Overall, the experiments on POP ETC fall flat.

Although it is difficult to imagine any scenario in which listening to this is entirely appropriate, the album was clearly intended as an inspirational totem. Its total strangeness only complicates that effort.

What both sinks and saves the album is Ashcroft's songwriting. [#13, p.90]

Pure candy at its highest moments, but perceptibly hollow at others. [March 2012, p.80]

A mostly dull record of disco-lite. [#17, p.98]

The State Of Gold showcases the veteran indie rock frontman's prowess as a lyricist. [Aug-Sep 2015, p.79]

This must be what they call a bad trip. [Spring 2008, p.74]

Walking the line between sexed-up absurdity and reverent Top 40 R&B, they obviously have an affinity for the material, with Schwartz purring and swooning over Yasuda’s electronic grooves. [Winter 2008]

By the time the fifth track plays, I feel like I just listened to the same song five times in a row. [#7]

Advice for Gesaffelstein: ditch the singing guests, and experiment more with the danceable dimness.

As talented as these guys are, they still can't write a song that stays with you. [Fall 2007, p.78]

A reconstituted lineup has stripped the band of much of its ass kickin' swagger. [Summer 2007, p.91]

Athlete often can't help but sounding formulaic. [#10, p.115]

The end result can feel trying and bland, but it can also be as meditative as he apparently finds Sweden.

A hodgepodge of reheated, occasionally indulgent ephemera left over from the band's second full-length, Burst Apart. [#39, p. 73]

More late-or post-Pixies than early-Pixies, then. [Nov-Dec 2013, p.101]

It's listenable and pleasant, and has promising snatches of creativity, but mostly it's unremarkable.

Melodia represents a clear fade from glory, but only a slight loss of merit. [Spring 2009, p.74]

The band excels when they succumb to the light-hearted rush of the jam, which they do roughly half the time here. [Fall 2009, p.72]

Live In Japan isn't a must-buy, or even a must-hear, so much as a long overdue release for completists and anyone else interested hearing one of the last century's most popular and accomplished performers at the very top of his game and height of his success.

All 10 songs on the album include strings, including the arena-ready 'Air Traffic Control' and the nine-minute 'Hopesick.' Whether these changes represent an improvement for Louis XIV is debatable--mostly it is hit and miss. [Winter 2008, p.83]