It packs copious groove, Monument Valley-scale riffs, decent songs, and an Al Green homage which only lacks a Premier League singer to take it to the heavens. [May 2019, p.119]

A record of a very fine sort. [May 2019, p.110]

It's a thing of grief-blasted beauty, and Gibbons brings tender pain to these words of lost children and mothers, her voice rising and falling impressively to the the occasion. [May 2019, p.112]

It's difficult to sit through, yes, but that could well be Herbert's smartest reflection of the times. [May 2019, p.112]

Even when it perilously strays into minefields of muso, Side Effects is never forbidding math rock, thanks to its playful and sterling grooves. [May 2019, p.116]

The two 40-minute "acts" open with cinematic flair, building from atmospheric, Mark Lanegan-assisted opener Requiem (When You Talk Of love) to the Massive Attack-like turbulence of Nothing To Give. The second act proves less assured. [May 2019, p.116]

Despite its occasional missteps, this is a highly impressive debut. [May 2019, p.108]

My Finest Work is definitely a high watermark, and one that deserves to reach a bigger audience. [May 2019, p.117]

Excellent, soul-infused debut. [May 2019, p.112]

The West Londner's debut is startlingly intimate, full of soulful, jazzy echoes of a lonely city. [May 2019, p.116]

While it's undoubtedly the frontman's vision at play here, it's the alchemy between the siblings that turns these songs into something truly special. [May 2019, p.106]

Robust structuring is a blessing and curse: for all the frills and trapdoors, Ex-Hex's workmanlike rhythms eventually get monotonous. [May 2019, p.111]

Some of the best [tracks] of Rose's career. [May 2019, p.116]

Breezy, fitfully arch--if ultimately untaxing--indie rock is the order of service here, while the odd dappling of analogue synths does little to suggest it was recorded this side of the millennium. [Apr 2019, p.116]

A fake band they might be, but it makes for a solidly enjoyable listen. [May 2019, p.111]

Newton's ups and downs might not always be fun, but they make for gripping listening. [May 2019, p.108]

A late-career peak. [May 2019, p.115]

Walker distinguishes himself from the herd with the frenetic, chest-beating chorus to the mighty Dominoes; the shyly addictive duet with Zara Larsson, Now You're gone, co-written by Fulham FC Women striker Chelcee Grimes, and the bereft Angels, all of which sparkle in very different, yet equally beguiling ways. [May 2018, p.116]

Though rhythmically powerful, it's Hutchings's fluttering, forceful sax that is the totem around which this album prances with energy and adventure. And it's a blast. [May 2019, p.108]

After years of playing to fanbase expectations, Gray has reinvented not only himself but raised the bar for folktronica. [May 2019, p.112]

Chai specialise in indie-pop confections, but lean in close and you're swept into an anarchic whirlwind. [May 2019, p.108]

Explores the furthest reaches of what its creators have christened "junk-shop glam." [May 2019, p.119]

You could break your teeth on their solid pop structures, especially on Hated By The Powers That Be, but there's a volatility in these touch-paper guitars and flammable vocals, that ensures Brickbat is never straightforward. [May 2019, p.115]

With a singular perspective though, Hand Habits are in a lane of their own. [May 2019, p.111]

Forster's songwriting is crisply understated, his salt-and-pepper voice perfect for the succulent storytelling for No Fame and Life Has Turned A Page. [May 2019, p.111]

In Search Of works best when swept up in a wave of wistful optimism. [May 2019, p.111]

An expertly fashioned LP from a duo who know how to add style to substance. [May 2019, p.115]

A reminder why she's adored by many. With Palmer's dramatic piano and piercing vocals offset by lush orchestration, it's short on whimsy but long on Big Topics. [May 2019, p.115]

Plastic Anniversary is flexible, addictive and, ultimately, deeply disturbing. [May 2019, p.115]

Groove Denied is a brilliant and varied sonic experiment that zigzags through early-'80s analogue synthscapes and early Cure. The second half returns him to more familiar wonky guitar territory, but it's a joy to hear him stretch out. [May 2019, p.115]

A confident and enjoyable debut. [May 2019, p.111]

A return to form that shares DNA with Madonna's Ray Of Light, it combines Dido's introspection with meditative electronica. [May 2019, p.111]

The British collective's first album in 12 years reopens their conduit for nocturnal electronic, modern classical and tempestuous jazz, all in an engaging wash. Credit their bold selection of vocalists. [May 2019, p.108]

Lewis has never sounded on stronger form than she does here. [May 2019, p.109]

The weaponised theatricality never overshadows a set of songs that are as entertaining as they are grandly ambitious. [Apr 2019, p.116]

Each song is like a little journal entry, lent emotional heft by Ashworth's use of repetition. [Apr 2019, p.114]

Everything Not saved is an exercise in artistic liberation. More importantly, perhaps, since it's chock full of tunes, it all comes without them losing the creative ground they've gained, [Apr 2019, p.108]

The results are anything but fluid, instead capturing the lawless, conflicting thrills of cultural anarchy. [Apr 2019, p.110]

The presence of tamp Impala's Kevin Parker in the producer's chair ensures that the sonic differences with his own band's sun-dried sci-fidelia are Rizla thin. However, frontman Nick Allbrook's rapier-sharp lyrics ensure that they still have their own livewire personality. [Apr 2019, p.114]

Compliments Please may be spirited, but it isn't the most cutting-edge take on poptimism. [Apr 2019, p.116]

Overall, a promising, if risk-free start. [Apr 2019, p.116]

It's when Hozier tries to do throwaway, good-time tracks that the record falters slightly. [Apr 2019, p.119]

They don't make quite such a startling leap forward on this third effort [as on 2016's Love Yes], but tweak it by reworking their sound with electronic experiments. [Apr 2019, p.116]

Her directness about the experience of falling in and out of love with women is both refreshing and literal. [Apr 2019, p.113]

While lately the LA quartet's output has largely been preoccupied with reclaiming their crunchy alt-rock sound, The Black Album often exorcises it with synth and piano. It works superbly. [Apr 2019, p.118]

A giant leap from their 2016 debut. Critical is the discovery of drummer Aaron Frazer's falsetto voice, leading six of the 12 songs, he's doubled the band's stylistic and emotional range. [Apr 2019, p.113]

Thrilling, thoughtful and unrestrained by existing rap templates, Grey Area confirms Little Simz as an artist who is increasingly difficult to dismiss. [Apr 2019, p.115]

If Strange Creatures show a grander musical approach, then lyrically they're still fascinated by the bleak detail of everyday life, even if lads-night-out-gone-wrong vignette Bonfire Of the City Boys and sax-peppered deadpan horror story Prom Night flip the mundane into something more twisted. [Apr 2019, p.110]

Trux life feels more brilliantly warped than ever. [Apr 2019, p.114]

The Texan singer and guitarist's fifth album feels like a one-man exploration of African-American music. .. The blues is in safe hands. [Apr 2019, p.110]

If it's occasionally all a bit much, it's also unlike anything else you'll hear this year. [May 2018, p.111]

"The doctor said I've passed my peak/All my eggs are dying/In my 20s I'm antique," she groans on Holiday resort. her Verve and wit protest otherwise. [Apr 2019, p.113]

Simultaneously earthy and ethereal, pieced together in the loft of his house in the village of Cellardyke and left to fly free. [Apr 2019, p.118]

A slice of West Country meets Southern soul glory to rival anything Auerbach's ever been associated with. [Apr 2019, p.118]

Despite the weight that hangs on its shoulders, Crushing doesn't feel defeated, rather it's the sound of a fearless songwriter putting the past to bed and regrouping stronger than ever. [Apr 2019, p.112]

Khan's own incomparable pipes as blast-proof as ever, her first studio album since 2007 stands comparison with its stellar single. [Apr 2019, p.113]

They're mysterious but persuasive sonic realities. [Apr 2019, p.118]

These songs aren't in line with much contemporary R&B, but reach for something more retro, and on tracks such as Teach You, a kind of Broadway grandeur. The strange result is that they in fact sound refreshingly modern. [Apr 2019, p.113]

These are songs concerned with the transient, the fleeting, but no matter how long this partnership endures, this is a solid monument. [Apr 2019, p.110]

Ephyra sees them merge their blissful tendencies with the chutzpah and restless creativity of '80s new wave, mixing in retro-futurist synths, mannered vocals, disco beats and erudite lyricism. [Apr 2019, p.118]

Their finest record since 2002's Light & Magic, Ladytron achieve near perfection here. [Apr 2019, p.114]

There's an element of "always the same but always... the same" here--but when Pollard hits his cryptically emotive cruising altitude on Carapace or The Rally Boys the guitars accelerate around their pilot, his chose songwriting vehicle always flies. [Apr 2019, p.113]

There is a pleasing wide scope to his source material. [Mar 2019, p.116]

At times they resemble a pumped-up Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but it's not all "you want some?" antagonism. [Mar 2019, p.120]

AJ Tracey not only lives up to his hype, he transcends it. [Mar 2019, p.114]

There are moments in early listens of the album when the attention begins to meander, only to be drawn back in by a lyrical quirk, or a sudden musical volte face, so that by the sixth roll about the turntable this seems a wholly differently textured record to when you began. [Mar 2019, p.121]

The shift between styles can jar, but it's a move that give Broods' inoffensive formula a welcome burst of energy. [Mar 2019, p.112]

They carefully remodel Gentry's Southern storytelling. [Mar 2019, p.116]

Ultimately, though, White Lies are running to stand still. [Mar 2019, p.120]

It helps that the guitarist composes vocal-free songs that, on his fourth album, are reassuringly acoustic, a brew of melancholy and romance. [Mar 2019, p.120]

A band recharged and re-energised. [Mar 2019, p.120]

A charming lightness, the airy melodies and dreamy acoustic guitars gently folding into each other. If that makes these tracks sound like they're so breezy they could float away, singer Hollie Fullbrook's way with an arresting hook keeps them grounded. [Mar 2019, p.120]

While the guest MCs provide the better-known names (Ghetts, Kojey Radical), it is the singers who make this such a special album. [Mar 2019, p.120]

An album very much worthy of The Specials' name. [Mar 2019, p.118]

The second LP of their decade-long comeback is defined by the warm fuzz of Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge's guitars--like a dusty desert sirocco, creating a benign concussed daze. [Mar 2019, p.118]

It's when they go to the dark side that things pick up. [Mar 2019, p.118]

Tracks such as The Way It Goes or Suck It Like A Whistle are dynamic, dramatic rap-funk, which find the ambition to measure up to her obvious talent. [Mar 2019, p.118]

Its highlights pick up where the EP left off, the likes of Bad Friend and 4AM fizzing with energy and seemingly perpetually on the brink of collapsing into thrilling chaos. They're less sure-footed when they try to broaden their palette, however. [Mar 2019, p.118]

It's an impressive art-rock construction, just not one that easily fits into every space. [Mar 2019, p.118]

Quiet Signs is an utterly captivating record from its first second to its last. [Mar 2019, p.116]

Presley makes more connections than he ever drops. [Mar 2019, p.116]

Even when the centre spins out, Lennox's naive melodies make his indulgence sound strangely inviting. [Mar 2019, p.116]

A collection of jangly guitar pop that struggles to locate a niche within their favoured genre. [Mar 2019, p.116]

Dreamy and heartaching, its appearance is actually deceptive. ... A gorgeous record. [Mar 2019, p.115]

This enjoyably jumbled set could be their London Calling. [Mar 2019, p.115]

A new fraught kind of soul music. [Mar 2019, p.115]

It sounds like a bunch of stoned musicians listening back to half-finished tracks, believing them to be mind-blowingly revolutionary. [Mar 2019, p.115]

He may not have stepped totally outside his discomfort zone, but Blake here reveals himself as an artist at the peak of his powers. [Mar 2019, p.113]

More earthy than his contemporary Richard Thompson, Chapman shows younger pretenders a clean pair of heels with impeccable guitar-picking and tunes that veer from moist-eyed remembrance to defiance at times's relentless passage. [Mar 2019, p.112]

Their sound has never been fuller. [Mar 2019, p.112]

For all its moodiness, Careful is a glorious coming-out. [Mar 2019, p.112]

There is a richness and an oddity to Condon's output that deserves continued attention. [Mar 2019, p.112]

It's not the third coming many Stone Roses fans may have hoped for, but Ripples marks the welcome return of a solo artist who never rested on his laurels or allowed himself to be overshadowed by past glories. [Mar 2019, p.110]

It might be falling apart, but it comes together beautifully. [Feb 2019, p.115]

A raucous, irresistibly melodic collection of songs that ring with indignant, apathy-infused joie de vivre. [Feb 2019, p.112]

They haven't completely severed links with the past--the bruising Wonderful Life comes with a cameo from Cradle Of Filth squawker Dani Filth-- but mostly it's a bold leap into the future. [Feb 2019, p.108]

His music could still use an injection of personality. [Oct 2018, p.119]

It's the quality of the songwriting that really shines through here: every song is top drawer in melodic terms. [Feb 2019, p.115]