's best album yet.

The heartfelt, piano-based "Do The Trick" is among guitarist/vocalist Scott McMicken's most accomplished songs--which can be said for nearly every boot-stomping moment here. [Mar 2012, p.97]

Pensive and engaging, Jumping The Tracks is the quintessential headphones record that gets better with each listen. [Mar 2014, p.88]

Having dabbled with atmospheric black-metal elements in the past, this time out Carnifex incorporates these with more confidence while never compromising their ruthless deathcore principals. [Apr 2014, p.89]

An LP of remarkable dynamic shifts, stop-on-a-dime time changes, tribal menace and sinister lyrics. [Jun 2016, p.102]

Gardner and drummer Jason Hammel discover a prettier, fuller-bodied sound and enrich it with other instruments, such as strings on the inviting opener, 'Get Better.' [June 2008, p.130]

The Bronx (IV) [is] their most infectious record to date. [Mar 2013, p.88]

He's singing, not screaming, and the music is genuinely beautiful in a haunted, intensely withdrawn sort of way. [May 2017, p.82]

This is a knuckle-walking, face-punching, tooth-spitting hardcore/metal album that’ll have you looking around for things and people that could use a good kicking.

These 14 songs find the band raging as hard as they ever have. [Jun 2015, p.97]

This cause-minded screamo-ish collective is older and more grounded, but are no less committed to inciting change that sticks. [Jul 2015, p.98]

His fifth solo album calls on both his folk and roots-rock experiences, in a bold yet familiar transition for the seasoned performer. [Jul 2012, p.98]

It contains the band's most focused songwriting since the last album Gottehrer produced, 2005's Pretty In Black. [Oct 2012, p.92]

All of this comes together to form a cohesive collection that flows effortlessly; without a doubt, it's one of the strongest guitar-rock records 2012 will yield. [May 2012, p.83]

Closest in style to 'Systemisch', it lacks the sublime glow of 'Diskont94', but it updates the former's chugging wash with a more varied tonal palette. [#146, p.97]

What glosses over those small, weird choices is the collective strength and sense of purpose found here.

This self-titled album is a reflection of Adams’ continued growth as a songwriter, and is completely relatable to anyone who has managed to survive in a marriage--creative or otherwise--long past the honeymoon phase.

It's wonderful stuff, partly because Shearwater's renditions are lovely enough to make you want to seek out the real things, and partly because, really, does anyone need another bloody cover? [Dec 2013, p.100]

Pleasantly pastoral. [Nov 2001, p.86]

As it stands, Barlow has only evolved in his mastery of subtle acoustic guitar interplay and flirtations with pop. [Nov 2009, p.109]

The quartet gets a little glammy, turn in a fist pumping epic, and achieve Beatles-esque flights of fancy. [Jul 2013, p.104]

Curses is all jutting hips, attitudinal riffs and massive kick drums that demand fists be pumped in the air. [Jun 2006, p.186]

It almost doesn't matter what chanteuse Inara George--one half of the Bird And The Bee--is singing about on the duo's second full-length, Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, mainly because it all sounds so sweet. [Feb 2008, p.103]

Loud Like Nature contains all the traits that make Add N To (X) so captivating: blood, brains and lots of loin friction. [Dec 2002, p.77]

To Rococo Rot don't need more bounce in their already metronomic step, so I-Sound shows the group on this collaboration how to add a bit of swagger. [#155, p.86]

Wratten's finest post-Field Mice LP. [Dec 2001, p.98]

It's 22 minutes of thoughtful, intricately expressed vexation like never before. [Jul 2014, p.103]

Epic and memorable. [Jun 2006, p.188]

It's a summertime record guaranteed to freak out half the "Surfing USA" fans in the world. [Oct 2006, p.202]

A collection of crisp, melodic pop tunes that showcase not only his musical abilities, but his vocal skills as well. [Mar 2007, p.145]

The core of any Low album, though, is the unearthly beauty of Sparhawk and his wife Mimi Parker's vocal harmonies, which, after 20 years, have lost none of their emotion-stirring power. [Apr 2013, p.90]

No matter what the style or genre of the music, it’s passion that drives its power, and War Psalms is brimming with it.

The reference points may be obvious and the sounds familiar, but Die Knowing succeeds where so many fail: in conveying emotion, engaging the listener and creating an experience. [Apr 2014, p.91]

A varied set of songs that's imbued with the mysticism of folklore and the romanticism of rock 'n' roll, this EP is a chance to take stock of the long journey that Frank Turner has taken so far, before he sets off once more into the future unknown.

A progressive work with plenty to offer the open-minded. [Jun 2004, p.106]

Manson is keeping things exciting and crucial the only way rock’s long-running antihero can. Pro Tip: Listen on headphones, where his unadorned, chilling stalker-esque asides will make your bladder flex.

Sweet without being saccharine. [Mar 2005, p.124]

Don't Believe The Truth strips away the layered excess of albums like 1997's Be Here Now to revisit the streamlined pomposity of the group's earliest discs. [Jul 2005, p.182]

In Reno especially, the Skulls' Agitation is one of the safest bets a punk can make. [Oct 2011, p.106]

This is a great album, one that carries the burden of growing up on its shoulders, but uses it for good instead of endlessly fighting against it, which punk bands need to do as they grow up.

Calexico is back in the desert with Carried To Dust. Which is not to say it feels like a retreat, Dust is far too confident. [Oct 2008, p.152]

Whatever meaning you take from them, however, one thing remains solid--the sheer heart with which they were forged and the very visceral emotion they contain.

There are minor lulls here, but enough highs to majorly please.

This is a record that cuts deep, but rushes right over to tend to your wounds. [Oct 2012, p.88]

At once loud and elegant, Karmacode raises Lacuna Coil's heaviness tenfold without sacrificing a drop of the band's mystical ambience. [May 2006, p.168]

End Times is easily one of Eels' finest achievements. [Feb 2010, p.93]

Koala contours his cuddly cuts for the ADD set. [Nov 2003, p.118]

Seamless and sparkling. [Jan 2004, p.98]

Classic/stadium rock and brainy trash collide in "Tandem" and "Moonlight;" "Termites" rocks like Minus The Bear, Overkill and Yes; and it's obvious someone's discovered Mahavishnu Orchestra abnd Primus. [Apr 2011, p.118]

Cox projects an otherwordly allure in his atmospheres and melodies that recall My Blood Valentine's recasting of rock as sound that prioritizes erotic texture and swoon-worthy levitation. [Mar 2008, p.140]

Sycamore has plenty of upbeat rockers to counterbalance its moodier moments. [Jan 2008, p.128]

Finelines serves up Everybody Oriented Rock, sure to be a hit with both the critics and the slamdancing fans who ignore them. [Aug 2002, p.72]

Highly Suspect successfully avoid the dreaded sophomore slump.

Provides enough thrilling moments to make sense on or off the dancefloor. [Sep 2005, p.168]

But is it emo-synth brilliance or just MOR cheese? That’s the question you may still be asking when you’ve surfaced from beneath these Waves.

Alone, Air and Earth are the weakest of the EPs, but taken as a whole, Thrice have managed to convert an ultra-abstract concept into a cohesive and innovative collection. [May 2008, p.143]

Fans of the Cure's late '80s material will find much to love about No One Can Ever Know. [Mar 2012, p.99]

Occasionally, this style of music gives way to too much meandering or noise for the sake of it, but Nothing's melodic and encompassing LP debut is guilty of neither. [Apr 2014, p.92]

Between The Senses follows in the hallowed Brit-rock tradition of trembling vocals, chiming midtempo guitars and delicate lyrical sensibilities. [Oct 2002, p.80]

We're fans of Thorburn's day job, too, but this actually wins out when it comes to Sunday relaxation tunes. [Oct 2008, p.153]

The majority of the tracks on Tomorrow's Hits feel like they were cooked in the backyards of Laurel Canyon with ambling rhythms, the lilt of lap steel guitar and an air of stoned desperation lingering over it all like smog. [Apr 2014, p.92]

Occasionally, it wears out its welcome, but at its best it's not just homage, but legacy-worthy. [Sep 2012, p.88]

The Mountain brings a new rhythm section to town--a rejuvenating transfusion for the band--and Appalachian banjo and high-art violin swirls. [May 2009, p.121]

With some pop, college rock, post-punk and even shoegaze thrown in for good measure, TV en Français is the most complete We Are Scientists record. [Apr 2014, p.94]

Gorky's emotional punch is as heavy as it ever was--despite the bells and whistles. [Jan 2002, p.84]

The result is a collection of gutsy, grizzled blues that pirouettes with broken-hearted defiance. [Feb 2013, p.88]

A refreshing journey back to the plugged-in analog sound of early 'Lab albums. [Oct 2001, p.100]

The band have gelled into Pollard's best yet, and it's their brief forays into prog-rock complexity that make the record stand out within the GBV catalog. [Jul 2002, p.82]