The net result is an album that hangs suspended between Earth and the stars. [Jun 2019, p.116]

A sense of will-this-do? hangs over proceedings, from its terse 10-track running time to the soporific delivery. [Jun 2019, p.108]

Even if diverse moods elude them, they channel disenchantment superbly. [Jun 2019, p.108]

Both enticing and disorientating in equal measure. [Jun 2019, p.116]

A record that feels dates, despite its archly poptimistic style. [Jun 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]

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]

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]

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]

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

In Search Of works best when swept up in a wave of wistful optimism. [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 results are anything but fluid, instead capturing the lawless, conflicting thrills of cultural anarchy. [Apr 2019, p.110]

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

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]

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]

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]

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

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]

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]

It's when they go to the dark side that things pick up. [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]