Hersh has made great personal strides since branching off on her own.

Most songs keep well away from a standard verse-chorus structure, with lyric and instrumental passages stitched together like some indie rock Frankenstein, but Minus the Bear keeps the melodies potent and the emotion high enough to prevent Planet of Ice from drifting into impenetrable shoe-gazer territory.

His performance throughout is solidly heartfelt.

The limitations of Lanois’s vocals lend an engaging frailty, leavened with bleak, lonely, instrumental interludes.

Her sing-songy tunes are honest and earthy, her diction intense and mannered but never pretentious.

Her third album continues her clear-minded, open-hearted lyricism, though with a ripeness that comes from years on the road and years more to reflect.

This destined-to-be-classic release will please a wide variety of his fans.

At once new and old, familiar and fresh.

He sounds rushed, like he doesn't have time for too much tinkering. This is a good thing.

An arrestingly epic and assured debut. [Amazon UK review]

As intoxicating as a Brazilian breeze and ironic as a David Lynch night in L.A., the Los Angeles duo the Bird and the Bee make a soothingly hip, deliriously cool blend of pop.

Few bands in bluegrass can match the virtuosity of Union Station's interplay, but the artistry of Alison Krauss transcends genre.

It’s just a shame that the lack of soul in his rotating rap deliveries tends to undermine his masterful storytelling capabilities.

Worthy of more than novelty status.

Intelligent, interesting, honest, diverse and ever so slightly screwed up--what more could you want from a rock 'n' roll record? [Amazon UK review]

Once J.A.C. is in your player, it may be awhile before you take it out.

While the trio hasn't managed to outshine their spectacular debut, Hello Love is a CD filled with cross-generational charm and musical riches.

Credit producer Brendan O'Brien for the wall of sound that backs 'Girls in Their Summer Clothes,' which sets the atmosphere for one of the great vocal performances by Springsteen.

Even with its share of jangle-pop gems, the disc also offers a few bland strummers that never quite take off.

Dark, dusty, and ever bittersweet, Burnett's musical archaeology here is something considerably more than merely "O Brother Redux."

Live at the Fillmore showcases her raw wound of a voice and the rough edges of her band in all their unvarnished glory, as the music cuts across conventional categories of country, blues, folk, rock (and rap) to strike a distinctly personal chord.

Little here finds McGraw in a feel-good mode.

By mixing sweet with sour, E's warm and fuzzy mope rock sounds great whether it's blasting out of a convertible on a sunny day or playing in the background on a rainy night.

Sure, Get Rich could never have lived up to the hype, it’s nowhere near Biggie's Ready to Die or Nas's Illmatic, but there's no fast-forward material here, a near miracle in these times.

For all of the music's surface catchiness, the writing is some of Moorer's deepest to date.

The Else, another collection that ranks with any in their memorable discography.

A return to their former glory days, Snakes and Arrows shows this seminal prog rock band reclaiming some of the sonic territory that they'd lost over the past few years.

More D12 than 50 Cent in terms of quality, Cheers should have been way more than simply the sum of its notable parts.