Unabashedly beautiful tunes like "I Don't Believe in the Sun" and "Come Back from San Francisco" provide provide ample payoff for the arduous process of listening to the collection in total.

This back-to-basics approach gives dynamic focus to Harvey's lyrics, which tantalize with their taut, elliptical precision.

It's easy to dismiss crossover hits as a dumbed-down version of an underground sound. But damn it, this is a phenomenal album.

Each song drifts in and out of focus like snatches of street noise on a half-awake Sunday morning - no need to get up, just lie there and listen quietly.

"Geogaddi" improves on "Music Has the Right to Children" by taking the Boards of Canada sound into darker, more disturbing and fragmented directions.

The most consistently lovely album of his career.

An album as life-affirming as its predecessor was bleak.

From start to finish, "Midnite Vultures" is a total party romp of an album.

Academics and readers of The Wire may sniff that "Idiology" marks a step backward for this duo, but for my money this is the best thing they've done since 19997's "Autoditacker."

The secret to Garnier's accessibility lies in his ability to locate fresh specific sounds and organize them sparsely atop the existing framework of electronic dance music.

A polished, classy album whose retrained elegance and melancholy resonance more than compensate for its lack of rhythmic and instrumental restlessness.

Combining state-of-the-art sonic trickery with inventive rhythms, gorgeous melodies and - most importantly - solid structures, these 19 tracks represent Handley and Turner's most satisfying collection to date.

These 13 dusky ditties almost always enchant.

Those expecting another helping of stand-up comedy and skewed dancefloor firepower clearly won't find what they're looking for on "Whatever," but the LP certainly hangs together better than any previous Green Velvet CD.

The overlong LP... reveals an artist who could use some discipline, but there's enough melody, wit and funk hidden among these 14 tracks to brighten any R&B fan's Christmas.

Despite initial misgivings, "The Contino Sessions" has a hypnotic effect that does shine through and is one album that improves upon repeat listens. While not perfect ... "The Contino Sessions" is a dark, mysterious album that will leave you with more questions than answers.

"So ..." is one of the most innovative albums of the year, stretching the gamut of every musical genre that melts in your head, not in your mouth.

Beaucoup Fish isn't a huge step forward for Underworld, but it is a refinement of their sound.

A masterful bricolage that revisits the crossroads of early-'80s clubland without ever settling for cheap pastiche.

The year's most enjoyable piece of agit-pop.

The group's most consistently rewarding album since 1993's "Very."

Saint Etienne retain their stature as a great, if unsung, singles band who have a way with a killer b.

"Mosaic Thump" still suffers many of the weaknesses of its genre. Like most rap LPs it's overlong and features too many guest stars.

Occasionally, as on the gurgling electro-pop of "Short Circuit," the album actually manages to disappoint. But more often it provides the kind of intelligently produced yet universally likeable floor-fillers that keep even devoted hipsters from killing themselves when their relatives drag them to suburban dance clubs.

A perfect overview for new initiates and packs plenty of surprises for hardcore fans.

Not since Bomb the Bass's "Clear" has a British production team re-interpreted aging African American tropes so persuasively.

"Ghost" marks the welcome debut of a more body-oriented brand of user-friendly experimentation - crisp and cool, yet dionysian at the same time.

This disc may lack its predecessor's immediacy, but rarely has sophomore slump sounded like such success.