Unfortunately, this deep-sea sequel to 2008's "White Light Strobing" wades in the shallow end. [Summer 2009, p.70]

As an EP running at about 16 and a half minutes, Panic of Looking's brevity acts as a drawback; just as you're beginning to really soak it in, the EP suddenly reaches its conclusion.

Few records in recent years have sounded this much like a toss-away popsike record from the mid-'60s. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.113]

Though at times a difficult listen, the album is at its best when Bozulich's voice is paired with haunting cello. [Oct. 2011, p. 108]

Well-constructed and convincing pop music, Last Light is an accomplished effort. But thrills are few and far between. [Fall 2007, p.80]

Only "Hurrah" has moments reminiscent of the first record, but if the band seems this bored for the better part of 40 minutes, it's hard not to expect a listener to feel the same way. [Summer 2010, p.79]

Lo-Fang tries to do too much on his debut album, Blue Film.

Neither as good nor as boring as you might think. [#10, p.112]

It isn't awful... However, neither does Thunder deliver the lightning strike that would effectively mute the onslaught of a backlash. [#16, p.90]

L7 always need to be given credit and respect but Scatter the Rats is not them at their best. They are a raucous, subversive, and vital voice in rock, but this album doesn't show that. It should be a footnote on a career that is more important than this.

Soaked in reverb and effects, the album reads mystical in both sound and title. [Jul 2011, p.85]

For the Yeasayer fans who enjoy their stranger stylings, this will fall out of rotation quicker than others; that doesn't make it bad, just not a favorite.

This hybrid approach works well, but RJD2, even at his finest, doesn't have the complete vision of DJ Shadow or other soundscape artists; RJD2 sounds best with a rapper accompanying him. [Holiday 2009, p.82]

The lack of distinctive arrangements eventually diminishes the songs' individual merits. [#9]

While not essential to casual listeners of Segall, $ingle$ 2 is a fun compilation that avid fans will undoubtedly want to add to their library. [Dec 2014, p.67]

Despite the proficiency and accomplishment of the arrangements, the album is simply too understated, repetitive, and blandly written to do much more than hold your attention. [Summer 2006]

'Dust And Daylight' showcases Mark Spencer's beautiful pedal steel, while 'Dynamite,' with its doleful accordian, recalls early Springsteen. [Summer 2009, p.74]

While Lonely Avenue isn't a crowning glory for either, it is yet another inspired work to add to their collection. [Fall 2010, p.67]

This is their darkest record yet, but it's saved from drudgery by a heavier sound delivered with furious energy.

From the forgettable country rock of "So High" to the dispensable interlude that is "Sleep," Drift proves to be a tiring exercise in desperately finding something, anything, to grasp on to.

Whether or not you can stomach this will depend on your schmaltz tolerance. In truth, the sum total of these seven songs is insubstantial. They sound like spring only superficially, the Vivaldi connection isn’t carried past the first song, and Cuomo’s lyrics rarely ascend above cliché.

Despite its proliferation of modern day input, Electronica 1 sounds dated. [Nov-Dec 2015, p.71]

The music has some commercial cross-over potential that most people can't help but like, with various electric guitars and electronic keyboards arranged into pleasing and polished pop-rock. But these pleasant tunes don't have enough sharp dynamics to give them an edge and so end up as mostly fluff without so much substance.

Rewolf may be a rerecording, but it lacks another crucial "re" word--"revelation." [Holiday 2009, p.78]

Departure gets by on diverting--not mesmerizing--drone. [Sep/Oct 2014, p.106]

Overall, it's refreshing to hear an album so disarmingly free of pretense... but those who like their rock with a little more edge are advised to look elsewhere. [#7]

Of the 12 tracks, "4 June 1989," "I Was A Bird," and "I Have Need For Solitude" stand out, but overall the album is disappointing. [Winter 2010, p.70]

On the Tony Visconti produced The Bright Lights of America, the band opts for the same brand of pristine song production and testosterone-soaked chants as every other mall-punk band, and, in so doing, makes it hard to discern them from the crowd. [Summer 2008]