The album sounds cool, but it also sounds cold.

Well-produced, albeit predictable.

While the all-original material is not strong enough to qualify this as the instant classic some have suggested, heartfelt tracks like the jubilant "Delirious Love," the rousing "Hell Yeah" and the string-tinged love song "Evermore" are outstanding. [12 Nov 2005]

"Shut Up I Am Dreaming" is a grower, and doesn't grab you by the ears like Wolf Parade's debut did.

Nonsensical lyrics about butterflies and name-changing lovers on tracks like 'You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)' and 'Apollo And The Buffalo And Anna Anna Anna Oh!,' could serve as a distraction, but the songs are saved by beautifully frantic instrumentals.

Some of the record gets bogged down in its own deliberate weirdness.

"Me First" is an easy listen, but Sennett is not nearly as captivating a leader as Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, and the coming-of-age tunes aren't always strong enough to account for the album's lack of tempo change.

Sweet and pretty. [25 Nov 2006]

Party Intellectuals contains enough noise and/or dead space to ruin the flow of many an iPod shuffle, but experimental jazz or avant-garde fans should find enough here to sink their teeth into.

Although the arrangements remain impressive, there are moments when it feels as though Dungen should stick with a quicker pace. [26 May 2007]

What has become increasingly clear is that Devendra Banhart needs an editor.

Much of the material on the quirky "Show Your Bones" is more intimate and, at times, tentative. [1 Apr 2006]

Cease falters when it dips into mediocre balladry ('Detlef Schrempf,' 'Marry Song'), and at a scant 35 minutes, the album at times hints at greatness but ultimately leaves you wanting more.

From the ugly album art to the stupid title to the strange, messy songs, it's hard to tell if the band is growing up or just goofing off.

Yet where the music is hard-hitting, the hoarse, almost drunken vocal style of lead singer Hamilton Leithauser can be grating.

While Dulli's bitter, drunken voice remains front and center, the backup vocals and orchestras nearly make the songs sound like a parody, marrying a beast to a beauty.

The group has abruptly cashed in a good deal of its personality for an unflattering, generic modern-rock sound.

It's a pleasant enough, if uneven work. [14 Apr 2007]

An album that would have been great in 1983; now, it is more of a nostalgic lark.

Here, T.I. shows he can still dominate a song given quality production (Just Blaze, DJ Toomp), but the album does little to build on what we have heard before. [1 Apr 2006]

At times compelling in its eccentricities, this record emphasizes experimentation rather than tunefulness.

"Machine" is ultimately flawed when the Kahuna boys abandon uptempo techno for atypically hymnal pastures.

Even Björk's misses are more exciting than most of what we currently call hits. [12 May 2007]

[It] flashes with moments of greatness. [9 Dec 2006]

In her bid to be a little bit of everything for everyone, some of the unique flavor that has made her a star is sadly diminished.

If Tangiers perfects its poppier maneuvers and smartens up a bit lyrically, something special could be down the road. [10 Dec 2005]

While by no means disastrous musically, it's a pale imitation of much better Stereolab albums, and in the end altogether dispensable.

Too often his songs fail to captivate beyond a curiosity factor.