Rogue Wave's fifth album features a handful of its best tunes yet. [No.99, p.59]

The duo's intoxicating sense of endless sonic possibility remains, but the many lovely moments rarely amount to memorable songs, and several shout-outs to its still-enchanting debut fells like cruel teases. [No. 112, p.57]

El Camino Real will tickle most--if not all--longtime Camper Van Beethoven fans, and might even attract a few new ones. [No. 110, p.53]

As if to remind us that they're still the weird Crocodiles, Endless Flowers's best song, the surging "My Surfing Lucifer," is preceded by a clumsy spoken-word piece (in German, of course) ... it's a sign that there's still room for Crocodiles to figure out what works and what doesn't. [No.88 p.53]

Pleasant if unspectacular. [#74, p.96]

Every song here is perfect, glimmering pop gem--and the lyrics are often brilliant--but they're played with a measured precision and lack of dynamic range that makes it hard to differentiate one from the other as the LP unfolds. [No. 112, p.52]

The Hartnolls sound more relaxed and at ease than they did on their last album. [#51, p.105]

His artistic sophistication and derring-do has reached a new (and, frankly, unexpected) level of maturity. [No. 115, p.56]

Pushing his backing band (featuring Willie Nelson’s kids Lukas and Micah Nelson on guitars and vocals) into a stomping Crazy Horse vibe, Young provides the album’s frills with his keening voice and bracing guitar. [No. 133, p.60]

The album holds up better than most dustbin acquisitions reissue labels make, but it's not without its limitations - namely, in the way it mixes and matches aesthetics. [No. 81, p. 59]

Merging synth orchestration and genuine strings ins't new, but [Marc] bianchi pushes the form toward and organic/technological inevitable. [#52, p.89]

The one-man band does pretty well for himself in finding a place for his songs between sonic textures. [#51, p.117]

This is a decidedly more rocking Placebo. [#50, p.102]

Much of Synthesized sounds like a rather bland concentrate of whatever musical style Holkenborg has chosen to upgrade. [No.94, p.56]

The album, recorded mostly in one or two takes, reaches a deft balance of Simone's rich jazz settings and Xiu Xiu's avant-garde expulsions. [No. 105, p.61]

The superficial snarl and by-the-numbers rawk in the middle on tracks like "Haste The Taste" and "Teenage Disease" never find equal footing with the album's inspired bookends. [No. 96, p.53]

Like Oskar, Otto luxuriates in tiny, clicking blip-beats with a sense of sythn orchestration. [#68, p.102]

Taylor is meditative in both sound and thought, using slow, simple arrangements in the service of a tender melancholy that grows more palpable as Await Barbarians floats along. [No. 111, p.61]

For the most part, he succeeds. [No. 97, p.60]

"No Future V" and "Stable Boy" benefit from amping up the electricity and volume, which makes S+@dium Rock a solid TMLT companion piece but not a primary choice. [No. 134, p.61]

Engaging and alluring as this fresh coat of cool on an easily recognizable sonic vehicle maybe, Better Nature nonetheless remains an album destined to placate--not trip out--fans. [No. 125, p.61]

Even when the beat's bopping and the synths are grooving, we're still singing along to songs about jerks throwing themselves a pity party. But hey, it's still a party. [No. 124, p.61]

He sparkles on his own. [No. 93, p.53]

Rod and Gab's fifth album is bereft of personality. [No. 110, p.59]

It's a smooth-sounding work you can easily imagine serving as the soundtrack at your favorite hip urban restaurant or retail establishment. [No. 139, p.61]

The duo is only revisiting what made Death From Above faves 13 years ago without realizing how poorly it has aged. [No. 146, p.55]

On Banks, he takes a decent pass at pop. [No. 93, p.54]

A cohesive and satisfying whole. [No. 114, p.59]