It's not always pretty, but even the mistakes have a remarkable charm.

30 minutes of bluesy punk-rock raunch.

An album that's both effortlessly confident of its sound and monumentally fearless of introducing cohesive surprises.

Broder puts art before music -- as if he's recording an audio version of a painting.

It's every bit as good, if not better, than their first.

There's nothing Herren can't and won't do on this record.

Delightfully pushes boundaries.

Part of the reason this record succeeds is that they haven't tried to replace Coxon, but rather rely on their remaining strengths like inventiveness and songcraft.

This record is a high-quality package of music that will keep most DM fans happy, but is not exactly earth-shaking in any way.

He's simply not an authoritative enough singer to give many of his songs the treatment they deserve. Nevertheless, Lanois is an expert craftsman, and Shine is a rewarding, extremely enjoyable album.

Betke's more minimal application of sound has opened up acres of sonic real estate between the beats.

Monday at the Hug & Pint is Arab Strap's best record, and should land on every critic's 2003 top 10 list.

Sometimes evocative of Joy Division on PCP, sometimes of Arab on Radar on codeine, Ian MacKaye's production maintains the right balance of tin-can sounds with bullfrog disco stylings.

Unfortunately the band sometimes overdoes the sweetness and ends up being too precious.

Though it is at times a forbidding and daunting listen, piercing through the dense thicket of sounds reveals a wealth of melody and funk underlining Autechre's irregular electro rhythms.

A stunning bit of psychedelic folk-rock.

Summer Sun doesn't have the collective impact of its predecessors, a problem typically attributable to song selection, sequencing and mixing.

This is the kind of album that grabs you on the first listen and doesn´t let go until you drive yourself crazy from playing it over and over again.

So the news is good. They didn't sell out, they didn't run out of ideas, and they were able to find still more places to yell "Whooo!" Go buy this now.

Malkmus' songwriting is back from blandland, the backing Jicks rock, and the production got it all on tape without screwing it up.

This is an absolutely satisfying listen and a feat of songwriting that few acts could match.

Quicksand/Cradlesnake establishes Califone as an ambitious band with the songwriting chops to back up its penchant for studio strangeness.

There’s a consistency in quality throughout the record, but nothing stunning enough to send you running to your stereo to hit the repeat button.

The New Wave sensibilities and unorthodox flows become predictable, and the absence of APC's Priest and Saayid is felt by the end of Tomorrow.

The Grotto isn't the type of record that will win Hersh many new admirers, but it will send longtime fans into fits of ecstasy.

Throwing Muses is an exhilarating ride that manages to marry the helter-skelter rhythmic pulse of the band's first few records with the poppier sensibilities of their nineties releases.

While the sound here is undeniably on the lo-fi side of the spectrum, the arrangements and production on the album seem more carefully crafted. The result is Sprout's best album in years.

Halfway through the album, it's clear that this is a glimpse into the future of pop music.