"When The End Is Over" offers a glimpse of his sweetly ruminative side, but the amped-up riffs and recorded-in-a-garage fidelity keep things firmly in the red. [May 2023, p.32]

A generic gem, full of virtuosic playing, breathtaking three-part harmonies and memorable, melodic songs about the human condition. [May 2023, p.32]

Lankum have found a convincing way to keep the damn hulk going, stoking the engines of folk tradition and setting course to who knows when. [May 2023, p.24]

Moskowitz takes the role of wise guide, ruminating on life and the cosmos with a grandmotherly warmth. [Apr 2023, p.32]

Too many artists on this well-intentioned and occasionally even enjoyable tribute album seem to forget they're country artists. [May 2023, p.38]

September November is undeniably a vital, relevant 21st-century artefact. [Apr 2023, p.22]

Love In Exile stands as a worthy summation of the trio's alchemical live shows. But there's enough here to dangle the promise that this trio formation could run and run, and this remarkable collaboration is hopefully just the beginning. [May 2023, p.33]

Over the full 82 minutes, though, 93696 can feel a little relentless, undone by the scale of its own ambition. [Apr 2023, p.32]

Fantasy is a spellbinding return to form for the French producer. [May 2023, p.31]

Their most powerful work this century. It's the sound of a band entering a final act with a renewed sense of purpose, and sharp, sober new focus. [May 2023, p.26]

It works at least as well [as 2018's The Colorist & Emiliana Torrini] on this collection of new originals. [Apr 2023, p.38]

The clarity and effervescence of much of V can seem revelatory. [Apr 2023, p.34]

As a whole, the record is a persuasive parcel of slick Americana with just enough redneck grit in the oyster. [Mar 2023, p.26]

His latest album triumphs on levels beyond its inimitable Holley-ness. On the one hand, it reads like another act of spontaneous divination, revisiting past traumas with pained understanding, yet also hopeful and celebrating the wonder of life. But it’s also his most substantial and accessible album yet. [Apr 2023, p.18]

Gendel makes it all appear effortless - as usual. [Apr 2023, p.26]

Aşk feels like a liberation, bursting out exuberantly in all directions as they boldly rework a set of ancient Turkish folk tunes with characteristic invention. [Apr 2023, p.23]

it's another kaleidoscopic exploration of neo-psych and garage. [Apr 2023, p.24]

The highlights are splendid: a brass-embellished "Red Hill Mining Town", a languid piano-led "Beautiful Day", a near-calypso "Miracle of Joey Ramone". [Apr 2023, p.38]

Milk For Flowers is intimate, introspective and melancholic, yet peppered with moments of joy, elation and hope. His best album so far. [Apr 2023, p.29]

Though Cleveland's delivery is generally far more subdued, Manzanita shares a similarly transportative, anciently psychedelic feel with The Incredible String Band's magical '60s work. [Apr 2023, p.24]

Her newest pushes the format to its fullest form, wrapping expansive and intricate interpretations of the decade's sonic touchstones - synth washes, gated drums, pulsating beats, guitar jangle and romantic vocals - into tidy three- and four-minute packages. [Apr 2023, p.36]

Exhaustive in the best way possible, emphasising the logistical nightmares of hosting such a big event but also putting listeners right there in the stadium. [Apr 2023, p.41]

The Mods return with fury unabated. [Apr 2023, p.36]

On this evidence, enough to suggest that Birch, now into her late sixties, might just be entering her next great creative phase. [Apr 2023, p.39]

Moving On Skiffle is richer and more sophisticated [than 1998's The Skiffle Sessions] but has a lightness of touch that recalls Bruce Springsteen's delightful 2006 album of Pete Seeger reinterpretations, We Shall Overcome. [Apr 2023, p.27]

Fever Ray's records may be less boldly subversive than The Knife's, but there are plenty of artful thrills and pleasures here. [Apr 2023, p.26]

All are rapturous in their repetition and irresistibly otherworldly. [Apr 2023, p.29]

Taken From Life offer[s] a fascinating new perspective on the collaboration. ... But the real find on this new disc, almost justifying the box on its own, is "Look Up Again." ... It's further testament to the strength of this collaboration, amply bolstered by live performances of Bacharach and Costello songs old and new on disc three and four. [Apr 2023, p.44]

She's pushed through the looking glass on WOW to conjure a zany world of pixelated pop for her avatar Kate NV to stumble around, dazed and amused. In Many ways she's just as provocative, albeit in a different musical language. [Mar 2023, p.32]

The Hypnogogue is like every other Church album, and nothing quite like any of them; both statements are intended as compliments. [Apr 2023, p.26]

His melodic approach remains minimalist, dependent on hypnotic rhythms and crescendo - there's also a Screamadelica familiarity to "The People Say" and "Let It Go" - but his sloganeering encourages unifying empowerment. [Apr 2023, p.32]

On Grace & Dignity is his best yet. [Apr 2023, p.28]

The relative brevity of these four pieces permits an easier engagement with their approach, with the way these three remarkable musicians, while working at their own pace on every level, continue to explore a sound-world and a collective methodology entirely of their own conception. [Mar 2023, p.18]

May be Lucero's finest album yet. [Apr 2023, p.32]

13 toe-tapping and soul-stirring treatises against hate, inequality and violence. [Apr 2023, p.26]

An ample demonstration of their powers. [Apr 2023, p.25]

The songs about his children risk tipping over into twee, but it's hard to disparage such a warm, consoling record. [Mar 2023, p.25]

With the genre-hopping feel of a high-concept mixtape, Bless This Mess calls on a wide cast of collaborators. [Apr 2023, p.38]

A richer chamber-pop style which now reaches its zenith on Strange Dance. [Mar 2023, p.35]

How To Replace It doesn't quite scale those heights [Worst Case Scenario and The Ideal Crash], but it finds the returning to the fray with particularly eloquent poise. [Apr 2023, p.26]

The caustic wit of their first two albums is too often buried under shouty non-choruses and dirgey post-punk bluster, either side of a couple of more notable moments. [Mar 2023, p.35]

Some of these experimental mash-ups feel ungainly, but when their chemistry ignites, Algiers sound indestructible. [Apr 2023, p.23]

It's a fabulous collection. [Mar 2023, p.36]

Sexsmith's soulful voice, mixed with simple guitar strums and sweet harmonies, especially in the delicate yet incredibly intense closer, "Ever Wonder", pushes style, composition and existence into a timeless adventure. [Mar 2023, p.35]

The songs on Tare's fourth solo effort brims with joy, wonder and the sheer pleasure to be found in making sounds. [Mar 2023, p.25]

10 idiosyncratic pop songs marked by her cool, tremulous timbre, unusual cadence and almost bluntly conversational lyrics. [Mar 2023, p.35]

While Pigs x7 couldn't get much heavier, they sound noticeably angrier on this follow-up to 2020's Viscerals, adding lyrical themes of self-loathing and misanthropy into the mix. [Mar 2023, p.32]

His originals here include the rippling, Arabic-accented, Dizzy Gillespie-inspired" Caravanseral" and the tricksy waltz ballad "Ruth". [Apr 2023, p.25]

On "Operator Error" and "Less From You", the duo nimbly reintegrate the post-punk and power-pop elements of their mid-'00s selves with the more avidly dance-oriented direction of the band's last decade. [Apr 2023, p.38]

Songs like "Let's Make A Mistake Tonight" and the restless "Forbidden Doors" vividly capture intimate moments in a shared existence. [Apr 2023, p.36]

Despite the scattered and itinerant nature of the process, there's a pleasing coherence and warmth to the record. [Apr 2023, p.26]

Mostly Cracker Island maintains Gorillaz' 23-year-old comic-book conceit. The 2D band make ageless pop that shapeshifts to suit the era, be it the sunny reggaeton of "Tormenta" (featuring Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny) or the dreamy AOR of "Oil" (featuring Stevie Nicks). [Apr 2023, p.28]

There are moments where this French-Algerian collective truly get deep into "acid house". ... Elsewhere, three decades of Western club culture are put through the prism of North African music. ... Best of all is the galloping afro-house of "Habaytak", featuring the haunting voice of Ghizlane Melih. [Mar 2023, p.23]

They add multiple voices, such as Dina Ipavic and Penelope Isles. this can result in a slightly disjointed and incohesive listen, but sometimes, as with Anna B Savage on the pulsing "Home", they get the alchemy just right. [Mar 2023, p.32]

This record’s peers might be Astral Weeks, Starsailor, Music For A New Society, New Skin For The Old Ceremony and, in particular, Mary Margaret O’Hara’s Miss America. She’s not out of place among these ghosts either. If you’ve ever been spellbound by those songs of love, loss, wonder and despair, you need to listen to Lisa O’Neill. [Mar 2023, p.24]

The slow-burn of "Blue" is a soaring mid-set ballad with anthemic qualities showcasing a strong sense of dynamics. That captures the defiant mood, something best heard in opener "My Blood Runs Through This Land" and the churning rage of "understanding". [Mar 2023, p.25]

Raven is her triumphant move forward, 15 tracks of sensual R&B with a subtle strength at their core, wrapped in vaporous synths and variously edged with UK garage, '80s R&B and techno. [Mar 2023, p.29]

What could have been merely clever becomes soulful and poignant thanks to Shauf's understated vocals, his eye for mundane details and flourishes. [Mar 2023, p.35]

It's pure, distilled Quasi. ... Sam Coomes's songs are all killer. ... Janet Weiss, meanwhile, once again proves herself to be a fine vocal foil, and perhaps the greatest rock drummer alive. [Mar 2023, p.35]

His playing can be free and fiery but it's also deeply soulful and sometimes almost aggressively melodic. [Mar 2023, p.29]

This is familiar YLT, but that's certainly not a complaint. ... Even with two-thirds of the band in their mid-sixties, a childlike quality remains. [Mar 2023, p.36]

Although at times it's a little too knowingly shambolic, the band nail the mood on "Peace Of Mind", while the outstanding Stonesy number "Anyway I Find You" finds a great bridge between their two styles. [Mar 2023, p.32]

Subtle, complex, and not always pacifying. [Mar 2023, p.32]

This is Forster in excelsis. [Mar 2023, p.22]

Regular frontwoman Ninja remains a ferocious force of nature on several tracks. ... Consistently great, routinely underrated. [Mar 2023, p.26]

Unhurriedly crafted songs full of bona fide thrills, unexpected twists, and an elegant but never gratuitous grandeur. [Mar 2023, p.33]

Another excellent set of verbose tunes delivered with the vocal swagger of Morrissey or Alex Kapranos, against a shimmering curtain of prime pop jangle. [Mar 2023, p.28]

"Illusion Pt II" is a deceptively buoyant album opener. ... Album highlight "Sniveller" kicks off with Dry Cleaning-esque new wave swagger before unexpected backing vocals from JG's Lan McArdle deliver a heart-rush. [Feb 2023, p.36]

A rich, evocative portrait. ... The album's raw honesty is also highly tuneful. [Mar 2023, p.34]

A few tracks fell like sketchy fragments, but the best have real grandeur and ambition. [Feb 2023, p.28]

The whole world's in crisis and Oozing Wound see no reason to ese off their righteous assault now, though their fifth flashes dark humour in titles. [Feb 2023, p.32]

Mostly they don't sound like anyone except themselves, multiplied by a thousand. [Mar 2023, p.36]

Every one of these songs is a big-hearted meditation on love and sex and faith and especially healing, as though what roots us to our own lands is loss and grief and recovery. [Feb 2023, p.34]

Bursting with raw energy and renewed vigour. [Feb 2023, p.25]

It's an effortless charmer. [Feb 2023, p.29]

Low-key arrangements are anchored by Henry's agreeably lived-in voice. [Mar 2023, p.28]

No one thought that Dylan would make one of his finest albums in 1997 (or maintain that hot streak for the next quarter-century). No one thought, either, that the outtakes from such sessions could fill a compelling, sometimes revelatory box set. But here it is.

The results are an intense juxtaposition of the intimate and the universal framed in beguiling chamber-folk arrangements. [Feb 2023, p.26]

Auerbach's stoic, close-mic'd vocals and gnarled tendrils of distorted guitar bring a devastating immediacy to an album that contemplates the death of love and, by extension, mortality itself, seeking closure. [Mar 2023, p.25]

His 2021 solo debut Times topped the UK dance chart and, the follow-up offers more of the same adrenaline rush. [Feb 2023, p.32]

An uneven, ugly set that's still weirdly compelling. [Feb 2023, p.25]

It's a fairly smooth and coherent affair. [Feb 2023, p.28]

She's brought feelings to the surface that previously she may have kept veiled. It feels like a significant breakthrough. [Feb 2023, p.22]

While some moments feel more familiar - the sneering delivery of "Leisure Activities" borders on John Lydon mimicry - they embellish this punk undercoat with rich textural and atmospheric explorations, as well as tracks that glide between moments of industrial, goth and new wave. [Feb 2023, p.29]

The Power & The Glory never sounds morose. ... Mantione invests the sentiment with immense compassion and concern. [Feb 2023, p.25]

A fairly ravishing seven-song set of instrumental jazz that reveals a softer, more considered side to the multi-instrumentalist. [Mar 2023, p.36]

Carvings is a more considered affair [than 2020's All Ears], stepping back from first-person confessional into a wider canvas of community, place and time. [Mar 2023, p.26]

Why only eight songs are included isn't clear, but it's academic when the trio sound this energised. [Mar 2023, p.35]

This new mix gives Phil Lynott's poetic vocals more room to breathe but without diminishing the venom of a fiery foursome at their hard-riffing peak. [Mar 2023, p.50]

The likes of "Downtown" and "1000 Miles" are modest but sumptuous ballads which suggest something of lo-fi Blue Nile, while "London Bridge," from the title downwards, is basically a Blur song, to which he is surely entitled. [Feb 2023, p.35]

La La Land picks up where that album [Tremblers And Goggles By Rank] - their second of 2022 - left off. [Feb 2023, p.24]

While this Dublin quintet's latest stops short of total reinvention, the changes are marked - John Congleton brings the darkly spangled, alt.rock power, and textured synths do a lot of the melodic lifting. [Feb 2023, p.32]

As the music spreads, and the sound engrosses and uplifts you, the tacit message feels humble and lightly worn: one of consideration, empathy and collective strength. [Feb 2023, p.30]

Time's Arrow does venture a little outside their comfort zone - the lush "California" is a Cocteau Twins fever dream - but they're at their best closer to home on the career high of "Misery Remember Me", a glittering palace of gothic Italo disco. [Feb 2023, p.29]

The self-assured swagger that enlivens the 17-track ush! emanates from the focuses attack of the band members, whose playing thrums with attitude. [Mar 2023, p.32]

Mercy is the most out-there work Cale has made in some time. ... The presence of Cale's voice - familiar, rich and avuncular - almost disguises just how radical much of the music is. [Feb 2023, p.18]

She's angry, but she's trying to offer some answers too: more power to her for such positivity. [Feb 2023, p.32]

As much as these graceful and meditative pieces became threnodies for Sakamoto's condition, 12 is also something of a personal and creative victory for the composer. [Mar 2023, p.30]