Younge and Muhammad give Ayers a crisp edge that achieves the unlikely feat of dragging jazz-funk into the modern world. [Sep 2020, p.107]

Rather than succumb to difficult second album syndrome, Fontaines D.C. have emerged frontrunners in an already crowded field of vital, important young bands. A Hero's Death is a resounding victory. [Aug 2020, p.100]

A poignant revisiting of Whitsun Dance catches the profound power of this richly arranged album. [Aug 2020, p.105]

It's with the good-foot funk of Save Me and slow-lane soul of Hold On that Williams's vision really pulls into focus. [Aug 2020, p.113]

Her observations possess a nuance that blasts away old cliches, but are also related with a pleasing simplicity. [Aug 2020, p.107]

All The Time is cool and compelling dance-pop. [Aug 2020, p.108]

An enthralling, multi-layered listen. [Aug 2020, p.109]

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

Thick, claggy basslines anchor them alongside The Fall a their most pulverising. .... The debut's best moments, however, are when they push against what a post-punk band should be. [Aug 2020, p.109]

The work of a man kitted out with a full array of emotional surveillance equipment, its expansive space-rock and cosmic lyrics zooming in and out on humanity in all its rich chaos. [Jun 2020, p.92]

Ultimate Success Today is convulsed by End Times thoughts of collapse and an American dream eating itself. [Aug 2020, p.111]

With its bright shiny sonics buffed by Blur/Smiths producer Stephen Street, it ranks up there with the best of the early Pretenders albums. [Aug 2020, p.111]

The star of the show remains the Brummie Everygeezer and his droll, unceremoniously-delivered bars. [Summer 2020, p.100]

This is a record that opens up the time and space to think, picking up echoes, melting them down into something new. [Aug 2020, p.102]

DMA's aspirations here are elite-class: Life Is A Game Of Changing channels New Order circa Republic, while Silver evokes peak-period Verve's reassuringly expensive shuffle. [Aug 2020, p.107]

For all the finely crafted, impeccably produced numbers there are enough stripped-back torch song moments to remind us of the simple power of Wainwright's talent. [Aug 2020, p.113]

Often ludicrous, Pure Luxury is a brilliant escape. [Aug 2020, p.108]

She's still very much the real deal. [Aug 2020, p.111]

Provides a stirring reminder of how cross-cultural encounters spark new musical forms. [Aug 2020, p.107]

Dream Wife may borrow from the best, but are indefatigably joyfully their own. [Aug 2020, p.113]

The world isn't short of observational singer-songwriters, but when the work is of this calibre it's pretty hard to resist. [Aug 2020, p.107]

This is the sound of RTJ staking their claim as one of the all-time great hip-hop duos. [Aug 2020, p.112]

While it lacks the sheer otherworldliness of his heyday, it is still a startling successful marriage of old and new. [Aug 2020, p.102]

Redoubled his grime values: scene loyalty via scathing wit and wildly entertaining chutzpah. [Aug 2020, p.104]

The melodic flow of Alchemist;s beats perfectly offsets his partner's raw, unfiltered delivery. [Aug 2020, p.107]

A poised, inventive record, designed to catch you out. [Aug 2020, p.111]

Ellis taps the pulse of his surroundings in manner akin to Massive Attack's Mezzanine. [Aug 2020, p.111]

A record lyrically concerned with trying to find inner peace and a sense of community within a troubled wider world. Perfect sounds and sentiments for these times, then. [Summer 2020, p.98]