A tad more focus and she'll be there. [April 2012, p.102]

Hemming's voice has an authentic catch, but for all the lyrical loneliness, his lavish arrangements are packed with ideas. [May 2015, p.107]

The embryo that is Manic Expressive promises much from the future. [Nov 2001, p.122]

The shoutiness that made their previous two albums a tiring listen hasn't been entirely banished, but they have taken it down several notches, while also dialing down several notches. [Jun 2010, p.133]

There are echoes of Bibio's pastoral folktronica woven throughout. [Sep 2017, p.110]

Although Lion City's best moments come with the fusion of African and Western psychedelic rock to ambient atmospherics, standout song Justice will suit anyone who's ever wondered what might happen were Bruce Springsteen to write a blue-collar anthem with African rhythms. [Jun 2014, p.108]

Themes of displacement, disillusion, and druggy ennui speak of a band who are no longer enjoying themselves. A shame, because when singer Andrew Savage shakes himself free from the torpor, his anger becomes an energy. [Jul 2014, p.112]

This one has it's moments, but somehow never quite catches fire. [Oct 2017, p.106]

A heavyweight, goth-rock death trip, awash with mangled guitars and horror-film atmospherics. [Nov. 2000, p.113]

Opener 9:13 is too close perhaps to Brian Eno to make much of an impact. But when a chorus of ghostly voices rise above the fractured piano of Phantom Brickworks III, the theme really works, offering a genuinely unsettling air of spookiness. [Jan 2018, p.106]

Lindberg is dedicated to atmosphere, and if these songs are disconcertingly hazy as they move through the dry ice, they just about hold a twisted shape of their own. [Jan 2016, p.111]

Some of it is beautiful, but perhaps they should've enlisted the help of their offbeat brother Rufus to add a bit more colour to the canvas. [Jan 2016, p.115]

What Mew have come up with here is a gently twinkling Mercury Rev-ish album of experimental percussive nonsense and occassional jazz-like noodling that somehow manage to hypnotise even while they irritate. [Oct 2009, p.114]

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

In its crunchy guitars, rich harmonies and fist-pumping choruses, there's a warmth and positivity that, while occasionally too smooth, shows an admirable disregard for current trends. [Jun 2010, p.128]

The significance of their sonic puzzles can remain frustratingly out of reach. [Jul 2014, p.114]

Combining Koretsky's electro throb, Rourke's funky bass and O'Riordan's distinctive, albeit newly toned vocals. It particularly works on the uptempo and lush The Moon and the more hardcore Gunfight, enhancing everyone's reputation. [Oct 2016, p.107]

Unfortunately there's no left-field motion, no unexpected turns, none of the twist'n'crawl that separated them from the workaday pack. [Nov 2016, p.102]

Elsewhere they veer off into roboid electro, but a certain lack of variety costs points. [Oct 2011, p.124]

While the proceedings might be more restrained than usual on the '80s hardcore-aping Husker Don't and Sabbath clatter of Halloween 3, if you think Lightning Bolt have softened you're very much mistaken. [Jan 2020, p.110]

Surprisingly muted, sophisticated synth-pop that lowers its eyes and keeps to the shadows, a glint of hi-tech disco chrome occasionally catching the light. [Feb 2018, p.116]

Curious fans of contemporary pop-house acts such as Disclosure might find the spartan style forbidding, but once Dunn hits his groove it's impossible not to feel the force. [Feb 2018, p.108]

This debut collection of lo-fi chillwave-esque electronics and introspective song fragments locates itself deftly between Animal Collective's strung-out post-rock and the drum machine-powered sketches of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone.[Dec. 2011 p. 137]

The new problem is a lack of texture: in aiming for big hooks and big bucks, they've thrown variety out the window. [Jun 2009, p.134]

Unexpectedly vibrant, like riot grrrl with tunes. [Oct 2002, p.100]

Yann Tiersen's latest is as distant from that film's {Amelie's] accordion-powered melodies as his native Brittany is from Paris. [Jul 2014, p.117]

There isn't anything quite as special as, say, Veronica but the veins at Costello's temples are throbbing again.

Mostly, it's tight but standard. [Jan 2004, p.114]