It's '80s synth-pop in spirit rather than form, miles away from the make-up clad silliness of electroclash and much more interested in muching about with present day technology than simply recreating the past. [Jun 2004, p.98]

A wealth of quality material. [Jun 2012, p.99]

On this fourth LP, the hook-laden Here Among You is as celestial as pop music can be: if they have a breakout song it's this, but it's far from the only moment of magic. [Oct 2017, p.100]

Mothers marks this once unremarkable band as real contenders. [Oct 2015, p.115]

If listening to this record feels like eavesdropping, however, what's overheard is emotional dynamite. [Feb 2016, p.109]

These Texans stick to the plan: the concoction of very wonderful thinking-dudes' rock albums, recycling yesteryear's classic vinyl. [Dec 2013, p.110]

The passage of time sometimes has a way of making youthful politicking seem naive, but not here. [Jan 2013, p.121]

It's not a record for anyone who likes subtle character development, but it hits the visceral spot. [May 2017, p.112]

The truth is that Youngblood writes terrific, instantly memorable pop songs, their fashionable new-wave cool rubbing against an urgent, almost disco undertow. [Aug 2008, p.141]

The record's sexual frankness unfairly overshadowed the intricate songwriting idiosyncrasies or Phair's deadpan articulation of relationship dynamics. ... [The Girly-Sound tapes] provide a fascinating roadmap to her debut. [Jun 2018, p.119]

This follow-up displays an admirable desire for transformation. [Jun 2018, p.111]

This a rare and colourful leap forward. [May 2013, p.102]

Theirs is a cerebral electronica, characterised by slippery time signatures, off-kilter drum patterns and baroque flourishes. Their 10th album, Polymer, distills all these traits. [Summer 2019, p.115]

As always with the finest of Eels albums, Everett's loss is the listener's gain. [May 2014, p.110]

Musically, she delivers that desired top-down, sunny LA drive-time feel. [Jul 2015, p.100]

Modern folk songs shot through with great melancholy and humour, and embroidered with bursts of electronica and instrumentation. [Nov 2017, p.108]

There's months of listening here. [Nov 2012, p.108]

It has the messy, majestic sprawl of classic Crazy Horse. [Dec 2012, p.115]

Breathlessly current in its maxed-out production, but also properly robust, Bitter Rivals should turn Sleigh Bells into serious contenders. [Dec 2013, p.104]

A blissful blip that produced one of the '90s' finest rock albums. [Jan 2013, p.121]

Almost the equal of 'Ordinary People,' 'No Hidden Path' again demonstrates that when the contary old buzzard plugs in and really goes to work, it's still a thrill like no other. [Dec 2007, p.113]

Euphoric and uncompromising, Folly us up there with KOD's best work. [Nov 2013, p.109]

It's a powerful record that reconfigures the classic mnid-90s New York sound more skillfully than anyone's done for some time. [Feb 2013, p.103]

Loneliness and melancholy rarely sound this positive and on more upbeat tracks such as Two Cold Nights In Buffalo, Andrews happily confronts and owns her life choices. [May 2018, p.104]

[Placebo is now] sounding modern and sneakingly world-beating. [Oct 2013, p.109]

Amygdala is the sort of wonderfully slowed-down and spun-out electronica that suggests DJ Koze should get himself into the studio more often. [May 2013, p.104]

This is rock'n'roll at its most direct, fun and stupid-yet-deadly-serious. [Aug 2020, p.105]

Bleach's grooviness is intrinsic to its enduring appeal, just as much as the cankerous layers of noise. [Dec 2009, p.128]