Perhaps in time she will dig deeper, but it's an assured start. [Summer 2018, p.114]

Its tight-wound electronica is perfect for anyone wanting a visual-free sensation of mounting suspense in the comfort of their own home. [Sep 2017, p.113]

Intriguingly mixed bag. [Oct 2018, p.116]

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

It's the vocals of Jana Hunter, an apprentice of freak folk luminary Devendra Banhart, that provides Nootropics' bewitching focal point, the group's gothic meld of gliding guitars and spectral synth noises resembling the Cocteau Twins on a comedown. [Jun 2012, p.107]

The key track is We Can't Have Nice Things, envisaged by its writer as a George Jones lost love ballad, an turned into a gripping country soul psychodrama. [Aug 2012, p.96]

He still keeps the listener at arms-length, though, strung-out drones and an odd lack of projections suggesting this remains a work of intense introspection. [Jul 2014, p.118]

They pack in an astounding brutality reminiscent of Napalm Death's grueling grindcore. [May 2013, p.99]

There's a little too much in the way of filler, but this is a promising start. [Feb. 2011, p. 113]

The breakbeat-based tracks offer obvious comparisons with like-minds such as Prefuse 73. [Jun 2006, p.113]

Oddly, for an album inspired by the blues, there's not much misery, and what vocals are there get looped and treated beyond storytelling. [Oct 2012, p.103]

Despite the pluming black-metal geyser of Death Drop, it doesn't have the evil heft of 2017 predecessor World Eater. [Sep 2019, p.108]

Clocking in at a shade over tow hours, there's room for fans of all vintages to find something of value. [Apr 2013, p.94]

With Mariachi El Bronx II, the Mexican wing of The Bronx have moved swiftly to reinforce their authenticity. [Nov. 2011, p. 136]

A collection that delves deeper than her previous albums. [Mar 2015, p.111]

Heightened emotions stop Keepsake's soft-focus textures from slipping into the background. [Aug 2019, p.111]

Instead of intense rock, it's a more atmospheric piece of work. [Nov 2005, p.123]

It often feels as if Aitchison's nasal croon and counter-intuitive toplines are the least interesting bits of her own project. [Nov 2019, p.116]

The mood is one of eerie dread as the music slowly unfurls in stately fashion, the rhythms frequently mimicking a horse's trot. [May 2014, p.119]

An interesting stopover on a journey marked by constant curiosity. [Oct 2019, p.110]

He's more class than charisma. [Jul 2015, p.111]

While the songwriting draws heavily on bigwigs such as Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson, albeit ckloaked in layers of woozy production. This is its chief asset, providing a dark undertow. [Oct 2009, p.111]

It's playful rather than facetious, and the combination of sweet pop tunes and mean distorted guitar is as winning as it ever was. [Nov 2012, p.104]

His sixth album has a political slant, but the message is subtler than his controversial 2000 ditty, 'Bill Gates Must Die.'

The primitive beauty of Matt Pike's dense riffs and Des Kensel's tribal rhythms should ensure that the Foo Fighters' frontman usn't the only one falling in love with the Oakland trio.

It's the amped-up riff in the middle of Offspring Are Blank that best sums up their playful approach. They often flex their muscles without feeling the need to land a killer blow. [Aug 2012, p.97]

A66 is made thrilling by the gear change midway through, ditching its Sabbath crawl for a brutal climax. Nothing else quite succeeds in cutting through the downtuned murk, although riffs are uniformly monolithic and frontman Matt Baty's throaty bark is never less than entertaining. [Nov 2018, p.112]

A draining, rewarding journey. [Aug 2008, p.143]