Functions as an AM Gold collection filtered through Swedish shortwave radio with indie sensibilities. [#16, p.93]

Tones of Town carries the precision, sophistication, and sense of fun that made predecessor brainy pop bands like XTC so damned good. [#16, p.91]

Although Funeral is the better album, Neon Bible comes close enough without being a rehash. [#17, p.90]

You will be hearing more about Pop Levi. For now I’d recommend you simply hear more of Pop Levi—this shit is fantastic.

A big, fun, and passionate record that sounds enormous. [#16, p.92]

Not just an album that revisits the dancey guitar-pop that made "Float On" an unlikely #1 hit, but sharpens and emboldens it for their most accessible album to date. [#16, p.93]

Their overarching fingernail-meets-chalkboard eeriness... is what prevents a lapse into the preciousness that sometimes accompanies orchestrated indie rock, making the album a rousing success. [#16, p.90]

More sonically and lyrically ambitious than 2005’s I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and more fully realized than the scattershot Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, Cassadaga is Oberst’s most affecting and challenging full-length to date, and proves that he’ll be a defining figure in folk music for many years to come. [#17, p.83]

An unruly beast filled with vim and vigor, unrestrained in fits of rage, questioning, and discontent. [#17, p.87]

Each song is expertly crafted, with an amazingly punchy set of melodies delivered by an extremely tight band with sometimes larger arangements that never become fussy. [Summer 2007, p. 76]

Maybe In Rainbows is their life--settling into things, creating permanence. If so, we may grow to miss the anger and the striving and the discovery that comes as a result. But for now, we can enjoy the beauty of Radiohead understanding their identity and the craftsmanship that lies in comfort.

Each song unfolds so effortlessly one imagines it springing forth, fully formed, with the same exaggerated inevitability of a cartoon bubble sprouting above his head. [Fall 2007, p.74]

Rock Music goes further, showcasing a fully mature band turning out immense tracks that combine the best elements from their previous works. [Winter 2008, p.80]

In the Future is without a chink in its armor, the rare lull-free album, and shows that perhaps their greatest moments are indeed yet to come. [Winter 2008, p.80]

This is likely to be the most fun release of the year. [Winter 2008, p.84]

The Seldom Seen Kid finds Elbow maturing into their sonic ambitions, adding a sorely missed depth to their ever-present innovation. [Summer 2008]

A lyrical and musical knockout, spearheaded by the miraculous 'Fools,' Visiter could be one of the best albums of the year. [Spring 2008, p.82]

Parc Avenue was carefully constructed to open your eyes to the subtle beauty of everyday life and it suceeds effortlessly. [Spring 2008, p.84]

Saturdays=Youth contains some of the band's best songs to date. [Spring 2008, p.77]

Third concludes with a string of stunners that feature sawing cello, improvisatory bursts of horns, and the most cathartic vocal performance Gibbons has ever set to tape, respectively. [Spring 2008, p.79]

Many songs play out like shared "private" jokes but succeed all the time. [Spring 2008, p.75]

Narrow Stairs proves that with Death Cab For Cutie, it's possible to relax and let them do their own thing. Which is a remarkable thing indeed. [Spring 2008, p.75]

Tone is an alchemic process, and Fleet Foxes produce gold with regularity, a stunning feat for such a young band. [Summer 2008]

In terms of recording, speeding up, and trimming down he has produced one of his most intimate and exhilarating albums to date. [Summer 2008]

Acid Tongue establishes Jenny Lewis as an idiosyncratic talent in her own right. [Fall 2008, p.76]

Olausson’s quirky observations are only as good as the band backing her. And as it herks and jerks, skanks, and generally rocks the fuck out across A Hundred Things, it constantly reminds that Love Is All is one of the tightest pop outfits on the planet. [Year End 2008]

Like all of Welcome To Mali, the underpinnings of 'I Think Of You' are fantastically layered, with a combination of precision timing and in-the-moment passion. [Winter 2009, p.68]

For the uninitiated, curious, or those simply looking for a one-stop overview, there is no better place for a comprehensive distillation of Danielson’s joyful noises. [Winter 2008]