Sadly, much of Welcome Interstate Managers is bogged down by forgettable midtempo slush. [Aug 2003, p.104]

The least imaginative album of their career. [Oct 2005, p.158]

It's a deathfest of sound and fury, quietly melancholy and fiercely apocalyptic. But it's a tale that grows wearier with every listen. [Sep 2004, p.122]

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

Some of [Daniel's] stripped-down material sounds gaunt. [May 2005, p.166]

The cohesion that made their previous records so captivating has been significantly diminished. [Dec 2005, p.204]

An accurate representation of the prolific group's career. [Aug 2004, p.106]

Sounds like a good Wallflowers record. [Mar 2003, p.98]

They're so busy crafting the perfect pop song... that they've made a uniformly dull album. [Sep 2003, p.102]

Drummer George Barnett's military-precision beats are way up in the mix, but the band dynamic that made "Pyramid" so engaging, vibrant and coruscating, is virtually non-existent. [Apr 2010, p.130]

It's not an album that will change your life, but it could alter the way you look at bits of it. [Feb 2003, p.64]

His world-music diversions should challenge even those who aren't pedestrian Iron & Wine fans--but that's what EPs are for, right? [Apr 2005, p.116]

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]

The songs explode with more energy than the whole underground combined. This makes it very hard not to love Los Campesinos!, and makes it easier to forgive the fact this record could have been better served as an EP. [Nov 2008, p.162]

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

Musically, it doesn't seem like Chan has gone anywhere. [March 2003, p.88]

A whole that's less than the sum of its parts, a bittersweet pill that's best taken in small doses. [Feb 2005, p.88]

The results are hit-or-miss. [May 2005, p.132]

Misguided in points, Contra shows a more accomplished and daring Vampire Weekend--albeit a less endearing one. [Feb 2010, p.97]

Both participants' artistic weaponry [is] set for "stun" instead of "kill." [Dec 2005, p.216]

There's a foundation for true duality somewhere, but a lot of growing pains as well. [Nov 2014, p.94]

Call it growing pains for a storied discography, but the result leaves the album feeling unbalanced around the gems and less rewarding over multiple listens. [Sep 2014, p.110]

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]

Far from essential, but... a good jazz starting point for the unitiated. [Mar 2003, p.90]

There's a bit more quiet time on this effort. [Nov 2004, p.149]

Youngster is only temporarily satisfying. [June 2008, p.135]

It's important that albums like Ghost exist--but unfortunately, those albums don't always make the most enjoyable listens. [Aug 2004, p.116]

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

Distractingly crowded soundscapes throb like an all-night rave, leaving you too exhausted and battered to pay attention to the words, a major deficiency for a hip-hop album.

Being lacks enough urgency to sustain nearly 38 full-throttle minutes and becomes an analogy for the unvarying capitalization on its record sleeve.

In Many ways, No Age have successfully distilled the pop essence of early-90s Sonic Youth: no mean feat, just not as memorable as last time. [Oct 2010, p.116]

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]

She's gone from being an indie rocker's wet dream to sounding like the most NPR-friendly singer-songwriter your parents haven't discovered yet. [Mar 2006, p.124]

Unrewardingly dark. [March 2003, p.90]

Without the usual suspects, The Slow Wonder just seems like a well-produced demo of songs he's readying for Electric Version's follow-up. [Aug 2004, p.116]

The Libertines just don't live up to the hype. [Jan 2005, p.113]

There are enough interesting moments... that each spin reveals a new nuance that makes this genre roundrobin worth signing up for. [Nov 2005, p.218]

For every great line on the album, there are three throaway verses. [June 2003, p.96]

It's not brilliant, and some tracks are just dumb. [Jun 2007, p.156]

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

Unfortunately, many of the tunes wear out their welcome, overextending a single inspired idea. [Apr 2004, p.88]

Too many tunes struggle to remind listeners of their catchiness. [Aug 2005, p.166]

Don't get too far ahead of yourself--a sing-along is virtually impossible since deciphering HEALTH's lyrics is quite a challenge. They may have mature a bit, but some things will never change. [Oct 2009, p.110]

Unfortunately, everything is so finely polished on Alternative To Love that his brand of rock lacks any grit. [Apr 2005, p.124]

Strange Geometry is a comely piece of old-fashioned melancholy pop, but it can also quickly turn into sonic wallpaper if you have a wandering mind. [Dec 2005, p.202]

More power to those who can do it, but from this perspective, it's nearly impossible to enjoy Man Man's Six Demon Bag while sober. [Apr 2006, p.222]

Instead of building on their strengths, frontman Jaz Coleman & Co. have backslid into subdued sogginess of the band's mid-period. [Jan 2010, p.91]

So it is wuth British quintet Hot Chip, whose progression toward traditional songcraft has reached a satisfying plateau. [Mar 2010, p.94]

[It] feels more put-on than intimate, more tried than true. [Feb 2007, p.109]

A match-up like this one needs the right balance between angel and devil, and... Campbell's fragile alto is just no match for Lanegan. [May 2006, p.162]

Most of Ward's quiet, contemporary folk songs are mere sketches, mediocre if not unmemorable. [Apr 2005, p.126]

Overall, the band seem to be running long on ambition and short on ideas. [Jul 2005, p.172]

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]

While their occasional reliance on wide-eyed sloppiness isn't endearing, when the band clean up, they have some irresistible pop nuggest in them. [Apr 2003, p.80]

Lewis still sounds like she's trying to figure out where she belongs. [Feb 2006, p.118]

Much of ex-Lives is encumbered by well-trodden ground turned muddy and attempts at atmosphere. [Apr 2012, p.96]

May be the weirdest record Malkmus has made since Pavement's Wowee Zowee. [Jul 2005, p.174]

The Life Pursuit is less confused than the three albums that precede it, but it's also just as forgettable. [Mar 2006, p.124]

Finn employs an arrhythmic delivery... sounding like Jello Biafra covering Talking Head's "Once In A Lifetime," or a snake-oil huckster participating in a poetry slam. [May 2004, p.96]

Hypnotize isn't a radioactive pile of suck, but had the Down boys offered some genuine hairpin turns in their aesthetic, there might be more reason to pursue a more meaningful dialogue that transcends the tired notion of "System just being System." [Jan 2006, p.127]

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]

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

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

If he isn't a sage yet, he does sound like a future star. [Feb 2005, p.94]

Muddy, swamp rockabilly. [Jan 2004, p.108]

The record tends to fade into the background and become something so indistinct that it's forgettable, even after multiple listens.

The combination of thundering drums with whimsical vocals and melodies can be charming, insanely catchy and headache-inducing, sometimes all at once. [Feb 2007, p.114]

The trouble is, not much sets this new album apart from their career benchmarks, like 2002's Nothing or 1998's Chaosphere.

Everything All The Time is almost pitifully lacking in soul, and it suffers from a few real snoozers, to boot. [May 2006, p.162]

For the wide-awake, it's a crashing bore. [Aug 2005, p.164]

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

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

Rather than try and move these songs into new territory, everyone involved seem hellbent on remaking Lewis into something closer to Sheryl Crow or Shania Twain. It’s a weird place for her to be in, yet one that she looks to be acclimating to quite easily.

[An] interesting album. [Apr 2006, p.204]

Sonic Nurse is better than 90 percent of new rock, but with younger combos like Lightning Bolt and Liars stealing their thunder, these well-meaning vets come off as old and in the way. [Jul 2004, p.134]

Unlike Treats, Reign Of Terror never feels new, fresh or exciting; it just feels like a chore.

Their uncalculated sound puts them a step above their shamelessly careerist peers like the Von Bondies. [Jul 2005, p.182]

The second half loses momentum slightly. When in concentrated form, however, the Mountain Goats still manage to reach their peak. [Apr 2011, p.115]

The pieces don't always fit comfortably together, but the picture remains remarkable. [Jul 2013, p.102]

There's not a single song that's captivating enough to hold our attention. [Dec 2006, p.188]

"Black Balloons" is built on a riff exactly like Bon Iver's "Perth" sped up, and hearing the grating lyrical wail of "Columbia" and you're left wondering if so much time away was a result of writer's block. [Feb 2013, p.90]

There's nothing on Everything Ecstatic the likes of Madlib haven't already done better. [Jul 2005, p.186]

Thnakfully, as the album continues, the songs grow more developed as orchestrally augmented tracks "Right Place" and "LA Rain" showcase Burhenn's distinct vocal abilities. [May 2010, p.108]

Red Barked Tree is something of a letdown, oddly placid and even soothing. [Feb 2011, p.90]

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

Repetitious choruses and monotonous, middling tempos make the songs blur together. [Oct 2003, p.126]

The result is a record that is frequently too busy. [Feb 2015, p.90]

The result captures him turning into an old-fashioned troubadour, one fueled by big issues and a country/hip-hop hybrid that's never sounded catchier. [June 2008, p.131

A bit too jammy at times, but this is another solid effort for both artists. [Oct 2005, p.158]

It's smooth going down but lacks any real notable songs. [Apr 2008, p.153]

The album may have neen best served as an EP; it's an uneven mix of energetic jams and unfocused duds. [May 2008, p.132]

It's about as close a facsimile of the fractured and foreboding scattershot thoughts that haunt most of us at night as one can capture on record. [Feb 2008, p.115]

Against Me! were great because of their flaws, not in spite of them--White Crosses just isn't that much fun to listen to. [Jun 2010, p.102]

Coxon's solo career has long suffered from the Bob Pollard syndrome of self-indulgent quantity over quality--a setback that, unfortunately, also plagues much of Happiness In Magazines. [Mar 2005, p.132]

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]

Chris Conley's metaphorical lyrics remain earnest enough, but because of studio trickery, his vocals sound annoyingly nasal. [Oct 2003, p.120]

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]

Somewhat mirthless and at times downright android-sexy, The Eraser is what many Radiohead fans have come to expect from Yorke in recent years. [Sep 2006, p.228]