The link between '50s rock and the modern world. [Oct 2004, p.121]

The first 40 seconds of Spring King's second album are without doubt its most diverting. ... The rest of A Better Life is a uniformly bog-standard collection of Kasabian-like indie rock. [Sep 2018, p.118]

The songcraft is so taut that whether this howls, drifts, pummels or floats, it remains utterly engaging. [Aug 2012, p.102]

It's a step in the right direction. [Oct 2015, p.113]

Despite some affecting songs and intriguing production quirks, it lacks that kind of magic [of his 1970s albums]. [Jul 2005, p.113]

The players' energy and instrumental prowess are captured intact, even if some of the analogue grit that makes the '70s originals so compelling has been sacrificed. [Aug 2012, p.102]

Freaky electronica from West Coast bass maestro. [Oct 2011, p.130]

Radiohead refused to take part, but everyone else has embraced the idea, albeit with predictably mixed results. [Nov 2013, p.107]

The duo have remained one of the few constants in UK dance music. [Oct 2010, p.120]

Konk is the perfect example of the modern indie record: bright, breezy, demanding no great investment from its listeners but enjoyable to jump around to. [May 2008, p.128]

The jazzier the arrangements, however, the more effective his soul-searching becomes. [Nov 2010, p.105]

There's nothing remotely new or sophisticated about any of it. Instead the album happily operates at the most instinctual gut level, oozing authenticity in a way that Jack White, say, would give his front teeth for. [Nov 2008, p.111]

At 20 tracks long, Imperial Blaze suffers badly from a lack of editing, however, Paul also spends hald the album in ballad mode. [Nov 2009, p.111]

The album is so cacophonous that it borders on the unpleasant. Yet there are redemptive moments. [Summer 2019, p.111]

Quietly confessional and ever so slightly disturbing. [Oct 2009, p.117]

The multi-culturally correct Warm Heart Of Africa more than lives up to its title, Nsokoto and infectious Kamphopo being worth a place on anyone's shuffle. [Oct 2009, p.118]

Was [Nothing's Real] worth the wait? At points, yes. [Aug 2016, p.117]

Dig deeper, and you'll find rich arrangements more reminiscent of Knopfler's soundtrack work. [Oct 2002, p.110]

Esoteric but oddly compelling record. [Oct 2016, p.110]

In places, The Boombox Ballads is too shambling for its own good. [Oct 2015, p.113]

Spring Heel Jack exist in that increasingly exciting no-man's land where clubland and modern jazz call a truce and have a kickabout.

This is an album steeped in classicism while still creating its own world. It just lacks the killer song. [Oct 2006, p.127]

Chronological sequencing would have painted a more coherent picture of how she developed over the decades and although fine in themselves, a bunch of remixes belong to an album of their own. [Jan 2016, p.120]

The follow-up repeats the trick, scattering dreamy pop between industrial soundscapes. [July 2010, p. 129]

The grooves stay warm and loopy. [Jan 2013, p.108]

The sunny, country-ish melodies of opener 'Beathless' and 'Savorin' Your Smile' aren't quite matched by her limited voice, but when some darkness descends, as on 'Pictures Of You,' her perky nature adds a bittersweet twist to the added emotional weight. [mar 2009, p.104]

Startisha is a marriage that nods to the old while leaning on the new, where results are more mixed. [Summer 2020, p.103]

The lesser known shoo-ins often struggle. [Sep 2003, p.104]

There's beauty amid the sonic desolation. [Sep 2017, p.116]

It's diverting enough but unlikely to gain Sartain significant ground. [Jun 2014, p.119]

There's still enough synapse-jangling vocal invention and moments of great beauty to make it a worthy addition ot Bjork's singular ouevre. [Nov. 2000, p.99]

Black Market Music feels like a watershed, a merely good record after a great one, and that in itself is disappointing.

Added to this unlikely musical melting pot is singer is Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild's falsetto, occasionally reminiscent of both Arthur Russell and Antony Hegarty. [Aug 2013, p.107]

It delivers considerable entertainment value. [Apr 2005, p.122]

The mainstream looks a long way off again from here. [Sep 2012, p.97]

Ultimately 24k Magic's luxe exterior writes cheques its soul can't cash. [Feb 2017, p.115]

It's an unexpected grower. [Jan 2016, p.111]

The most successful tracks are those where Tricky is front and centre. [Mar 2016, p.117]

Their music conjures the Sahara via a hypnotic desert blues that informed by both Malian folk music and their love of Western bands such as Pink Floyd and Can. [Jun 2020, p.106]

Shara Worden, aka My Brightest Diamond sings like a female Jeff Buckley on A Thousand Shark's Teeth, a blend of Tom Waits-inspired weirdness, ambient rock and neo-classical textures. [July 2008, p.113]

Despite the skill, it's delivered like a well-to-do busker rather than with the requisite polish. [Mar 2013, p.96]

A simple, often stark record reminiscent of her eponymous 1985 debut.

Long-awaited debut from the sweary Brooklyn collective. [Feb. 2011, p. 120]

A bit relentless at times, but Chemical Brothers fans should give it a spin.

There is occasional subtlety and drama amid the bombast. [Jul 2014, p.114]

Mature rather than groundbreaking. [May 2002, p.122]

If there's a flaw, it's that Mathe's songwriting is more conventional than the arrangements. But there's no denying the emotion behind his heartfelt croon. [Sep 2013, p.97]

While the title's end-of-days concept might be flimsy, the grooves are rock solid. [Feb 2017, p.115]

Scroobius will always smack of Marmite, but he's shaken off some of the whiff of student poet, even addressing bling culture without sounding like a finger-wagging cliche on Gold Teeth. [Nov 2013, p.105]

Broken Down Gentlemen is unshowy and classily-executed folk. [Apr 2013, p.101]

To truly get into the spirit, though, you'll need to have an attention span longer than his own. [Mar 2013, p.96]

If the closing tracks' chaotic guitars comes close to unlistenability, many fine moments beforehand make forgiveness easy. [Oct 2008, p.142]

Their rock'n'roll commitment is beyond doubt, although casual observers might want to wait for their promised new album. [Dec 2008, p.142]

Sudden Elevation sacrifices her native tongue and most of her earlier tweeness, while retaining her capacity to move and enchant. [Mar 2013, p.93]

Admittedly, there's a lack of shock here, but plenty of awe. [Mar 2014, p.119]

Exuding vague disquiet rather than outright despair, the self-produced DRaw The Line freshens up the formula just enough to keep things interesting. [Oct 2009, p.108]

Night On My Side is undeniably flawed... but there's enough here to suggest a future that's far from bedroom-bound. [June 2002, p.116]

At times they pull in too many directions at once. [Jun 2015, p.116]

There's a lack of emotional intrigue or maverick charm here that keeps everything at a shrug-inducing distance. [Sep 2003, p.100]

You'd expect better from a band so on top of their game.

Somewhat muted follow-up. [Oct 2018, p.111]

It's the same stark template of vocals, acoustic guitars and assorted surprising adornments, but they save themselves from the overworthy trap by those voices. [Sep 2013, p.100]

A dense dish to consume in one sitting, perhaps, but Bootsy's spicy narrations and undulating, jazz-informed basslines hold it all together. [Dec 2017, p.105]

The overall feel is Sonic Youth Unplugged. [Oct 2007, p.106]

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.

Feels so far behind the curve that it's just rolling gently backwards on roller-skates at this point. ... More edge, it seems, would only burst their bubble. [Jun 2020, p.106]

As richly rewarding a work of brilliance as it is, Crack The Skye will nonetheless be beyond the ken of all but those with the most open of minds--or pre--attuned ears. [Apr 2009, p.107]

A sombre listen, but a rewarding one. [Apr 2013, p.103]

This debut full-length channels abrasive energy akin to early SoundCloud rap. [Summer 2016, p.111]

Taken as a whole, it's liable to become soporific, but individual tracks are near perfect essays in understated melancholy. [May 2002, p.117]

Peachtree Road is home to three songs that can sit alongside his best work.... [but] there are too many saccharine ballads. [Dec 2004, p.128]

Ultimately, with its emphasis on synths and beats over the sterling melodies of Love Letters, Summer 08 ends up coming over like a stopgap offering--or a Joe Mount solo record--rather than the next Metronomy album proper. However, those who miss the slightly demented groves of the pre-fame Metronomy are advised to dive in. [Aug 2016, p.112]

It's an impressive feat of engineering, but one that anyone other than ardent fans will struggle to find a way into. [Oct 2019, p.114]

Overall, there are more steps sideways than great leaps forward. [Oct 2018, p.112]

While predictable mall-rat anthems in praise of partying, one-night stands and nocturnal hi-jinks now come with a cathartic edge, their first album in almost a decade feels frustratingly shallow. [Aug 2012, p.104]

Woken By Noises [is] reminiscent of the third Velvet Underground record. Elsewhere, however, the songs come across as elegant but a little flat, with a noticeable dip around the middle of the album. [Oct 2015, p.116]

These songs display such moustache-twirling camp that they exert a lively pull despite the undead atmospherics. [Dec 2004, p.136]

It could all seem like an indulgence, an intimate late-night emotional overspill best kept at home, like crying in front of a mirror. It's testament to O's skills as both songwriter and performer that out in the open, Crush Songs still seems like an attractive prospect. [Oct 2014, p.102]

Oakland's finest [Green Day] won't exactly be quaking in their boots, but they may respectfully tip their hat. [Feb 2017, p.116]

There's a new post-punk, white-funk edge to their sound on the glorious 'Debbie' that surely comes from Bird's new locale, While 'Lazy (Lazy)' slinks along with Talking Heads-esque subtlety. [Sep 2007, p.88]

Gumption is slow, resolute, low on dazzling epiphanies but high on atmosphere and texture. [Mar 2016, p.119]

There are too few of the brilliant genre-blending moments that make SOAD so special. [Nov 2007, p.147]

His picture would be that much more moving if he spliced his peaks with the occasional trough. [Mar 2013, p.98]

Together Through Life is not by any yardstick classic Dylan. Even so, it's hard to imagine there's an item in his catalogue that he adores more. [Jun 2009,p.116]

Abnormally Attracted To Sin is a long haul, but among these 18 songs ate some of the best Amos has written. [Jun 2009, p.123]

In the time since OK Computer, Radiohead seem to have built up reservoirs of fresh bile and listened to a lot of Aphex Twin records.... Musically, the album's best features are its keening, lapwing guitars and a thin, atonal orchestral drizzle.... Kid A will still baffle and upset those who are disappointed that they don't do Creep anymore. [Nov. 2000, p.96]

Fans will appreciate Yo La Tengo reinventing their own The Ballad Of Red Buckets and Deeper Into Movies from noisy chaos to whispered, but still intense, quiet. [Oct 2015, p.117]

Infectious and effective as it is, Moderat II is never quite as overwhelming as it threatens to be. [Sep 2013, p.106]

This follow-up proves a slightly less ramshackle but equally engaging electro-powered soundclash that even finds Bell adding the odd new twist. [Oct 2011, p.130]

Entering his maze of influences can initially prove a challenge. ... But over 13 tracks clarity slowly emerges. [Jan 2020, p.109]

The noisy blackAcetate is the work of a man who is not going to go quietly. [Nov 2005, p.123]

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]

The songs aren't quite up to the mark. You can't fault the performances though. [Dec 2007, p.121]

The general vibe is of music for well-upholstered hotel suites. [May 2020, p.104]

You could forgive the incoherence if every song punched its weight, but too often design-by-committee dilutes rather than enhances individual strengths, producing generic electro-pop filler. [Oct 2010, p.106]

By turns soothing and jarring, the tone suggests Death In Vegas with the neurosis replaced by a mood of ennui.

The result is a record that's more one-note wonder than fully-fledged triumph. [Summer 2018, p.109]

Ridha's focus here isn't on beauty but the beats. [Jul 2016, p.104]