Arguably, they are a little one-paced and some looseness would not have gone amiss--but the candid, striking honest lyrics about sex and love bear the strain. [Jul 2017, p.26]

It's a partially successful approach that starts promisingly with the disco trust of "Never Let Me go" and "Night People," but the plodding tempo begins to drag, and by "Single Minded" the listener feels worn out. [May 2011, p.88]

While there's not any unity of occasion to speak of, the cover of "Arms Aloft" by Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros is an impressively galvanising opener, new material sitting comfortably alongside older, more diffuse cuts. [Feb 2011, p.95]

It moves somewhat uneasily through Celtic folk and rural string music. [May 2011, p.92]

A promising opening gambit. [Sep 2011, p.89]

A faithful if condensed cover of Yes' "Heart Of The Sunrise," sweetly sung by Drozd, concludes what is essentially a likeable frivolity, and a stop gap before their next Flaming masterwork. [Sep 2014, p.73]

It's not a disaster, by any means.... It's just that, over 13 songs, it's abundantly clear that whatever the potency of this partnership, there's an old lack of range. [Jul 2005, p.89]

Producer Ludwig Goransson imbues the beats with a comparable degree of pomp, although we could have done without diversions into cheesy Swede-pop. [Jan 2012 p.88]

Alopecia is another woozily layered, beguilingly fractured affair, driven by beats and samples. [May 2008, p.113]

Her repetitive riff in the early section teeters on the ponderous, and some of the electronic production is mere promotional muzak--but there are stunning passages here. [Apr 2013, p.65]

Some tracks feel throwaway, but goodtime vibes prevail. [Apr 2009, p.80]

The band's one weakness lies in the voice of Orkney folk obsessive Erland Cooper, a thin, plain instrument that fails to engage. But the unpredictable, symphonic arrangements of "Emmeline" and the title track make exciting connections between ancient and modern with a dark nonchalance, [Apr 2011, p.80]

A rich saturnine, baroque-pop set full of romantic drama. Strings, piano and keyboard combine with muti-textured guitar in songs that, though engaging, tend toward the florid. [Feb 2024, p.30]

Curdled cuts of lover's R&B are oddly beguiling, but best are the dancier cuts like "Warlord," a blissful excursion in strobing percussion and luxurious, frothy synths. [May 2011, p.88]

Ness' songs tackle his experiences with hard, unforgiving honesty. [Feb 2011, p.99]

Mondanile doesn't always have the songs to pull off the silver jacket. "Wearing A Mask" hints at band beefs past, much as "In The Hallway" does to the Real Estate mode, but these and the intricate guitar licks of "Mannequin" are the only moments where Ducktails make their fusion spark. [Nov 2017, p.26]

Hardly the most disciplined or versatile singer, Shaver gets over on the strength of his writing. [Aug 2012, p.79]

It only really comes alive with an alternate version of "Take Ecstasy With Me," which reminds us that original Magnetic Fields singer Susan Anway is still his definitive interpreter, the Ella to his Cole. [Sep 2011, p.91]

[Perry] rambles--incomprehensibly, as ever--over various trippy soundscapes from Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann. [Sep 2012, p.82]

A flawed but fascinating follow-up. [Feb 2007, p.85]

The resultant music is quite compelling. [Oct 2010, p.101]

Producer Hal Wilner again helms this follow-up but the chemistry proves more fitful. [Apr 2011, p.80]

They produce strong enough tunes to make their act more than just a celebration of kitsch. [May 2011, p.88]

The band remains essentially the same. ... Back then it was exhilarating. Now it's also a little exhausting. [Aug 2017, p.26]

Fine fully fledged songs share space with fragmentary 'interludes,' creepy half-songs, found sounds and noodlings. It could be irritatingly incomplete , but there's much to recommend it. [Mar 2010, p.107]

Moroder's first album in 30 years consists largely of generic pop-dance. [Jul 2015, p.80]

Several songs that aim for Springsteenian grandeur but land nearer to John Mellencamp before he dropped the Cougar. Thankfully, Goldsmith's level of craft elsewhere means there's still plenty here to savour. [Nov 2020, p.29]

None of these fall too far from the ZZ Top tree, defined by crashing riffs and a raunchy sense of humour. [Nov 2018, p.29]

Tracks here borrow from the likes of Breach and Disclosure, and, as on "Buffalo," can be weedily underpowered where they once impressively unhinged. [Sep 2014, p.69]

Musically, it can get a little one-note but there are some terrific moments. [Nov 2020, p.37]

The songs often seem over-anxious to build to show-stopping choruses. [Nov 2005, p.94]

Slight and derivative, but stylish when it works. [Dec 2017, p.29]

It's a sound that devotees of 'Crazy Horse' or 'My Morning Jacket' will find conspicuously pleasing, but fans of Band of Horses might just be disappointed. [Dec 2007, p.84]

This fifth album gets progressively less fuzztoned and more overtly tuneful as it progresses. [Mar 2008, p.85]

These Aesop-style animal-themed fables combine elegantly quirky orchestral chamber-pop arrangements with barbed and knotted lyrics. [Feb 2012, p.84]

This is a less than ideal introduction to the oeuvre of the usually intriguing 'Dolls. [July 2008, p.93]

There's brio and craft behind the cosmetic nostalgia. [July 2008, p.100]

Olympia could do with a little more of that future-facing yearning, the contemporary spirit that crackled through the remixes, to remind us of times when Ferry seemed as much a figure from our future as from our recent past. [Nov 2010, p.85]

King Con is essentially a pop record full of catchy melodies and a shrieking singing style that will either set your heart aflutter or prompt you to punch a wall. [May 2012, p.84]

All very impressive, if hallow at its core. [May 2011, p.88]

On first hearing, it's a record to admire rather than love, but its insidious appeal soon gets under your skin. [Sep 2002, p.112]

A divine marriage of disco with discord that, while blatantly indebted to the mutant guitar funk of PiL, ACR, The Pop Group, Gang of Four, et al, enjoys the best of both disciplines. [Nov 2002, p.116]

there's a little too much here that's predictable or worse still, forgettable. [Sep 2011, p.91]

Too often, though, good-not-great tunes can't quite make up for generic song structures and performances that seem to have lost a certain charismatic shine during the downsizing operation. [Feb 2022, p.37]

For every inspired turn, there's an insubstantial one, while some merely appear sluggish. [Aug 2005, p.96]

As ever, when Los Lobos content themselves with sounding like Los Lobos, they're marvellous.... The lighter touches make less impression. [Nov 2015, p.79]

The overall effect is all a bit "earnest teen drama"--"Dead Hearts" is a surely shoo-in for the soundtrack of the next Twilight movie--but the hit-rate is impressively high. [Sep 2010, p.104]

The emphasis on Jackson's piano is obviously no problem, but his focus drifts from the punchy pop that characterised its predecessor. [Feb 2008, p.81]

There's plenty here to suggest that the combination of Skinner's skillful, funny songwriting and Harvey's bluesy choruses will deliver something special soon. [Jun 2013, p.73]

This is predictably slick and inoffensive stuff. [Dec 2007, p.90]

Clever, costly videos prove the couple painfully hip, but close your eyes and it could be Mel & Kim. [May 2011, p.91]

The trio still favour widescreen grandeur, epic choruses and portentous keyboards, but they've exorcised their Duran Duran and Billy idol tendencies. [Feb 2011, p.105]

Tinkling lo-fi arrangements evoke the scarred spookiness of mid-period Sparklehorse, rendering the whole charmingly (and sometimes chillingly) child-like. [Sep 2009, p.88]

For all the effective arrangements, most of the songs sound a bit anonymous. [Jun 2010, p.92]

Despite the presence of Josh Hager and Jeff Friedl--of Devo's current lineup--ShadowParty never quite eclipse the shadow cast by the band's other two members, Tom Chapman and Phil Cunningham, who bring with them baggage from their New order day jobs. [Sep 2018, p.36]

There's no grief-striken balladry, though: Michel Poiccard namely sticks to the helium noise vandalism template set by 2008 debut Worldwide, with the addition of some surprisingly winsome pop excursions in a similar vein to The Drums. [Mar 2011, p.86]

Accomplished but seldom inspired. [Aug 2005, p.106]

Early Man pull off metal with a back-to-basics swagger--even if their relentless assault does get a bit samey by the end. [Nov 2005, p.111]

Too many average slow jams.... They just remind you he's still around; short of a tune, but the unique inhabitant of a purple planet all his own. [Nov 2014, p.80]

There are lots of lightly retro arrangements and nods to 1960s bubblegum pop. [Jan 2019, p.22]

Shake The Foundations is an accurate representation of its field, taking in both its achievements and its many foibles – a smart but patchy collection. [Jun 2021, p.47]

You leave Load Blown feeling that Black Dice, unlike many of their kin, are actually genuine experimentalists--even if it's with the caveat that sometimes it all rather blows up in their face. [Nov 2007, p.96]

The quality zigzags, but Doughty maintains an agreeably impish spirit. [Mar 2013, p.70]

Their benefactor this time is Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, who evidently hears something in their moody atmosphere-building. By and large, Pussy's Dead reveals them as a muso sort of band. [May 2016, p.69]

If TDD's Cure obsession at times gets the better of them, their buoyancy and drive will still fill floors. [Apr 2011, p.95]

Sway, however, doesn't command proceedings quite like Chuck D and the prosaic narratives of tracks like 'That Girl' are no substitute for verbal fireworks. Nearly though. [May 2009, p.101]

Alas, it often sounds like hollow noise--but improves when he warms down. [May 2011, p.92]

Ian Brown follows an idiosyncratic path in keeping with My Way’s title--mixing up the kind of heavily synthesised rhythms learned from Jamaican dancehall with a curious cover of Zager And Evans’ dystopian folk oddity 'In The Year 2525,' some insidious grooves and, on closer 'So High,' a somewhat wayward stab at soul.

If you find it impressive how AC/DC have spun three chords into a 30-year career, then you'll enjoy what they can do with a boxset: Backtracks comes with three CDs, two DVDs, all packaged inside a recession-friendly amplifier. [Jan 2010, p. 103]

It's reliably hypnotic stuff, although the final two seemingly interminable tracks d o expose Stallones' rather rudimentary chops. [Sep 2011, p.96]

The sweet '70s AM harmonies sometimes sugar the pill too much, but there's no mistaking its artfully bitter taste. [Jun 2005, p.110]

Though the title track and "The Magic In You" recall his early triumphs, it's all a bit 'shoe-business' as usual. [Dec 2016, p.37]

There are no songs here to touch past glories, [3rdeyegirl's] excitement in the studio is captured.... They just remind you he's still around; short of a tune, but the unique inhabitant of a purple planet all his own. [Nov 2014, p.80]

Their fourth studio album combinds poignant odes to former drummer Ben Eberbaugh with a joyous refusal to take itself seriously. [Oct 2007, p.83]

It's a reflective set, enlivened by joyous offerings from The Civil Wars and Carolina Chocolate Drops. [Feb 2013, p.75]

Besides the odd burst of surf guitar and filigree finger-picking, the basic musical parameters remain unchanged. [May 2011, p.85]

A gift for deadpan couplets alone can't quite elevate him to [Rufas Wainwright or Pet Shop Boys'] league, [but] this album offer signs that, if he want to, Robbie might escape the neurosis of celebrity and mature into a genuinely witty songwriter. [Dec 2009, p.121]

Every note, lick, snarl and spit on this album is precisely no more and no less than might be expected of a Lynyrd Skynyrd album. [Oct 2012, p.84]

If the second stash contains a suspicion that the best stuff got smoked first time around, the spirit and energy of the first record are still here in abundance. [Jan 2012, p.95]

The Renaissance offers a compromise between the rootsy East Coast rap he helped to define and the LP you imagine the label wanted. [Jan 2008, p.111]

The murky results are sometimes frustrating. [Apr 2013, p.71]

The execution falls vexingly short of ambition, principally because a little of Darnielle's limited voice goes a long way. But the best of the songs are great. [May 2011, p.93]

Mine Is Yours is the sound of a band itching to make their breakthrough. [Feb 2011, p.81]

On "Wear Suits," the trio reveals it can pull off the measured uptown elegance of The Blue Nile, but otherwise, singer/guitarist Alex Schaff delights in scribbling over his songs, as his boyish vocals vacillate between preciousness and brattiness. [May 2012, p.84]

Their shimmering, somnolent ambience is irrefutably palliative. [Oct 2021, p.25]

A rare and fascinating glimpse into the raw stuff of the creative process. [Jan 2004, p.103]

Liars' aim is to challenge the listener with their gruelling strangeness. [Apr 2004, p.101]

In common with a lot of records called Fantasy, this is ultimately a pretty pedestrian affair. [Aug 2013, p.72]

Hot Hot Heat have recently toned down a lot of their jerkier tendencies and are a lot less annoying for it. [Nov 2007, p.107]

There is much here that is wonderful, but less of the tone set by the self-parodically chirpy 'Turqouise House' would have improved matters. [Nov 2007, p.132]

No shocks here, but a laudably short and sharp effort. [June 2008, p.94]

Often feels more afterthought than addition. On form, however, few write or sing human frailty with Neil Finn’s poise. [Jul 2021, p.25]

Young Blood is far darker than 2020’s soulful El Dorado. “Blood On The Tracks”, which chugs along behind a swampy, cowbell-accented groove, provides relief from the monolithic heaviness, which becomes enervating on the generic “Hard Working Man”. [Sep 2022, p.26]

Others paying respects are Steve Earle, Kid Rock and Lucinda Williams, though the inclusion of Lee Ann Womack and Faith Hill dilutes the overall impact. [Apr 2011, p.90]

The tunes remain no more exotic than a British cottage pie, and all the meat and potatoes that entails. [Feb 2011, p.79]

T&C are more approachable than most, replacing numbing virtuosity with a kind of meditative warmth. [May 2002, p.110]

A sparse, occasionally foreboding mood weighs on these 13 cues, appropriate to Richter's increasingly prolific contributions ti European arthouse soundtracks. [Aug 2010, p.93]

Even though the Neptunes have long gone off the boil, their contributions are so much better than those of the other assembled "star" producers. [Jan 2012, p.96]