There remains a belligerent subtext to his nostalgic fantasias. [Mar 2014, p.73]

Weird but good. [Jun 2016, p.73]

Fans of Iron & Wine and The Acorn take note. [Jun 2009, p.96]

Generally Strangeland is all too familiar fare. [Jun 2012, p.77]

"Die" is generic glam riffage, and "Magic" is a tedious Britpop stomp, but there are many successes. [Oct 2011, p.86]

A fascinating document... Only select morsels, though... will make your GBV mix tape. [Jan 2006, p.120]

A poignant folk-jazz take on Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child" is the standout and it's all impeccably tasteful - but in a threadbare kind of way. [Apr 2020, p.37]

This is a good, not great record, which you probably don't need to hear, unless you're already immersed in Fennesz's world. [Oct 2012, p.79]

Much of it is overly polite, with Ilhan taming the hurt in PJ Harvey's 'Oh My Lover,' but he also teases mourful hidden nuances from Breeders, Smashing Pumkins and Tortoise tracks. [June 2008, p.83]

The first half of Mind Trap is dedicated to a sort of naifish folk-rock, flirting with the banal but occasionally happening on moments of quiet loveliness. [Mar 2014, p.73]

You don't need a working knowledge of baseball to appreciate this second installment of true-life sporting tales from Steve Wynn, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Linda Pitmon. [Jun 2011, p.92]

Uneven it may be, The Palace Guards s just as often sublime. [Feb 2011, p.90]

Sprout can get a little too earnest - greater distance might, perhaps counterintuitively, make these songs more globally affecting - but he's still a great pop writer. [Oct 2020, p.36]

Nikolaj Manuel Vonslid's choirboy vibrato lends a ghostly quality to these 10 pretty synth tunes, all of which fuse north European wistfulness and vaguely Oriental motifs in soothing manner. [Jul 2011, p.103]

The absence of Kim Deal--who left in 2013--continues to be felt: her natural warmth and goofy charm would add welcome nuance here. [Oct 2016, p.37]

At times thrilling and at times frustrating. [Feb 2005, p.83]

A 1980s vibe predominates, at times in a most agreeable Japan-like kind of way; at times a disagreeably Phil Collinsy one. [Oct 2011, p.90]

It understandably struggles with a weightiness, an emotional claustrophobia. [Jun 2006, p.100]

The songs are often guilty of bloated bombast, but Numan retains an impressive command of cinematic melodrama and richly layered sonic detail. [Jul 2021, p.33]

Taken together, the songs constitute a potent set of surging alt.rock euphoria and more sombre ambience. [Jun 2019, p.24]

Really rather magnificent, in its way. [Jul 2002, p.107]

"Don't Worry 'Bout What I Do" get quite heavy-metally, while James takes tracks like the wah-wah-infused "This Is Who I Is" in a distinctly Hendrix-inspired direction. [Apr 2022, p.29]

This follow-up strives to be less ethereal, and with the somewhat mannered twin vocals of Alejandra and Claudia Deheza more to the fore, it brings to mind Madonna's "Ray Of Light." [Aug 2010, p.94]

Hansard's whispery growl is something of an acquired taste, and the first half of this LP sees him aiming towards Nick Cave-style slow burning epics. ... More successful is the second half of the album. [Jun 2019, p.29]

That spirit of garageland spontaneity pervades Fuckbook. [Apr 2009, p.84]

If the audio quality is a mite cleaner this time, it seems the band have made the songs a little more prickly. [Oct 2009, p.112]

It's a subtly affecting record, hushed, austere, grasping for simple peace of mind with gorgeously rendered standards. [Feb 2011, p.93]

Much of the album lacks cohesion, and even seems lazy. [Nov 2004, p.109]