There's some good stuff here. [Mar 2009, p.92]

The suspicion remains, though that heavy cosmic rock is probably the best vehicle for his apocalyptic romances. [Jun 2009, p.99]

The charms of this deceptively nifty record slowly revealed with each spin. [Feb 2010, p.107]

Biblical parable and bumptious force-of-nature feminism, ensure Better Day fulfills its upbeat mission. [Sep 2011, p.93]

This swift reimagining of the Protean Threat tapes launches into greater psychedelic flights. [Jan 2021, p.31]

He may not quite be the roaring pistolero of old, but mid-tempo songs like "Mockingbird Hill" and "The Highway Is My Home" are beautiful, time-ruffled distillations of border music, Tex-mex and desert rock. [Oct 2011, p.94]

Candyfloss choruses hamper Bubba's shots at a market-friendly take on his introspective style. [May 2006, p.122]

T Bone's unfussy production is key, allowing Bingham's rusted voice to take stage centre. [Oct 2010, p.89]

It's seductive enough, but rather short on bravery. [Aug 2013, p.72]

Lean Forward occasionally falters toward generic Southern rock, but contains its share of gems. [Nov 2009, p.81]

Adult. deserve respect if only for making an almost overwhelmingly vicious album that succeeds on its own unreasonable terms. [May 2003, p.102]

The scuzzy arrangements ate trickier and less cute, while the lyrics fester with hard experience. [Feb 2010, p.104]

They've wrangled a tougher, just weird-enough synthesis, with "Trails" borrowing Yeah Yeah Yeahs' brio and "Perfectly Crystal" likely to impress fans of both Pet Shop Boys and Flaming Lips. [Mar 2011, p.83]

Heap has a breathtaking voice, somewhere between the languid tones of Beth Orton and the pop sweetness of Dido. [Oct 2002, p.104]

Inessential, but huge fun nevertheless. [Mar 2005, p.91]

The key to the understated triumph of Sarah Nixey's second solo album is her recognition that there's nothing wrong with sounding like Black Box Recorder. [Jul 2011]

Scattergood's voice may be an acquired taste, but she works it skillfully. [Jul 2013, p.80]

Fine, but no surprises. [Oct 2008, p.101]

Marten now has an appealingly gentle voice and an intuitive feel for melody. [Nov 2016, p.32]

Lost And Safe is a move songwards, and though this promises greater coherence, it's at the expense of some of the group's wayward charm. [May 2005, p.97]

The inclusio0n of a live concert DVD from 2005 add some roughness but no reason not to just go out and buy whichever Sting albums you already like. [Nov 2011, p.98]

Oddly life-affirming. [Nov 2006, p.99]

A spring creeps into the step of "Sunday Afternoon" and "Telephone," providing a welcome break in the weather from a band who conform a little too readily to Henry Ford's dictum of having any colour you like so ling as it's black. [Oct 2010, p.87]

The skeletal bluesy shuffles are easy to follow, but the likes of 'Avalanch In B' suggest a band lyrically happy to keep the unpleasantness in their woodshed under wraps. [Oct 2008, p.81]

Their dogged adherence to the Southern rock template remains at once a strength and an intermittently frustrating weakness. On the upside, the Atlanta group do what they do with devoted attention to detail, and the correct balance of sincerity and swagger. [May 2018, p.24]

'Half Mast' and the 'Without You' are exquisite pangs of millionaire's melancholy, even if there aren't enough of them to sustain a whole album. [Mar 2009, p.85]

A Positive Rage is something of a misnomer, since hardcore fury rates low on the Steady agenda. More crucial is the band’s 3-D storytelling on muscular guitars, and Craig Finn’s traditional chat about joy in the encore.

When he's not making party music, he stretches out and delivers deep fluid grooves. It's the naggingly simplistic melodies and dumb call-and-response choruses of tracks like 'U Want Some?' that spoil the fun. [Aug 2009, p.92]

It's a treat to finally hear Moyet stretch herself on a classy and engaging modern collection that's only really let down in places by the santitised electro of one-time Bjork and Robyn producer Guy Sigsworth. [Jun 2013, p.76]

If Geldof had been able to restrain his instinct toward baffling over-production, he might have come up with something that fulfilled the promise of its title. [Mar 2011, p.91]

Some of the more routine synth-pop cuts lack weight, but the distant echoes of A-Ha's "The Living Daylights" buried within "Musketeer" are wholly endearing. [Jul 2011, p.103]

The post-punkish synth-funk of "Pagliaccio" and the "Unchained Melody"-referencing 6/8-time epic "Saviour Self" adds variety, but beneath the sonic modernism lies an artist rather too eager to be Hot Chip's more earnest little brother. [Sep 2013, p.85]

That unsubtle drive for huge hooks can sometimes be a bit exhausting, but tracks like "New Age Millennial Magic", the groovy "Feel The Change!" and "Demolition Song" come so loaded with good vibes it's hard not to smile. [Mar 2022, p.25]

There is far too much going on at times. [Oct 2005, p.96]

As daunting as its title suggests. [Jul 2006, p.114]

Her debut British release showcases a vivid and fully formed talent clearly versed in quirky, often humourous songcraft. [Nov 2007, p.125]

An interim record before their next assault, perhaps. [Oct 2010, p.87]

Dreamy, classic-sounding pop nuggets, sung by Cox with a wry, casual authority. [Jan 2011, p.79]

As a whole, 4everevolution lacks the decisive sonic focus his fierce and funny lyrical barbs deserve. [Oct 2011, p.98]

The album's best tracks are those where Carlile strides beyond the confines of orthodox pop-country. [Apr 2018, p.24]

Cocteau Twins, MBV and Angelo Badalamenti are obvious touchstones for the narcotised, heat0haze beauty of Penny Sparkle, which might stupefy were it not for the stylishly gloomy "Love Or Prison" and the deliciously frost-bitten "Oslo." [Oct 2010, p.87]

The buoyant beats of his debut seem well-judged to invite a wiggle whether your "booty" is on the dancefloor or wearing a groove into you favorite armchair. [May 2008, p.94]

CD2 is a quirky new mixtape which proves he's still up to his old tricks. [Dec 2008, p.116]

There are some points where it skirts tweeness, and Wilkinson's voice is a little too airbrushed, but there's pleasure aplenty here. [Aug 2020, p.27]

It's far from hip, but unfairly dimissed. [Jun 2010, p.91]

He appears, so far as it's possible to tell, a competent ukulelist, and his parched baritone remains effective--but this doesn't to understate matters wildly, seems quite the best use of his skills. [Jul 2011, p.96]

Waterhouse's big lunged holler is efficiently exciting, but his debut album isn't so much -- 12 songs, but 12 variants on the same song. [Jul 2012, p.85]

The results are impressive enough, though never totally successful in effecting seamless rapprochement between cultures. [Nov 2011, p.92]

The premise may sound gimmicky and cerebral but the results are mostly playful, poppy and accessible. [Apr 2019, p.32]

While it all sometimes gets a little too soporific, the overall effect is undeniably seductive. [Jun 2017, p.34]

Delivered with conviction and defiance these timely tunes benefit from the input of longtime pal and collaborator Rod Picott. [Jul 2013, p.72]

It's effective, but the lyrics and the slightly mannered vocals never really rise above the level of jokey pastiche. [Sep 2011, p.91]

No less viscerally thrilling [than its predecessor] but pursues a number of ear-bogglingly unlikely paths. [Feb 2005, p.73]

What Harper's over-educated style can't replicate is his heroes' blazing souls. [Apr 2006, p.114]

Ambient ebb and flow aside, vocals and synth/guitar motifs show Outside as a pp record, while a darkly urgent cover of Bonnie "Prince" Billy's "Strange Form Of Life" provides unexpected topspin. [Nov 2013, p.67]

Gahan is a way off from being a David Sylvian–-but not as far as you might think.

Still square, then, but they're loosening up. [Feb 2008, p.93]

With a new album of the less pop material from these same sessions due later this year, let's hope for some new mutations.

Sinister lyrics flit by almost unnoticed across the music's glistening sheen as Elbrecht hides in plain sight--an impressive conjuring trick that may nevertheless leave you a little cold. [Dec 2010, p.110]

Problematically for a singer-songwriter, Oberst drops personal feelings, wry asides and hip references equally lightly--ultimately, you're disinclined to believe anything he says at all. [Mar 2011, p.85]

A strong and lusty country-punk album placing him in Tom Waits or Neil Young territory. [Nov 2004, p.104]

This is voluminous in length and style. [Feb 2019, p.33]

A stodgy production job from Patrick Carney of The Black Keys means his songs tend to blur into one. [Apr 2017, p.26]

Sometimes this nomadic approach produces some sublime pop, but more often the results are erratic--odd even--but never dull. [May 2018, p.33]

The sound is rather dry, and James Murphy's vocals have sounded stronger, but the different nuances audible in "Us V Them" and "Drunk Girls" make this if not a bang, certainly very far from a whimper. [Jan 2011, p.93]

Weirdly affecting. [Dec 2004, p.151]

Though straining at times under its rhapsodic pretensions, at its best it's an ambitious symphonic spree. [Oct 2005, p.100]

His elegant songcraft often recalls Freddie Mercury.

Their ragged eclecticism is a winning one, taking detours into Ry Cooder slide-country, beat-up folk and starry desert ballads. [Sep 2008, p.98]

Smith has skill and ambition galore, but too often settles for tasteful stupor. [Review of the Year 2023, p.32]

While the dubbed-out "see You When I Want to" nods to ESG, Gentle Grip too often feels more like a limp handshake. [Aug 2020, p.36]

The result is a warm, reto-feeling rendering of his brand of mechanical funk and psychedelic hip hop. We've been here before, but it's still a lovely listen. [May 2009, p.95]

What thesy have done is make the odd generational shift, acknowledging Boston, Steppenwolf, Alice In Chains and The White Stripes in their search for the ultimate cosmic-blues groove, which on 'In The Morning,' they find. [Nov 2009, p.113]

He treads a line between loving monogamy and club bangers, emphasising accessibility throughout. [Jan 2003, p.128]

Sade Adu and co return with more snoozy, expensively produced, quiet-storm soul. [Mar 2010, p.95]

PATP are on no less poppily compelling form with their sophomore LP, but display a new, darkly rocky drive and increased lyrical cynicism. [Jun 2011, p.93]

Their energy is extraordinary. [May 2005, p.97]

The sonic darings of his own recordings has clearly fueled the imaginations of The Cure's Robert Smith and Beck, although the likes of Snow Patrol and Beth Orton stay closer to the originals. [Oct 2011, p.102]

The band's amiable punk-folk chunter lacks a little of its usual charm. [Oct 2013, p.74]

Best enjoyed with your brain set to simmer, it's harmlessly high-octane fun. [Dec 2007, p.119]

Her decision to forgo electric guitars on @#%&*! Smilers results in the aural equivalent of watercolour washes, lovely and tasteful but lacking presence. [July 2008, p.102]

The Mexican duo aren't quite in the Jansch/Renbourne class, but they create memorable tunes full of clever variations of timbre, texture and tone. [May 2014, p.78]

While the likes of Living It Out are perfecting mutant disco, Rostron's self-consciousness means this expertly produced set suffers from too much quirkiness. [Jun 2011, p.93]

The acid-daze reveries are rich in detail, thought the baleful undertow and samey melodies lose momentum over the 22 tracks. [Apr 2002, p.113]

Rather than embracing the weight of myth and geography it simply rises above it, majestic yet frustratingly aloof. [Jun 2012, p.77]

It's a rather bloodless and oddly dated set. [Aug 2015, p.76]

We can enjoy Foxing's prophecies of impending doom, particularly when they're clothed in Animal Collective harmonies, U2 bombast and even avant-garde R&B. [Sep 2018, p.29]

A passionate but ultimately rather clean record of angst-filled ballads. [May 2023, p.27]

So much of Eyes Open is nearly, but not quite. [Jun 2006, p.114]

Only the lovely, finger-picking folk of "Ceilings" and the pulsating "Breakers" approach the perkiness of their breakout single, "Airplanes." [Feb 2012, p.74]

“Build A Fire”, too, is an air-punching anthem, though Torquil Campbell prefers lighter-waving on “To Feel What They Feel”, which, like “If I Never See London Again”, turns to polished ’80s production techniques. They can’t shake their melancholy, however. [Sep 2022, p.32]

His vocals--as exuberant in his seventies as half a century ago. [Sep 2021, p.35]

It resembles The Boredoms in its sense of sonic bravery, although the suspicion lingers that more focus is required before they can produce another record of the calibre of 2002's "Beaches And Canyons." [May 2009, p.79]

Though Return To center has its campy moments, he's removed his tongue from his cheek. [Jul 2019, p.24]

Hotel Shampoo is a fragrant little side-project but it's a bit too sudsy to be the main event. [Mar 2010, p.96]

The pervading mood of ennui and desolation begs for some light relief, but the title track speaks volumes for her poise. [Dec 2010, p.104]

Full of hits and misses as it sways back and forth between indie and electro, never quite finding its feet. [Aug 2022, p.30]

It's diverting enough. [Apr 2009, p.82]