"Solitary Man" may lack the immediate impact of its predecessors but is no less a masterpiece.

As each quiet-loud-quiet song cycles through its emotional peaks and valleys, the band considerately adds, subtracts and multiplies conflicting elements and melodies to complete the picture. [24 Feb 2007]

I'll Be Lightning is a low-key charmer.

Beautifully spacey and searingly brash all at once.

Elevates their brand of art-house hip-hop to another level.

Talk about bleak. [24 Mar 2007]

The air of uncertainty and doubt he creates is what continually makes his music so intriguing.

"Okonokos" delivers as powerful a wake-up call to the ears as seeing MMJ in the flesh.

Elsewhere, 'Criminal' and 'I Will Not Apologize' find the group making its most acute, nail-driven points in years.

Swirling, throbbing and altogether great. [19 Nov 2005]

Furr is a more consistent body of work, a perfect fall soundtrack rife with woodsy imagery.

Put [the covers] all together and you get an idea of Low's surprising range and versatility.

"Antics" is even better [than Bright Lights], possibly because the band isn't trying so hard to be weird.

Despite her co-conspirators, LaVette proves again that she's the star of the show.

The lyrics hold their own as comedy poetry, and the album as a whole is stuffed with feel-good laughs.

It's an intriguing, somewhat surprising collection of tunes. Oftentimes dub projects can be anchored in a recurrent groove, but Page has created a group of tracks that are quite distinctive.

The overall tone of the album isn't entirely dark and hopeless, although Lightburn fails to leave us with any specific resolve, instead content for some questions to remain unanswered.

Beneath the occasionally shambling arrangements and fuzzy overdubs, though, lie some great songs.

With its cuteness and shimmying pace, the opener 'Oh No' gets your seat in the chair, while the other tracks keep you there.

"Son" is yet another triumph for Molina, who continues to distinguish herself as one of the most innovative electronic artists today.

Beck has rarely performed with such maturity and confidence, breathing a rich, often haunting baritone into songs that seem to follow a plotline thread of despair after the end of a relationship.

The chaotic electronic density of U2's last few efforts has been replaced by sticky, bite-size tunes -- sporting candy-sweet choruses that are often underlined by unabashed words of love.

This release is comparable to 2004's stunning "Last Exit" in that every song has its own merits yet feels part of a greater whole.

The album could serve as an excellent point of entry for a new crop of fans.

A largely effective mix of grime and soul. [25 Mar 2006]

Every so often an artist will release a debut record that has seemingly come from nowhere; you question where this person has been all your life, and how come it took so long for this to get out.

Leo manages to weave his messages into some of the tightest, most energetic rock you're likely to hear this year.

[A] very wonderful, very adult set.