Inevitably there are moments that would benefit from smoothing out, but part of the appeal is getting to ample Giannascoli's talent when it's still raw. [Dec 2014, p.110]

Not so much a wholesale reinvention as an impressive readjustment. [Feb 2018, p.112]

Without enough killer hooks Leo seems unlikely to claw his way much beyond cult attraction. [Mar 2005, p.100]

He's shot truer and more heartfelt arrows than these. [Jul 2004, p.122]

In the end, the try-everything approach works out: if only because Girls' scatterbrained classic rock patchwork is so idiosyncratically odd. [Oct 2011, p.124]

They've never sounded heavier, now delivering songs without compromising their complex songcraft. [Apr 2914, p.103]

The overall effect is not dissimilar to Sugababes, only with added adult content. [Aug 2006, p.111]

The fifth album from New Jersey's The Dillinger Escape Plan is another step back towards the math-metal that made their name. [Jul 2013, p.103]

It was a smart move [to enlist Tim,] Goldsworthy's attention to detail forcing the band up a gear. [July 2008, p.101]

The highlights are outweighed by tracks such as Glitter Gold Year, a half-formed sketch of jabbing bass and meandering riffs. [Jan. 2012 p. 120]

For all its feverish bluster, this... is patchy at best. [Sep 2003, p.102]

There is plenty to enjoy, although it never comes close to recapturing the eclectic brillance of 1999's career high, "69 Love Songs. [Feb 2008, p.99]

Although his monotone becomes a little wearing over an entire album, this is still his best work in a long time. [Oct 2012, p.106]

It occasionally delivers the eccentric, giant-chorused rock that made Faith No More so great. [Feb 2013, p.107]

A starkly modern folk record centered on a narrative of a mother leaving her family. [Jul 2018, p.114]

Occasionally there's a little too much going on... Overall, though, Gartside remains intriguing. [Jul 2006, p.116]

The two have a great dynamic--potentially even a special one--its just not fully realised here. [Jun 2016, p.108]

It's pretty good. Production values have been upped in the intervening period but rather than smooth out their edges, they only serve to accentuate their fierce, angular approach. [Aug 2015, p.110]

It's by no means a classic but there's enough personality to suggest Hozier will be with us for the long haul. [Oct 2014, p.110]

What's lacking from the Oakland native is the kind of fresh approach to a retro sound that elevated Amy Winehouse above straight homage. [Apr 2009, p.110]

it ens up a tie between waffling self-indulgence and occasional moments of inspiration. Definitely not predictable, though. [Apr 2011, p.110]

A lot of the goofy teenage kicks have been replaced with more tiresome sex raps. [Sep 2005, p.115]

Potent, and strangely noble. [Nov 2009, p.112]

There's the brisk cover of Sparks's 'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth,' plus a huanting, piano-inspired run through Harry Nilsson's drunkathon 'Don't Forget Me,' but she blows it at the death with the hideous 'Marais La Nuit,' 31 torturous minutes 38 grisly seconds of forest noises. [Apr 2009, p.102]

Maybe it's simpy the case that, Cash and Rubin having done similar things together so often in the past, the magic and power ro move have worn off, only to be replaced by an uneasy feeling of exploitation. [Apr 2010, p.108]

Pitched somewhere between Lauryn Hill and Alanis Morissette, Furtado's songs - sung nasally in a style which occasionally recalls a less hysterical Gwen Stefani - are playful, unaffected and full of little surprises.

This one feels more grounded, less frantic and, despite that constant pulsing movement, more at home. [#361, p.109]

The more Khan sets the pace, the more all three fly. [Jun 2017, p.112]