While it’s likely that Push the Sky Away will not cause the seas to part before him, it will surely ephemerally deliver us from this evil wasteland of vacant contemporary culture and mutilated morality.

The U.K. sensation weaves her tales of wizards, horses and magic in a warm bearskin coat of Kate Bush sensibilities, piano playing that’ll bring you to tears and instruments that only real musicians understand, like the harpsichord.

Whether constantly questioning or dismissively venting, Kinsella's got a true and clever wit to complement his writer eye and musician's ear. [Fall 2009, p.96]

I must say, raw musical elements aside, as a songwriter his storytelling ability alone wins the day. [Holiday 2008, p.106]

It's not that Moms is anything less than a solid record (it's a pretty strong one, even, from a band that has yet to truly disappoint), but it's telling when on the penultimate track, "Don't Mess With Latexas," Seim sounds a bit deflated.

The album serves as an excellent chart of the band's evolution. [Holiday 2008, p.91]

Despite a pronounced lean towards the gritty in all its finer trappings, Deerhunter’s fifth longplayer is riddled with some of Cox’s most structurally sound songwriting.

It's sleek and distinctly studio-based, with live instrumentation taking a backseat to plush soundscapes that could only come from some fancy knobwork. [#5, p.92]

This electronic-folk duo, in the likeness of bohemian hedonists, turns meticulous attention-to-detail into bounding creativity--and something unequivocally bookish.

'Allelujah!'s symmetrical sequencing-two 20-minute suites, two 6-minute drones-is as stark and stout as anything the band have released to date, unflinching as it stares extreme horror dead in the eye.

With not a sound wasted, James Blake is everything we wanted James Blake to make.

May be the band's greatest achievement yet. [#20, p.90]

Shadows would do the reclusive southerner [Alex Chilton] proud too, providing a dozen tracks of earnest and intelligent guitar-driven pop music. [Spring/Summer 2010, p.108]

An occasionally haunting, more often inspiring and riveting collage of the group's complex avant-melodics given more human characteristics by the inclusion of familiar sounds. [#8, p.108]

Produced by Erol Alkan, the album's solid. And the band stands a good chance of riding out the vapid waves of its trendy contempories. [Holiday 2008, p.102]

This stunning third full-length does an incredible job of riding the highest of highs. [#14, p.101]

Wonderful. [#21, p.94]

An album confident enough in its substance to not force profound stylistic changes. [#21, p.100]

Ruff Draft is live, and you need to play it loud enough to wake the dead. [#24, p.98]

Though he occasionally buries his vocals under distortion, Cox is undeniably the star of the show. [Fall 2009, p.106]

To put it plainly, Actor is St. Vincent's doe-eyed awakening. [Spring 2009, p.94]

More of the same meaty riffs meet familiar sweaty rhythms to take you down to the Midwestern delta one more time. [#12, p.95]

When the album reaches its climax at about mid-point, the record changes pace and you’re left wondering, “What was that?” Ultimately, you don’t totally care to know the answer.

The mood and music of Metals is somber and poetic-but not always quiet-finally matching the emotional excavation she's written about throughout her career.

Krug's songwriting can't help but put a smile on your face when you really try to let your guard down, and if you want the summer documented by epic eccentricity, this is your callling. [Sep 2009, p.94]

Equal parts drawn-out and dreamy. [#16, p.97]

Annie is to Kylie Minogue as Kasabian is to Primal Scream: same song, different packaging. [#16, p.97]

Tanglewood Numbers probably won't win many new fans, but it will make the cult of David grow fonder. [#17, p.104]