Plenty here to admire--if you're in your most po-faced mood. [Summer 2014, p.95]

Straining a little too hard for intellectual depth and emotional intensity, The Hunting Party is ultimately let down by its lack of focus and poor quality control. [Summer 2014, p.93]

For their fans accustomed to the clattering joyride only Mastodon provide, this will suffice for now. [Summer 2014, p.92]

Trent Reznor's past production has leaned Murphy towards an industrial sound, which Youth's turn as producer adds techno overdrive to. [Summer 2014, p.91]

An eclectic work, Lazaretto shows off White's multi-instrumental, seasoned-producer lineage with some charismatic flashes. As a complete exercise in songcraft, however, it's a little thin. [Summer 2014, p.88]

At 17 tracks, it becomes a bit of a repetitive slog towards the end, but it's good to see that this old dog has just as much bite as ever when he strays. [Aug 2014, p. 209]

A dilution of creativity has occurred, and it makes for dull listening. [Aug 2014, p. 208]

Volume X is not a dud album, just a little short on X Factor. [Aug 2014, p. 206]

Cool Planet is a messy indie sprawl for the patient faithful. [Aug 2014, p. 204]

Thirty years later, Documents And Eyewitness works best in the way its name describes: as an account of a moment when bands would do the wrong thing and do it brilliantly. [Sep 2014, p.98]

While it's infectious, it tends to miss as much as it hits. [Sep 2014, p.95]

COS is a lot darker and more claustrophobic than Thomas's press notes propose. [Sep 2014, p.94]

The songs aren't works of staggering compositional genius, or bursting with heartbreaking lyricism. But as air-grabbing alt.rock fun instilled with a charming honesty, there's an ocean of possibility yet for these fine young fellows. [Sep 2014, p.94]

Vaselines fans will not be disappointed or surprised by these tunes. [Oct 2014, p.91]

A little sluggish and generic in places, these churning incantations never quite combust like they should. [Oct 2014, p.90]

Language Of The Dead is a 21st-century wake-up call, dismissing the knowledge of a civilised past and demanding we toss our "idols into the sea," to catch some of the rock'n'roll "lightning" slashing throughout the skies instead. At such moments, the cathedral-sized keyboards don't sound quite so fake. [Dec 2014, p.105]

Too much of Big Music seems to be reaching for a gravitas it can't back up with emotional or musical substance. [Dec 2014, p.104]

This is a more conventional album. [Dec 2014, p.104]

Tunes and sound both stay below the Gold Standard. [Dec 2014, p.104]

Overall, too much of The Endless River is suffocated by prog-normative dreariness and a high, conventional varnish. [Dec 2014, p.98]

It begins promisingly, with weighty guitar and measured vocals, before losing the plot completely, descending into a kitchen sink of confusion and ending up sounding like an incomplete demo. [Jan 2014, p.112]

This odd, understated record is both strange and affecting. [Feb 2014, p.94]

Snapshot consists largely of new material written to ape the 50s and 60s standards they've been covering live since puberty. And that's it's downfall. [Nov 2013, p.95]

It's basically business as usual here. [Nov 2013, p.91]

Ronnie Radke's lyrics are convincingly nasty. [Oct 2013, p.91]

While this album is unlikely to win them many new fans at this stage, there's plenty of the old charm twinkling away to get fans back on board their wonderfully strange little ship. [Oct 2013, p.89]

The Mule's taste and experience largely wins the day. [Oct 2013, p.87]

McCauley strains a little too hard for unpolished authenticity over originality, but he still hits the emotional bullseye half the time. [Oct 2013, p.86]